REALLY! I need to get one those "slap timer clocks" Uncle Chippie recommended, hang it on the wall, big red digital countdown, and every time someone comes in, looks at a bike, and loves it but wants to "think about it", I "WHACK IT" with gusto!!
Yes folks, our weekly infusion of "salt in the sound" has come around again! Well, in a way. This one has a 'happy ending" (and NO, they didn't have to pay extra!) of sorts. Had a gent come in on Saturday, had been out running the gambit of local shops for a nice urban hybrid, as he's looking for exercise that may turn into commuting. HEY! We're all for that. Another one suffering from sticker shock, not realizing just how expensive "New" bikes had gotten in the 20 odd years since he rode as a teen. He told me his needs and wants, and given his stature, both the Peugeot and Marin we had were a good fit. He test rode both, and liked both, but the Peugeot more for the new C-9 seat it had, but he preferred the Marin over all. Can't say as I blame him. Of course, as some are prone to do, he wanted to negotiate price. Again, I remind you, I have NO problem with negotiating, but he was a tad bit off, given the fact it was not only a gem of a ride, but a scarce commodity in this market flooded with Mountain Bikes! I countered, and he hemmed and hawed, looked at them both again, and said he would have to think about it.
START THE CLOCK!!!
About the time he was pulling out of the parking lot a couple and their two kiddos came in looking for a replacement ride for the oldest boy who had outgrown his 16", by a mile! He needed to get on a 20". They looked at a couple, but as the Mom was planning "days out" with the young men who had happily, recently rediscovered the joys of riding, needed a ride as well, and was overcome by the sexy gravitational pull of the Peugeot. Even though they couldn't find the "right one" for the young man, they willingly snagged up the ride for her.
After they were loaded up and on their way, the first gent return, to continue negotiations, in regards to the Peugeot, and was quite alarmed to see it no longer here. I just shrugged, and reiterate my earlier statements regarding the brevity of a bikes shelf life around here. And given the fact that I had only had that ride for thirty minuets before he had come in, in the first place. Now, he was looking a LOT harder at the Marin. Making the smart choice, he snagged it up (and a good thing, because the person walking into the shop, as he and I were talking, had come in to look at the Marin, specifically!)
See, these little reports are a lot like Aesop's Fables, meant to teach the moral, "He who hesitates, is lost"
In addition to that, we had a funny! A very nice lady had come into the shop to get a tube change on a , "enh"...let's say...well loved 15 speed. As it turned out, she would also need a new tire as it was worn to threads, but she looked about and ended up going home with another bike, in the way of the Ladies 26" DBS we had, sighting the fact that it wasn't that much more to just buy another bike! HOW many place can say that in reference to a tire and tube change! OH YES! We are that good! (OUCH!! Threw out my arm patting my back!)
Boy, I should have become a rapper, considering the size of my ego!
OH, that reminds me, forgive the mild "ethnic" humor, but on the way into work this morning, plodding along with Suzanne sniffing about for a place to do her business, we came up upon some young, black teenage men on their way to school. Now, when I go in to work, I have my blue tooth speaker on the bike, boogying out to my "Jams" and I have a WIDE range of musical tastes from classical violin to "Five Finger Death Punch" and everything in between! Of course, given the hilarious sense of humor "happenstance" has, about ten feet behind the eight young men, leisurely chatting amongst themselves, Suzanne decided that was the spot to do her business. Mind you, the blue tooth speaker is a 360 degree sound system, not at all quiet, and given my decreased hearing, I listen to it at about full volume (once I leave my neighborhood, of course). It plays the Pandora off my phone, and my phone is tucked into my pocket with all the other junk and not easy and quick to get to, for a fast "turn down" should something be playing of questionable content. Heh. Somewhat oblivious to my surroundings, I had been half listening to Harry Belafonte's song "Pick A Bale Of Cotton", but I became keenly aware of it, as I stood within ear shot, of this rather large group, when the chorus "You got to jump down, turn around and pick a bale of cotton
You got to jump down and turn around and pick a bale a day!" came blaring out behind them! For a brief moment I felt a little like Rex Kramer: Danger Seeker from "The Kentucky Fried Movie" (Google it, you'll see what I mean (be warned, it is a TAD bit offensive!)0 when they all turned and looked at me, as if to say "WHAT THE..." But, thankfully, they all seem to have a great sense of humor as they saw the apologetic lilt of my face, and burst into laughter!
OY! Monday! What else can I say!!
SO, anyway!
Picked up a few more goodies on Saturday, I will be turning my attention too, not to mention a few repairs (although I still am awaiting parts) and have to dry fit the new "Truck" project. As this one is going to be used in downtown Saint Pete for daily deliveries, we're going with NEW wheels and tires all the way around, with heavy duty 12 gauge spokes, so going to have to wait a few days for that order, of course, coming out of Indiana. Once everything is caught up, going to try and jump back on the book. it's really kicking into gear, and even though it strays from the original outline a wee bit (more characters being added constantly to move it along!) going to let it keep going and see where it leads!
Allrighty-roo! Best get at it!
See y'all soon!!
RE-Cycle Bicycles, 380 Patricia Ave Dunedin, Fl 34698 (727) 831-9742 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!!!
Monday, May 18, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
"Opportunity is a bird that never perches." ~Claude McDonald OR "Oportunities are kept beneath the soles of your workboots" Steven Atherton
Another week is winding down to a close. Today, riding on the short bus, I invariably get a tad lazy knowing tomorrow I have no work to do, well, aside from house chores. In preparations for focusing on the regular flow of Saturday traffic through here, we worked diligently yesterday to get caught up with everything, and aside for the new "Truck" project, it's all wrapped up. I finally (pretty much) emptied out Bone Row. Had a couple hangers-on, that I had not yet decided what to do with, that finally got scrapped out. Too much work needed, with no potential return to justify, so they're in the parts buckets. At least we got some unique pieces off them, as they were older folding bikes. Pumped out three newbies, a cute 7 speed 20" MTB, a repainted 6 speed cruiser that we lightened up with an infusion of alloy and speeded her up a bit with some thinner road tires. Topping it all off, got in a decent set of hybrid wheels to finish off that custom paint Triathlon bike we did. Oh, that one's a bit of an odd bird! 21 speed, Shimano equipped with grip shifters, straight bars, and a springer comfort seat! In you FACE, Mr. Conventional! Then moved on to the tear down on the tandem. Felt a little somber about that, as the bike itself is in awesome shape! Obviously some promotional ride someone won, then didn't want, it sported several references on it to "Select 55". I think that's some kind of watered down American beer. Plus, it's going to be a repaint, although it already has a really sweet metal flake candy red paint job, that is really cherry! Oh well. the customer want's Magenta and orange, so who am I to judge! As it is going to be a total custom rebuild, not many of the original parts are going back on, so we ended up with a super clean variety of parts from it! Sweet set of alloy rims, complete with single speed freewheel, NEW set of MTB tires (why did it come with knobbies?) set of chrome lift bars, brake assemblies with NEW shoes etc, etc! Yes folks, we hate throwing ANYTHNG away!
OH, ugh! Speaking of "throwing away", talk about missed opportunity! Got a call from a gent that works across the street from another local "boutique bike shop". Seems they were "cleaning house" and had discarded, in his words "a HUGE pile of bikes and parts" by their dumpster, and if we wanted them, we should hurry down and grab them. This is the only downside I can see for NOT driving a car! ARRGH!!! I called my two available "pick up artists" but neither were available at that moment, which I understand implicitly, as they're not at our disposal. They both called me back shortly thereafter, but by the time our scrap guy, Terry got there, it was all gone. Scrappers in this town, are like seagulls. They come out of nowhere when there's food to be found. What peeves me, and forgive me the indulgence, is the unnecessary waste. I realize, contacting us and asking if we wanted it, is Polyanish to think and extremely unlikely. They're not going to want to feed their "perceived" competition, but WHY chuck it? There are at least three, well known charities in this town alone that service the homeless, indigent, and recovering addicts by supplying them with bicycle transportation. They have their own operations to rebuild, service and supply the rides to a LONG waiting list and are always in need of parts or full rides that they then rebuild and give out. I'm sure they would have jumped right in their truck and come down and grabbed the goodies, and been incredibly thankful for it! But instead, they just chuck it all to the curb! Just something VERY wrong with that! A bicycle is NOT an intricate mechanism with a short shelf life. it's not an outdated electronic, or wear worn automotive part. The only reasons, truly, to chuck a bike, is if the frame is damaged or in the rare case, its just so far gone, nothing can be salvaged. Yea, we do get them from time to time, but it's the hardest thing to bring ourselves to do. We'd rather take the time and parts to get it back on the road then to be scrapped, shipped to China, melted down and made into something else to ship back to us and sell at Wal-mart. Ooooo, was that a bit too nasty?
Enh.
ANYWAY!!
As I said, today is all about slapping palms and answering questions and general meet and greets. And, with nothing to work on, yet again (gotta wait until Monday to get the parts for the work we have had come in) going to putter.
SO, hope to see y'all soon!!
Here's dem goodies!
OH! And available again! Just back in and cleaned up from a two week Vacation Plan are....
OH, ugh! Speaking of "throwing away", talk about missed opportunity! Got a call from a gent that works across the street from another local "boutique bike shop". Seems they were "cleaning house" and had discarded, in his words "a HUGE pile of bikes and parts" by their dumpster, and if we wanted them, we should hurry down and grab them. This is the only downside I can see for NOT driving a car! ARRGH!!! I called my two available "pick up artists" but neither were available at that moment, which I understand implicitly, as they're not at our disposal. They both called me back shortly thereafter, but by the time our scrap guy, Terry got there, it was all gone. Scrappers in this town, are like seagulls. They come out of nowhere when there's food to be found. What peeves me, and forgive me the indulgence, is the unnecessary waste. I realize, contacting us and asking if we wanted it, is Polyanish to think and extremely unlikely. They're not going to want to feed their "perceived" competition, but WHY chuck it? There are at least three, well known charities in this town alone that service the homeless, indigent, and recovering addicts by supplying them with bicycle transportation. They have their own operations to rebuild, service and supply the rides to a LONG waiting list and are always in need of parts or full rides that they then rebuild and give out. I'm sure they would have jumped right in their truck and come down and grabbed the goodies, and been incredibly thankful for it! But instead, they just chuck it all to the curb! Just something VERY wrong with that! A bicycle is NOT an intricate mechanism with a short shelf life. it's not an outdated electronic, or wear worn automotive part. The only reasons, truly, to chuck a bike, is if the frame is damaged or in the rare case, its just so far gone, nothing can be salvaged. Yea, we do get them from time to time, but it's the hardest thing to bring ourselves to do. We'd rather take the time and parts to get it back on the road then to be scrapped, shipped to China, melted down and made into something else to ship back to us and sell at Wal-mart. Ooooo, was that a bit too nasty?
Enh.
ANYWAY!!
As I said, today is all about slapping palms and answering questions and general meet and greets. And, with nothing to work on, yet again (gotta wait until Monday to get the parts for the work we have had come in) going to putter.
SO, hope to see y'all soon!!
Here's dem goodies!
 |
| 20" 7 SPEED MTB!! ONLY $45.00!! |
 |
| UNCONVENTIONAL URBAN COMMUTER HYBRID!!! ONLY $145.00!! |
 |
| MEN'S 6 SPEED CRUISER!! ONLY $95.00!! |
OH! And available again! Just back in and cleaned up from a two week Vacation Plan are....
 |
| LIKE NEW 21 SPEED MTB!! ONLY $80.00!! |
 |
| CLASSIC PEUGEOT URBANO HYBRID!! ONLY $140.00!! |
Friday, May 15, 2015
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” _Heraclitus
The repetitive nature of Fate never ceases to amaze me! Little subtle coincidences, the perpetual, and all too familiar happenstance that never fails to occur. That of which I am speaking, in particular, is the inevitability of beginning one project only to be, invariably, inundated by others. Hence was my prediction yesterday, that when I began the most inane of tasks, something else would come across my bay!
We have, over the last few weeks, obtained a plethora of "used" tubes. Let me qualify that for a moment. We DO NOT resell tubes with patches, nor do we patch ourselves. They don't make good patches anymore (THANK'S a LOT Wal-Mart!) so we don't bother. No, any tubes from a tear down, are overinflated, then hung up. If after a few days, they go limp, we cut them into even strips and use them for handle bar wraps. Well, we had accumulated so many, that the bar we hung them from was bowing, and you had to duck to get out the back door. So as I had free time, I reflated all of them (about 80) and did the water test for each one. Submerging them in a bucket of water and slowly turning them, looking for air bubbles. Surprisingly, only four failed the test. Oh well, at least now I can wrap about a dozen bars!! It was at this point, after inflating all the tubes (and much to the chagrin of Suzanne, who has a REAL issue about having anything obstruct her passage through any particular area) blocking the small path around my bay. Well, at that point, the real work started to come in! Yep, sent the real sharp looking refurbed Triathlon bike to a new home. LOVE those kinds of departures. She came in, took one look, then a short three minute test drive, and didn't even bother to bring it back in when she came in and said "LOVE IT!!!" Cha-CHING! Then, it was three minor repairs back to back. Once those were finished I could refocus on the tubes! That's a heck of a lot of fun. Once they're tested, you have to roll and deflate them, then bag 'em up and label them. Took me all of MST3K "The Black Scorpion" and half of "The Projected Man" to get THAT done! Shortly before finishing, got in two more newbies! A real sharp looking Murray men's 18 speed, and a five speed cruiser. Finished up the Murray, which quickly left this morning with another one of the Spring Trainers over from Jay's Stadium. The cruiser is in my rack, which I ended up doing a flat black repaint on. Haven't decided if I'm staying stock or going Rat Rod. Love the old cantilever frames, they make for a sharp looking ride, but, as we have a custom already, may just stick to stock. Enh. The Muse will direct me! I took a break at that point from building, as the all too familiar twinge in the back of my throat forbore the onset of the creeping crud that has inflicted some of the family over the last week. Ugh! Took the last hour of the day to just hang out at the counter and bang away on the book. Finally got the story out of space and into Nazi Europe.
FINALLY found a prime tandem bike on Craigslist for the "truck" conversion we have an order for! YAY!! Hopefully, we'll have that one in soon so we can get to work on her! It's the perfect single speed, with only the single seat and chain stay in the back, so I can adapt it to a three speed rear...hopefully. As with the first one, never done one before, so it will be a learning experience!
Also, found a new home for the Raleigh 6 speed conversion, which will end up being converted...again. OK, this is an interesting one to say the least. Seems a gent, who somehow hooked up with Uncle Chippie, has decided he is going to undertake a 4500 mile, cross country trip. As laudable as that undertaking is (and I truly envy him the journey!) I don't think he has seriously thought the endeavor through, thoroughly. See, that kind of an endurance trip (especially when he has only allotted six weeks to do it in) is something that you really have to train for. Not to mention, you need to be adept at bicycle maintenance in order to survive! Trouble is, he has NO formal training, no working knowledge of repair...and he's not even a daily rider? His exposer to cycling has been primarily, on a stationary bicycle in a gym.
You see where my hesitation lies. No, I am NOT trying to doom this trip, really. I wish him all the best and we will be modifying the bike to survive the rigors of the estimated 100-120 miles a day he plans to ride, as much as one can, that is. We will also be trying, diligently, to get him to change a few of his plans , such as relying on his support driver to carry all necessary items in the car as opposed to the bike. It's great to have back up, but I seriously doubt he's going to be able to travel on a variety of different roads being followed, slowly, by a car with it's flashers on. More than likely, the driver will have to go on ahead each day, and wait for him. What happens if the inevitable flat happens and your cell phone is dead? Or any other multitude of flubs that may occur.
It's going to be interesting, to say the least!
On the Home front! OK, not holding my breath on this one, but Angela informs me, that pursuant to our discussions with Elijah, something has apparently set in, and he was nothing but helpful, courteous and considerate yesterday. No folks, not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but we have been here several times before and, sadly, the effort has not, historically, lasted. There is a difference between acting contrite and being so. As far as Kaleb is concerned, well, there is a time when the roadblocks of youthful wisdom (or lack thereof) become so insurmountable, you just have to back off and wait for the inevitable "crash". Here's another stubborn, pig headed "yute" (YEP! No prize if you get THAT ONE!) that is just going to have to find out on his own just how "right" Mom and Dad are! Although, quite frankly, if the "attitude" keeps up it may be "Wood Shed and 2X4 time" for that one!
ALLRIGHTY ROO!
I am going to get my keister in gear! Just heard that the tandem HAS been secured and is "On it's way here!!!" So, I'm going to get the cruiser rebuild out of the way to make some room! Have to hang it up, and stare at it awhile until how it will come together....comes to me! Heh. I am by NO stretch of the imagination...and engineer. In the word's of the immortal Indiana Jones "I'm making this up as I go!"
SEE YA!!
We have, over the last few weeks, obtained a plethora of "used" tubes. Let me qualify that for a moment. We DO NOT resell tubes with patches, nor do we patch ourselves. They don't make good patches anymore (THANK'S a LOT Wal-Mart!) so we don't bother. No, any tubes from a tear down, are overinflated, then hung up. If after a few days, they go limp, we cut them into even strips and use them for handle bar wraps. Well, we had accumulated so many, that the bar we hung them from was bowing, and you had to duck to get out the back door. So as I had free time, I reflated all of them (about 80) and did the water test for each one. Submerging them in a bucket of water and slowly turning them, looking for air bubbles. Surprisingly, only four failed the test. Oh well, at least now I can wrap about a dozen bars!! It was at this point, after inflating all the tubes (and much to the chagrin of Suzanne, who has a REAL issue about having anything obstruct her passage through any particular area) blocking the small path around my bay. Well, at that point, the real work started to come in! Yep, sent the real sharp looking refurbed Triathlon bike to a new home. LOVE those kinds of departures. She came in, took one look, then a short three minute test drive, and didn't even bother to bring it back in when she came in and said "LOVE IT!!!" Cha-CHING! Then, it was three minor repairs back to back. Once those were finished I could refocus on the tubes! That's a heck of a lot of fun. Once they're tested, you have to roll and deflate them, then bag 'em up and label them. Took me all of MST3K "The Black Scorpion" and half of "The Projected Man" to get THAT done! Shortly before finishing, got in two more newbies! A real sharp looking Murray men's 18 speed, and a five speed cruiser. Finished up the Murray, which quickly left this morning with another one of the Spring Trainers over from Jay's Stadium. The cruiser is in my rack, which I ended up doing a flat black repaint on. Haven't decided if I'm staying stock or going Rat Rod. Love the old cantilever frames, they make for a sharp looking ride, but, as we have a custom already, may just stick to stock. Enh. The Muse will direct me! I took a break at that point from building, as the all too familiar twinge in the back of my throat forbore the onset of the creeping crud that has inflicted some of the family over the last week. Ugh! Took the last hour of the day to just hang out at the counter and bang away on the book. Finally got the story out of space and into Nazi Europe.
FINALLY found a prime tandem bike on Craigslist for the "truck" conversion we have an order for! YAY!! Hopefully, we'll have that one in soon so we can get to work on her! It's the perfect single speed, with only the single seat and chain stay in the back, so I can adapt it to a three speed rear...hopefully. As with the first one, never done one before, so it will be a learning experience!
Also, found a new home for the Raleigh 6 speed conversion, which will end up being converted...again. OK, this is an interesting one to say the least. Seems a gent, who somehow hooked up with Uncle Chippie, has decided he is going to undertake a 4500 mile, cross country trip. As laudable as that undertaking is (and I truly envy him the journey!) I don't think he has seriously thought the endeavor through, thoroughly. See, that kind of an endurance trip (especially when he has only allotted six weeks to do it in) is something that you really have to train for. Not to mention, you need to be adept at bicycle maintenance in order to survive! Trouble is, he has NO formal training, no working knowledge of repair...and he's not even a daily rider? His exposer to cycling has been primarily, on a stationary bicycle in a gym.
You see where my hesitation lies. No, I am NOT trying to doom this trip, really. I wish him all the best and we will be modifying the bike to survive the rigors of the estimated 100-120 miles a day he plans to ride, as much as one can, that is. We will also be trying, diligently, to get him to change a few of his plans , such as relying on his support driver to carry all necessary items in the car as opposed to the bike. It's great to have back up, but I seriously doubt he's going to be able to travel on a variety of different roads being followed, slowly, by a car with it's flashers on. More than likely, the driver will have to go on ahead each day, and wait for him. What happens if the inevitable flat happens and your cell phone is dead? Or any other multitude of flubs that may occur.
It's going to be interesting, to say the least!
On the Home front! OK, not holding my breath on this one, but Angela informs me, that pursuant to our discussions with Elijah, something has apparently set in, and he was nothing but helpful, courteous and considerate yesterday. No folks, not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but we have been here several times before and, sadly, the effort has not, historically, lasted. There is a difference between acting contrite and being so. As far as Kaleb is concerned, well, there is a time when the roadblocks of youthful wisdom (or lack thereof) become so insurmountable, you just have to back off and wait for the inevitable "crash". Here's another stubborn, pig headed "yute" (YEP! No prize if you get THAT ONE!) that is just going to have to find out on his own just how "right" Mom and Dad are! Although, quite frankly, if the "attitude" keeps up it may be "Wood Shed and 2X4 time" for that one!
ALLRIGHTY ROO!
I am going to get my keister in gear! Just heard that the tandem HAS been secured and is "On it's way here!!!" So, I'm going to get the cruiser rebuild out of the way to make some room! Have to hang it up, and stare at it awhile until how it will come together....comes to me! Heh. I am by NO stretch of the imagination...and engineer. In the word's of the immortal Indiana Jones "I'm making this up as I go!"
SEE YA!!
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Stagnation Breeds Contempt.
Hmmm? Ok, I guess I don't have a good working theory of why we have occasional number spikes in our viewers, as apparently they have nothing to do with tag lines or key word searches! After my impromptu (and silly) experiment yesterday, the numbers this morning were rather usual.
"BACK TO FORMULA!"
Yesterday was a day of desperation, as I was desperately trying to find something to work on! ah-yuck-yuck! Tore down the other triathlon bike, did a nice black repaint on it, and a full assembly and upgraded the gearing and headset, neck and bars. Now, it sits idly awaiting a set of tires! Which, honestly I hate to do it that way. It never fails, do a full repaint, then leave it sitting in bone row until a needed part comes in, only increases it's chance of being knocked over by some witless clod, namely, me! Oh well, I just despise NOT having things to keep me busy!
I did manage to pound out another couple thousand words on the book, and will more then likely be returning to it today as LORD A GUMPSHIN' I gots nuttin' ta do!
Well, that aint totally right. I do have a wee bit of busy work, that regardless of whether or not I like to do it, it is so very nice to have a clean bay to work in and not be tripping over shi....stuff. And, not unlike lighting a cigarette while waiting on a bus, will make the bus come that much faster, getting involved in doing something else invariably brings in work! YAY! That's right! Keep thinking positive!
As you can guess, yesterday was rather slooooow, but we did manage to move out a few of the repairs that had been waiting, so it thankfully freed up some space. For what? I don't know, but we got SPACE!
ON THE HOMEFRONT.
enh. Aside from dealing with the teenage minds inability to grasp reality, it was rather quiet, thankfully! After getting everyone to bed, Angi and I had the rare privilege of being able to do nothing but veg in front of a movie. Captain America: the Winter Soldier. Angi's observation that she knew, after going to see Avengers: Age of Ultron (no...I'm not doing it again, so relax), it would be a Marvel movie fest for a little while, was right on the money! After that, it was pass out time, although she was pretty much gone towards the tail end, as she was a tad bit exhausted. Dealing with inconsiderate, lay about teenagers who have no compunction about taking what they want, and doing what they want out of a sense of entitlement, while having to fight your own base instincts to choke the living crud out of them, can be VERY draining!!
Alright, I'm going to try and "prime the pump" and get busy on something else, and hope for the best!
See ya soon!
"BACK TO FORMULA!"
Yesterday was a day of desperation, as I was desperately trying to find something to work on! ah-yuck-yuck! Tore down the other triathlon bike, did a nice black repaint on it, and a full assembly and upgraded the gearing and headset, neck and bars. Now, it sits idly awaiting a set of tires! Which, honestly I hate to do it that way. It never fails, do a full repaint, then leave it sitting in bone row until a needed part comes in, only increases it's chance of being knocked over by some witless clod, namely, me! Oh well, I just despise NOT having things to keep me busy!
I did manage to pound out another couple thousand words on the book, and will more then likely be returning to it today as LORD A GUMPSHIN' I gots nuttin' ta do!
Well, that aint totally right. I do have a wee bit of busy work, that regardless of whether or not I like to do it, it is so very nice to have a clean bay to work in and not be tripping over shi....stuff. And, not unlike lighting a cigarette while waiting on a bus, will make the bus come that much faster, getting involved in doing something else invariably brings in work! YAY! That's right! Keep thinking positive!
As you can guess, yesterday was rather slooooow, but we did manage to move out a few of the repairs that had been waiting, so it thankfully freed up some space. For what? I don't know, but we got SPACE!
ON THE HOMEFRONT.
enh. Aside from dealing with the teenage minds inability to grasp reality, it was rather quiet, thankfully! After getting everyone to bed, Angi and I had the rare privilege of being able to do nothing but veg in front of a movie. Captain America: the Winter Soldier. Angi's observation that she knew, after going to see Avengers: Age of Ultron (no...I'm not doing it again, so relax), it would be a Marvel movie fest for a little while, was right on the money! After that, it was pass out time, although she was pretty much gone towards the tail end, as she was a tad bit exhausted. Dealing with inconsiderate, lay about teenagers who have no compunction about taking what they want, and doing what they want out of a sense of entitlement, while having to fight your own base instincts to choke the living crud out of them, can be VERY draining!!
Alright, I'm going to try and "prime the pump" and get busy on something else, and hope for the best!
See ya soon!
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The (Avengers) Benefit (Ultron) Of (Joss Whedon) Google (Iron Man) Searches!
OK...
ahhh....
hmmm?
WHAT!?!
So..... strange goings on folks! I mention this NOT for the proposed idea some may accuse, that it is to do with my status as an egotistical Leo, but rather because I am, to say the least, perplexed!
Let me go back to the beginning. Yesterday I had mentioned the high views we had on the blog. Quiet frankly, I'm not sure it has as much to do with my winning personality, as it has to do with the fact that it was a movie review. Every time I mention a movie, our numbers spike, and that is probably due to the fact that when folks out in the Wide, Wide World of Web Google, say, "Avengers: Age of Ultron", they may get a link to us. Luck of the draw. See, if I want to attract more (Avengers) folks to our (Avengers) blog, I just (Avengers) mention the (Avengers) name Avengers (Avengers) a couple times, and the (Avengers) search will link them (Avengers) here.
(heh...now I wait and watch the numbers tomorrow. I'll let ya know!)
Anyway, as I was saying..um....what was I saying? ah yes...
I had mentioned the spike in views. So, recently, while going to post the Blog, a prompt came up asking if I wanted to link the Blog with my personal Google page. I have a Google Page? Yep, apparently! I had to kick start some neurons, but eventually remembered that ALL those years ago when we started this little venture (the Blog that is) I had to set up a Homepage. I did the basic info, no frills, tad bit of off beat humor, and got to the meat of the Blog, and never looked back!
Now, once I linked the two together, something strange happened. I started to get E-mails. Several. a LOT of Emails. And not junk, but questions, insights, opinions, comments etc. Nothing bad or negative, mind you, thankfully (I can't handle rejection! Special No-Prize for pointing out that movie ref.!) but they got me wondering as to where they all came from. One in particular, from an old friend of ours, Joey, happened to send me to my own Home Page to answer, and this was where it got REAL strange! On the page is a counter for how many views your page has had, and how many followers.
I REALY thought it was a typo!
3,212,584 views!?!?!
hunh?
I was convinced, however, that perhaps it was just indicative of how many folks are on the Web, and that wasn't an abnormal number. I have been assured, it's NOT normal. Yes, OK, say what you will about Ego, but honestly... I don't get it.
Still, incredulous, I thought I'd check this morning, perhaps the numbers would reboot. Nope, they went up almost another 1000?
Well, let me know what you like folks, and I'll do more of it!!
SO, alright, I'll get off my high horse, and back to business!
Yesterday, was all about newbies!
Oh wait, before I get into that and forget, have to send out a Hearty CONGRATS to Kasi! She brought in her newly purchased Specialized Hard Rock for a tire swap (making the smart move to a thinner set of road tires) and she FOUND STRIPE!!! Yes sir and/or Madame, she got her savings of $7.50 for locating the little bugger! Unfortunately, being spotted, he did the cowardly thing and hid in a different spot, so we still need help finding the Gremlin! Spot him, and get your own 10% off!
OK, put out three new ones yesterday. First was a refurbed 21 speed Triathlon ride, next was a LIKE NEW 18 speed Dual Shock MTB "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" very sweet. And the third is a REAL gem! Garage kept, hardly rode, and by that, I mean it was a gift. The gent who brought it in, had inherited it from HIS dad, who got it from his granddaughter when he was 74. He, had not ridden it much, as he sighted the fact it was too light. Don't scoff, I can agree with that sentiment. I ride a 77 Schwinn Tank because I like the feel and stability of a heavy bike under me. In the end we got an ultra sweet Marin Stinson, lightweight, triple butted cro-moly framed, BIG BOY hybrid!! This thing is GORGEOUS!!! Check them out below!
On the docket today, we have a couple more road bikes I'll be tinkering with, although I am not set up with tires right now *sad face*! Our supplier is out for the week, so we are up $#!+ creek without a poodle. At the very least, I can get them ready for tires and hope for the best!
On the Home Front.
Oh boy....
Angi, is, in a word, frustrated. The rippling effects of my unfortunate intervention, are clearly being felt. The boys, contrary from what I am TRYING to get them to understand, are still harboring the impression that they have divided the opposition, and doubly troublesome, is they are not too far off. Angela is justifiably upset, that my actions of Saturday have stymied what she was attempting to accomplish, and that is to get the boys to realize their aint no free rides in life, and too not grow into being "users". I have some fences to mend, and really need to toughen my skin when it comes to these two. She is very correct in her assertions that their examples ARE being witnessed by the other children, and it won't be too long, if this continues, before they are going to start questioning why THEY have to tow the line, if their brothers don't! Sometimes my foresight is only achieved through Hindsight! I really wish life came with a rewind button! Well, it's going to be an interesting next few days, I'm sure!
SO, with that thought neatly tucked away, I am going to get busy with work!
Hope to see y'all soon!!
ahhh....
hmmm?
WHAT!?!
So..... strange goings on folks! I mention this NOT for the proposed idea some may accuse, that it is to do with my status as an egotistical Leo, but rather because I am, to say the least, perplexed!
Let me go back to the beginning. Yesterday I had mentioned the high views we had on the blog. Quiet frankly, I'm not sure it has as much to do with my winning personality, as it has to do with the fact that it was a movie review. Every time I mention a movie, our numbers spike, and that is probably due to the fact that when folks out in the Wide, Wide World of Web Google, say, "Avengers: Age of Ultron", they may get a link to us. Luck of the draw. See, if I want to attract more (Avengers) folks to our (Avengers) blog, I just (Avengers) mention the (Avengers) name Avengers (Avengers) a couple times, and the (Avengers) search will link them (Avengers) here.
(heh...now I wait and watch the numbers tomorrow. I'll let ya know!)
Anyway, as I was saying..um....what was I saying? ah yes...
I had mentioned the spike in views. So, recently, while going to post the Blog, a prompt came up asking if I wanted to link the Blog with my personal Google page. I have a Google Page? Yep, apparently! I had to kick start some neurons, but eventually remembered that ALL those years ago when we started this little venture (the Blog that is) I had to set up a Homepage. I did the basic info, no frills, tad bit of off beat humor, and got to the meat of the Blog, and never looked back!
Now, once I linked the two together, something strange happened. I started to get E-mails. Several. a LOT of Emails. And not junk, but questions, insights, opinions, comments etc. Nothing bad or negative, mind you, thankfully (I can't handle rejection! Special No-Prize for pointing out that movie ref.!) but they got me wondering as to where they all came from. One in particular, from an old friend of ours, Joey, happened to send me to my own Home Page to answer, and this was where it got REAL strange! On the page is a counter for how many views your page has had, and how many followers.
I REALY thought it was a typo!
3,212,584 views!?!?!
hunh?
I was convinced, however, that perhaps it was just indicative of how many folks are on the Web, and that wasn't an abnormal number. I have been assured, it's NOT normal. Yes, OK, say what you will about Ego, but honestly... I don't get it.
Still, incredulous, I thought I'd check this morning, perhaps the numbers would reboot. Nope, they went up almost another 1000?
Well, let me know what you like folks, and I'll do more of it!!
SO, alright, I'll get off my high horse, and back to business!
Yesterday, was all about newbies!
Oh wait, before I get into that and forget, have to send out a Hearty CONGRATS to Kasi! She brought in her newly purchased Specialized Hard Rock for a tire swap (making the smart move to a thinner set of road tires) and she FOUND STRIPE!!! Yes sir and/or Madame, she got her savings of $7.50 for locating the little bugger! Unfortunately, being spotted, he did the cowardly thing and hid in a different spot, so we still need help finding the Gremlin! Spot him, and get your own 10% off!
OK, put out three new ones yesterday. First was a refurbed 21 speed Triathlon ride, next was a LIKE NEW 18 speed Dual Shock MTB "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" very sweet. And the third is a REAL gem! Garage kept, hardly rode, and by that, I mean it was a gift. The gent who brought it in, had inherited it from HIS dad, who got it from his granddaughter when he was 74. He, had not ridden it much, as he sighted the fact it was too light. Don't scoff, I can agree with that sentiment. I ride a 77 Schwinn Tank because I like the feel and stability of a heavy bike under me. In the end we got an ultra sweet Marin Stinson, lightweight, triple butted cro-moly framed, BIG BOY hybrid!! This thing is GORGEOUS!!! Check them out below!
On the docket today, we have a couple more road bikes I'll be tinkering with, although I am not set up with tires right now *sad face*! Our supplier is out for the week, so we are up $#!+ creek without a poodle. At the very least, I can get them ready for tires and hope for the best!
On the Home Front.
Oh boy....
Angi, is, in a word, frustrated. The rippling effects of my unfortunate intervention, are clearly being felt. The boys, contrary from what I am TRYING to get them to understand, are still harboring the impression that they have divided the opposition, and doubly troublesome, is they are not too far off. Angela is justifiably upset, that my actions of Saturday have stymied what she was attempting to accomplish, and that is to get the boys to realize their aint no free rides in life, and too not grow into being "users". I have some fences to mend, and really need to toughen my skin when it comes to these two. She is very correct in her assertions that their examples ARE being witnessed by the other children, and it won't be too long, if this continues, before they are going to start questioning why THEY have to tow the line, if their brothers don't! Sometimes my foresight is only achieved through Hindsight! I really wish life came with a rewind button! Well, it's going to be an interesting next few days, I'm sure!
SO, with that thought neatly tucked away, I am going to get busy with work!
Hope to see y'all soon!!
 |
| 26" DUAL SHOCK MTB!! ONLY $95.00!! |
 |
| CLASSIC MARIN BIG BOY HYBRID!! ONLY $190.00!! |
 |
| 21 SPEED TRIATHLON!! ONLY $130.00!!! |
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
"The only bad day you'll ever really have, is the one where you don't wake up!"
Well that was a heck of a welcome this morning when I opened up the blog!! Our number of views was way low on Sunday, as too be expected on Mom's day, but peeking in this am, seems our weekend folks were "catching up"! 734 views today! And it's not even 9.30 am!! WOOF! And congrats to the Ukraine for being Top Billing on the International market! Tripple the views of the next highest, Russia! NICE!! Hmmmm. I mean, if this blog shows their shared interests, maybe things aren't so bleak. We're all flesh and blood and four base pairs...everything else is just useless window dressing! To quote Cher "SNAP OUT OF IT!"
ANYWAY!!! That's about as political as I get.
On to the "lighter side" and some "Deep Thought's with Jack Handy"
No, not really, I just think it's a hilarious thing to occasionally slip in some obscure, random reference for no particular reason.
So, yesterday...almost took a nap after lunch. SHEESH! Once again, running out of things to do, and waiting on the clear coat to dry on the refurb for the gents Schwinn. Were it not for the arrival of some newbies, I'd probably had dozed off! Not that we didn't have our share of visitors, and we did send home two newbies. One young lady saw us on Offer Up and came in to grab the ladies 26" DBS we had. She was very nice, and complimentary about all the "good things" she heard about us in her research! SWEET! Seems we're doing something right! Speaking of Offer Up, it's another good way to get our name out there, but given the brevity of the format, I don't think the folks looking on there have a clue about what we do and how we do it. I'm not against folks getting a bargain, oh Nay Nay! I'm as much a negotiator as the next person, but the majority of the time, they counter offer for, like, less then half of what we list them for, obviously thinking that the bikes are just "used". I then explain what they are and how we do it, and that the word "used" doesn't apply. Used denotes potential "mechanical" issues that would not normally be addressed. I go on to explain that we completely disassemble the bike, clean, replace or repair parts and when all is said and done (with no hint of modesty or humility) they come out "better" than new. Most, get it. Then there are those who go the other end of the spectrum and fall into the false belief that "berating" is the key. Sorry, petty here. but it's those scant few folk I do SO enjoy proving wrong. Case in point was the Mongoose Massif we had in here yesterday. Less then a month old, never rode, PERFECT condition, it originally sold for $200.00. We were asking $125.00 and got a LOT of inquiries from Offer Up, and the offers ranged from $50.00 to $90.00. As I had just listed it on Craigslist that morning, I thanked them for their offers but stated I'd wait a day or too to see how it went. One of the gents offering $90.00 proceeded to tell me (via text) that there was NO way I'd get that much, and that I was better off taking the 90. Again, I thanked him, but stated that as this bike was new to us, I wanted to test the waters. What proceeded was a string of texts, bordering on vitriol about how unreasonable we were, unrealistic and that we needed to sell it to him for the amount that he offered, because we didn't list the price as "firm" therefore we needed to except his offer??? UM, I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the attention, but I don't think that's how it works. I was very gratified, however, that while attempting, in futility, to get him to understand our lack of obligation, another gent came in to the shop, originally to buy a couple parts. but his young son saw the bike. He had seen it the day before at Walmart, and loved it, but Dad didn't want to shell out the $200.00, However, in his words, $125.00 was a hell of a deal, and then shortly thereafter, left with a very happy young man!
I spared not a second in informing the other gent, that the discussion was unnecessary, as the bike was just sold. I won't repeat what his response was, but suffice to say, he had "REALLY" wanted the bike, and we had no right to "sell it out from underneath him"?
OY! Sometimes, I really cannot comprehend how someone can go through life THAT wound up, to the point of poopin' out diamonds! (I'll give you a second to think about that one).
ANYWHO!!
As I said (or I think I did) in the tail end of the day, pumped out two newbies. One is a real sweet looking Men's 26" DBS in the form of a clean 18 speed MTB. The other, is another DBS, this one's a ladies. Unfortunately, the paint aint all that pretty, but mechanically is as sound as a pound (um...does that saying even apply anymore since they use Euro's?) so check them out below!!
OK! On to the home front! Enh. I'm a little bit in the doghouse folks. My biggest weakness in life is my family. Trouble is, when there is strife within the family, I sometimes make the mistake of trying to play the peacemaker, and inadvertently (even though I SHOULD know better by now) step into the middle of things. Now when it's between two or more children, not a problem. But when it's between Angela and the children....uh....oh!
Such was the case Saturday night. Breaking it down to it's most base of components, there was an altercation between Elijah and Kaleb, and Angi, having already warned Elijah to "keep the peace and be respectful" so MANY, MANY times, had had enough, and told him to leave.
Here's where I screwed up....I stepped in the middle and gently put the kibosh on it, and lectured Elijah, which of course, then backfired in the sense that he now has the impression that I "Have his back"
*thud*
Never my intention, just hoping he would get the point of just HOW close he came to being homeless, but instead took it to mean he didn't have to listen to Mom. Now, Angela is being very begrudgingly understanding about my motives, but also has a wee bit of fatalism about the whole living situation now, justifiably upset that I nullified her control. Truth is, I really think I have only bought him a few days, because if he doesn't get his head out of his butt, and realize that the only thing Angela and I are looking for is respect, decency and appreciation and a resounding desire for him (and by extension Kaleb) to actually DO something with their lives other then lay on the couch and play video games, he's going to end up being another one hanging out at the library all day!!
Yep. At this point, it's either monumental change, or the soup kitchen.
SO, welcome to my world, mind your head and stay alert for falling objects!
OKEY DOKEY!
Now, I need to get a move on, and try and build me some more bikes!
See ya!!
ANYWAY!!! That's about as political as I get.
On to the "lighter side" and some "Deep Thought's with Jack Handy"
No, not really, I just think it's a hilarious thing to occasionally slip in some obscure, random reference for no particular reason.
So, yesterday...almost took a nap after lunch. SHEESH! Once again, running out of things to do, and waiting on the clear coat to dry on the refurb for the gents Schwinn. Were it not for the arrival of some newbies, I'd probably had dozed off! Not that we didn't have our share of visitors, and we did send home two newbies. One young lady saw us on Offer Up and came in to grab the ladies 26" DBS we had. She was very nice, and complimentary about all the "good things" she heard about us in her research! SWEET! Seems we're doing something right! Speaking of Offer Up, it's another good way to get our name out there, but given the brevity of the format, I don't think the folks looking on there have a clue about what we do and how we do it. I'm not against folks getting a bargain, oh Nay Nay! I'm as much a negotiator as the next person, but the majority of the time, they counter offer for, like, less then half of what we list them for, obviously thinking that the bikes are just "used". I then explain what they are and how we do it, and that the word "used" doesn't apply. Used denotes potential "mechanical" issues that would not normally be addressed. I go on to explain that we completely disassemble the bike, clean, replace or repair parts and when all is said and done (with no hint of modesty or humility) they come out "better" than new. Most, get it. Then there are those who go the other end of the spectrum and fall into the false belief that "berating" is the key. Sorry, petty here. but it's those scant few folk I do SO enjoy proving wrong. Case in point was the Mongoose Massif we had in here yesterday. Less then a month old, never rode, PERFECT condition, it originally sold for $200.00. We were asking $125.00 and got a LOT of inquiries from Offer Up, and the offers ranged from $50.00 to $90.00. As I had just listed it on Craigslist that morning, I thanked them for their offers but stated I'd wait a day or too to see how it went. One of the gents offering $90.00 proceeded to tell me (via text) that there was NO way I'd get that much, and that I was better off taking the 90. Again, I thanked him, but stated that as this bike was new to us, I wanted to test the waters. What proceeded was a string of texts, bordering on vitriol about how unreasonable we were, unrealistic and that we needed to sell it to him for the amount that he offered, because we didn't list the price as "firm" therefore we needed to except his offer??? UM, I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the attention, but I don't think that's how it works. I was very gratified, however, that while attempting, in futility, to get him to understand our lack of obligation, another gent came in to the shop, originally to buy a couple parts. but his young son saw the bike. He had seen it the day before at Walmart, and loved it, but Dad didn't want to shell out the $200.00, However, in his words, $125.00 was a hell of a deal, and then shortly thereafter, left with a very happy young man!
I spared not a second in informing the other gent, that the discussion was unnecessary, as the bike was just sold. I won't repeat what his response was, but suffice to say, he had "REALLY" wanted the bike, and we had no right to "sell it out from underneath him"?
OY! Sometimes, I really cannot comprehend how someone can go through life THAT wound up, to the point of poopin' out diamonds! (I'll give you a second to think about that one).
ANYWHO!!
As I said (or I think I did) in the tail end of the day, pumped out two newbies. One is a real sweet looking Men's 26" DBS in the form of a clean 18 speed MTB. The other, is another DBS, this one's a ladies. Unfortunately, the paint aint all that pretty, but mechanically is as sound as a pound (um...does that saying even apply anymore since they use Euro's?) so check them out below!!
OK! On to the home front! Enh. I'm a little bit in the doghouse folks. My biggest weakness in life is my family. Trouble is, when there is strife within the family, I sometimes make the mistake of trying to play the peacemaker, and inadvertently (even though I SHOULD know better by now) step into the middle of things. Now when it's between two or more children, not a problem. But when it's between Angela and the children....uh....oh!
Such was the case Saturday night. Breaking it down to it's most base of components, there was an altercation between Elijah and Kaleb, and Angi, having already warned Elijah to "keep the peace and be respectful" so MANY, MANY times, had had enough, and told him to leave.
Here's where I screwed up....I stepped in the middle and gently put the kibosh on it, and lectured Elijah, which of course, then backfired in the sense that he now has the impression that I "Have his back"
*thud*
Never my intention, just hoping he would get the point of just HOW close he came to being homeless, but instead took it to mean he didn't have to listen to Mom. Now, Angela is being very begrudgingly understanding about my motives, but also has a wee bit of fatalism about the whole living situation now, justifiably upset that I nullified her control. Truth is, I really think I have only bought him a few days, because if he doesn't get his head out of his butt, and realize that the only thing Angela and I are looking for is respect, decency and appreciation and a resounding desire for him (and by extension Kaleb) to actually DO something with their lives other then lay on the couch and play video games, he's going to end up being another one hanging out at the library all day!!
Yep. At this point, it's either monumental change, or the soup kitchen.
SO, welcome to my world, mind your head and stay alert for falling objects!
OKEY DOKEY!
Now, I need to get a move on, and try and build me some more bikes!
See ya!!
 |
| MEN'S 26" "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!' ONLY $80.00!! |
 |
| LADIES 26" DUAL SHOCK "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!!" ONLY $65.00!! |
Monday, May 11, 2015
Oh...Mr Whedon...It Took YOU to TRULY bring Comic Books To Life!!
Well, one of two things has finally happened. Either senility has kicked in full gear, or movies have reached a point of technological advancement, that their energy has become SO frenetic, that the mind is incapable of processing all it sees!
Yesterday, being Mothers Day, I decided to give Angi the BEST Mothers day gift that one could ever get! A day out WITHOUT the kids! Yep, we headed out mid afternoon, to wander the Mall, have lunch and then go see a movie of her choice. Now, either she is becoming as big a Fan Boy as me, or she was just rewarding me for my efforts, but she choose Avengers: Age of Ultron!
In a word...
ABSOFREAKINGEPICTASTIC!!
Only problem is... it might have been just a little TOO epic! I can't remember everything we saw! Seriously. I pride myself on having a mind quiet adept at retaining trivial knowledge, movies being right up there in the foremost part of my brain, but when we left the theatre...we were exhausted! Perhaps it was the amount of story they crammed into this film, the eye popping special effect, or the overflowing chalice of Fanboy nectar containing a plethora of Easter Eggs and "must see's" of Fandom delight, but for the life of me, I only retained a few bit's and pieces of the most memorable of moments, as no sooner were you squealing with delight over the ideal "Comic Book" moment within the Marvel Pantheon come to life on screen, you were immediately thrust into one after another! Even the few brief moments of "story moving" dialog or character development was not enough time to overcome the INCREDIBLE scene you had witnessed scant minuets before! SPOILER ALERTS!!! Things like, the Hulk, under the perception altering spell of the Scarlet Witch, goes primal and attacks South Africa, compelling Iron Man to deploy Veronica! Veronica, is an orbital satellite containing a remote operated "Hulk Buster" suit of armor (HUGE!) that conjoins with Tony Stark and a ten minute, land shaking, building leveling battle of ENORMOUS proportion ensues, all wonderfully infused with Whedoneaque humor, that caused you to explode with laughter (it's going to be a somewhat emptier franchise without Robert Downey in the suit!) but then goes right to another point of extreme action. The creation of "the Vision" was of equal significance, as was the moment (that NO ONE else in the audience seemed to appreciate) when The Vision rescued the Scarlet Witch, and there was a palpable moment of admiration between the two of them! This was SOOO important, as anyone in tuned with the Comic Book Avengers knows...that they end up getting married and having children! Yes, he's an android...but...well...it would take a LONG time to explain her "powers of probability" and resultant "hex" powers that made having his children possible but if you're inclined just "Marvelpedia" it. Oh the list goes on and on and on!!! I will mention, however, that James Spader as Ultron was INCREDIBLE! Motion capture HAD to have been employed, because no computer animator could have conveyed SO effectively the nuances of that fine actors expressions! PRICELESS!! Not to mention his maculate dry, sarcastic wit! The scene where the Hulk, pursuing the fleeing Ultron in the stolen avengers Quinjet, burst through the back of it and all you hear is Ultron saying, quite sarcastically, "Oh for GOD'S sake!" LOVED IT!!!
Angi and I have already decreed we HAVE to go see it again, as there was just so, bloody much going on!! Not to mention, when the majority of the main characters were under the Scarlet Witches spells, they all had visions. You saw Black Widows past, Captain America's unresolved past, and Thor's future. Now here...enh. I don't think they really needed to cram an already overflowing script with "a coming features" but clearly they were setting up a taste of the next Thor movie "Ragnarok" or, the Norse God's "Armageddon" As when later in the film, Thor supplies the energy to help create the Vision because of a "Vision" he had? I don't remember seeing that when he saw what he saw. Kind of lost me there. In the end, yes, these movies are all about "bang for your buck" and I don't have a problem with that, but my advice to the creators for the next go around...slow down, just a tad. Give the audience a moment to catch their breath! Oh, and speaking of audience, NO problems this time around, with annoyed patrons berating our excitement, applause or guffaws! As a matter of fact, the couple sitting next to us, who happened to be down on vacation from Europe, assured Angela at the end of the film, when she playfully apologized to them if we had been to loud during the viewing, that it was no trouble and in fact, made it more enjoyable as they appreciated sitting with folks as big a fans as they!
That's nice!
Well, I can see by the clock on the computer, I have overstayed my welcome, and best get back to the work at hand, and that's bikes. Saturday, was steady, and we got to do the traditional Saturday gab fests with many a folk! Sent a few to new homes, and did a bang up bit of repairs. Manage to put out two but can really only take credit for refurbing one of them, as the 20" Mongoose Massif you'll see below, came in, in EXTREME pristine condition as it's less then a month old! Unwanted Birthday present! Check 'em out below!
All right, with that, the next wave of repairs has come in, which I have to jump on, as the Schwinn refurb is half way through paint and I gotta git another coat on that, before I can get started!
See y'all soon!
EXCELLSIOR!!!
Yesterday, being Mothers Day, I decided to give Angi the BEST Mothers day gift that one could ever get! A day out WITHOUT the kids! Yep, we headed out mid afternoon, to wander the Mall, have lunch and then go see a movie of her choice. Now, either she is becoming as big a Fan Boy as me, or she was just rewarding me for my efforts, but she choose Avengers: Age of Ultron!
In a word...
ABSOFREAKINGEPICTASTIC!!
Only problem is... it might have been just a little TOO epic! I can't remember everything we saw! Seriously. I pride myself on having a mind quiet adept at retaining trivial knowledge, movies being right up there in the foremost part of my brain, but when we left the theatre...we were exhausted! Perhaps it was the amount of story they crammed into this film, the eye popping special effect, or the overflowing chalice of Fanboy nectar containing a plethora of Easter Eggs and "must see's" of Fandom delight, but for the life of me, I only retained a few bit's and pieces of the most memorable of moments, as no sooner were you squealing with delight over the ideal "Comic Book" moment within the Marvel Pantheon come to life on screen, you were immediately thrust into one after another! Even the few brief moments of "story moving" dialog or character development was not enough time to overcome the INCREDIBLE scene you had witnessed scant minuets before! SPOILER ALERTS!!! Things like, the Hulk, under the perception altering spell of the Scarlet Witch, goes primal and attacks South Africa, compelling Iron Man to deploy Veronica! Veronica, is an orbital satellite containing a remote operated "Hulk Buster" suit of armor (HUGE!) that conjoins with Tony Stark and a ten minute, land shaking, building leveling battle of ENORMOUS proportion ensues, all wonderfully infused with Whedoneaque humor, that caused you to explode with laughter (it's going to be a somewhat emptier franchise without Robert Downey in the suit!) but then goes right to another point of extreme action. The creation of "the Vision" was of equal significance, as was the moment (that NO ONE else in the audience seemed to appreciate) when The Vision rescued the Scarlet Witch, and there was a palpable moment of admiration between the two of them! This was SOOO important, as anyone in tuned with the Comic Book Avengers knows...that they end up getting married and having children! Yes, he's an android...but...well...it would take a LONG time to explain her "powers of probability" and resultant "hex" powers that made having his children possible but if you're inclined just "Marvelpedia" it. Oh the list goes on and on and on!!! I will mention, however, that James Spader as Ultron was INCREDIBLE! Motion capture HAD to have been employed, because no computer animator could have conveyed SO effectively the nuances of that fine actors expressions! PRICELESS!! Not to mention his maculate dry, sarcastic wit! The scene where the Hulk, pursuing the fleeing Ultron in the stolen avengers Quinjet, burst through the back of it and all you hear is Ultron saying, quite sarcastically, "Oh for GOD'S sake!" LOVED IT!!!
Angi and I have already decreed we HAVE to go see it again, as there was just so, bloody much going on!! Not to mention, when the majority of the main characters were under the Scarlet Witches spells, they all had visions. You saw Black Widows past, Captain America's unresolved past, and Thor's future. Now here...enh. I don't think they really needed to cram an already overflowing script with "a coming features" but clearly they were setting up a taste of the next Thor movie "Ragnarok" or, the Norse God's "Armageddon" As when later in the film, Thor supplies the energy to help create the Vision because of a "Vision" he had? I don't remember seeing that when he saw what he saw. Kind of lost me there. In the end, yes, these movies are all about "bang for your buck" and I don't have a problem with that, but my advice to the creators for the next go around...slow down, just a tad. Give the audience a moment to catch their breath! Oh, and speaking of audience, NO problems this time around, with annoyed patrons berating our excitement, applause or guffaws! As a matter of fact, the couple sitting next to us, who happened to be down on vacation from Europe, assured Angela at the end of the film, when she playfully apologized to them if we had been to loud during the viewing, that it was no trouble and in fact, made it more enjoyable as they appreciated sitting with folks as big a fans as they!
That's nice!
Well, I can see by the clock on the computer, I have overstayed my welcome, and best get back to the work at hand, and that's bikes. Saturday, was steady, and we got to do the traditional Saturday gab fests with many a folk! Sent a few to new homes, and did a bang up bit of repairs. Manage to put out two but can really only take credit for refurbing one of them, as the 20" Mongoose Massif you'll see below, came in, in EXTREME pristine condition as it's less then a month old! Unwanted Birthday present! Check 'em out below!
All right, with that, the next wave of repairs has come in, which I have to jump on, as the Schwinn refurb is half way through paint and I gotta git another coat on that, before I can get started!
See y'all soon!
EXCELLSIOR!!!
 |
| 20" 7 SPEED, MONGOOSE MASSIF!! ONLY $125.00!! |
 |
| 26" "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!! DUAL SHOCK MTB!! ONLY $80.00!! |
Saturday, May 9, 2015
"There will always be people in life who treat you wrong. Be sure you thank them for making you strong._Angela Bininger
Before I get into the specifics about yesterday, I wanted to take a moment and exclaim that in a small way, my conviction that humanity is, basically, good was reinforced yesterday afternoon.
See, a few days back Angi was the brunt of an altercation with a VERY disgruntled neighbor. Mind you, what made it all the more (for a lack of a better word) infuriating, was the fact that this "persons" problems, in no way involved or were caused by our family. See, recently, our neighborhood, that has always been quiet and pleasant, has been infiltrated by "outside" elements, and seen a rash of break in's of cars, items being pilfered from porches and decks, from yards and sheds, and I heard at one point, a house at the bottom of the hill was broken into. Now, apparently, when this particular individual was visiting relatives that live a few doors down, his car was broken into in the wee hours of the early morning and had money stolen from him. At this point, all the information I have is second hand, as the two times he returned to our home, threatening Angi and the kids, I was not there. Seem's he got it into his head, that because ours is the only house in the neighborhood with teenage boy's, they must have been the one's to do it! He was not specific about when it was done, other than to say around 3 am in the morning, but that alone would preclude Kaleb (who he was inferring was responsible) as any attempt to leave the house after Mom and Dad go to bed is impossible. Key entry doors (with the only key secure in Mom and Dad's room), and locked windows. Not to mention the fact that Kaleb has been laid up all week with a VERY bad case of bronchitis and the flu! Suprisingly, through it all, angi way laid her "Irish" and attempted to calm the situation, and let him know, in NO uncertain terms, if he had PROOF that any of our boys were involved that WE would deliver them to the police. On the other hand, I completely stepped out of characture, as I am normally the diplomatic one, and upon hearing that this person threatened not only Angela but the kids as well, made me bite down hard and, tasting blood, and VERY much wanting to seek good old fashion "street justice". Again, it was angela who calmed me, and begged me NOT to escalate things. Trust me, it was VERY hard NOT to find him, eviscerate him and hang him from the tree in our front yard by his own intestines (and yes, that IS possible...very painful, but possible!) as a good old fashion warning NOT to mess with our family.
BUT....I didn't. Angi was, of course, correct. You can NOT thwart stupidity with MORE stupidity. Of course, situations like this, as uncommon as they may be, really let you know the lengths your children will go to protect their family, as during the altercation, angela had to subdue Owen, who himself attempted to attack the man, and Elijah (who was NOT there as well) had to be secured in the same fashion as me, as he sought the same retribution. Even Kaleb, in the throes of his sickness, made his presence known.
Well, to make a long story short, after two days of the boys and I being on high alert, Angela informed me that yesterday afternoon, the man returned, but this time, rather humble and contrite. He came to apologize, profusely, for what he had discovered was a grave, false acusation, and that in fact our boys had nothing to do with the break in. Vindicated, Angi stated she already knew that. What information he had obtained, clearing the boys, he never said, but I think Angela's summation that it was an "inside" job within his OWN family, may be right on the money! Sad part is, had he just approached us civilly, and spoke with me, I could have given him pictures of the most likely suspects, as a neighbor and friend up the street from us, recently had his porch raided. In an attempt to trap the thieves, he bated the porch and waited up all evening, until again, in the early am, they came back. He cornered them, and took very clear pictures of them. Now, at this point, I neither condone or condemn his actions, but I can only wonder what reasoning he has for NOT relinquishing the pictures to the police. However, I do believe his sense of Street Justice, surpasses my own.
ANYWHO!
That all behind us, we can redirect our attentions, once again to more important matters!
Yesterday, was another odd bird! First thing in the am we got in a slew of repairs, but the majority were minor tweaks, not taking more then a few minuets each. The fine gent with the Schwinn Road bike came by, and she is going to be a peach when we finish her up! After that, though, I only had one remaining kiddo bike to do, which gave my hands about an hour of activity, then it was on to processing wheels and parts sorting. yay. It wasn't until a little after six pm, that I got a jumpin' again! Had a donation of a promising DBS that I jumped right on! While doing that, got a visit from a very nice young lady and her Dad, both displaced Yankees from my neck of the woods! ALWAYS nice to chat with folks from the 'hood! Only bad part is, each time I have to dwell a bit in home sickness! She'd been looking for a hybrid to fit her diminutive frame, but had little luck. Out of what we had left, I pointed her to the Specialized Hard Rock (with the promise of an upgrade to road tires) and she felt it worked for her perfectly. I do appreciate that the Blog brought them in, but she didn't look hard enough for "Stripe". Sadly mam, you were very close to him, just didn't realize it! No hints though, that's the rule! Well, anyway, hope you enjoy the ride, and the tires will be in next week! Then, we had a visit from one of our longer running regulars we had not seen for sometimes, but he ended up snagging up the Fuji road bike, bringing his grand total of acquisitions from us, to seven. This man changes bikes more often than I do, shoes! Now THAT'S an enthusiast!
Today, aside from finishing up the new DBS....enh. I got nothin'! Hope the day brings more goodies! I really don't want to have to start reorganizing wheels again!!
OKEY DOKEY!
So as to not promote atrophy in my gluteus maximus, I best get motivated!
See, a few days back Angi was the brunt of an altercation with a VERY disgruntled neighbor. Mind you, what made it all the more (for a lack of a better word) infuriating, was the fact that this "persons" problems, in no way involved or were caused by our family. See, recently, our neighborhood, that has always been quiet and pleasant, has been infiltrated by "outside" elements, and seen a rash of break in's of cars, items being pilfered from porches and decks, from yards and sheds, and I heard at one point, a house at the bottom of the hill was broken into. Now, apparently, when this particular individual was visiting relatives that live a few doors down, his car was broken into in the wee hours of the early morning and had money stolen from him. At this point, all the information I have is second hand, as the two times he returned to our home, threatening Angi and the kids, I was not there. Seem's he got it into his head, that because ours is the only house in the neighborhood with teenage boy's, they must have been the one's to do it! He was not specific about when it was done, other than to say around 3 am in the morning, but that alone would preclude Kaleb (who he was inferring was responsible) as any attempt to leave the house after Mom and Dad go to bed is impossible. Key entry doors (with the only key secure in Mom and Dad's room), and locked windows. Not to mention the fact that Kaleb has been laid up all week with a VERY bad case of bronchitis and the flu! Suprisingly, through it all, angi way laid her "Irish" and attempted to calm the situation, and let him know, in NO uncertain terms, if he had PROOF that any of our boys were involved that WE would deliver them to the police. On the other hand, I completely stepped out of characture, as I am normally the diplomatic one, and upon hearing that this person threatened not only Angela but the kids as well, made me bite down hard and, tasting blood, and VERY much wanting to seek good old fashion "street justice". Again, it was angela who calmed me, and begged me NOT to escalate things. Trust me, it was VERY hard NOT to find him, eviscerate him and hang him from the tree in our front yard by his own intestines (and yes, that IS possible...very painful, but possible!) as a good old fashion warning NOT to mess with our family.
BUT....I didn't. Angi was, of course, correct. You can NOT thwart stupidity with MORE stupidity. Of course, situations like this, as uncommon as they may be, really let you know the lengths your children will go to protect their family, as during the altercation, angela had to subdue Owen, who himself attempted to attack the man, and Elijah (who was NOT there as well) had to be secured in the same fashion as me, as he sought the same retribution. Even Kaleb, in the throes of his sickness, made his presence known.
Well, to make a long story short, after two days of the boys and I being on high alert, Angela informed me that yesterday afternoon, the man returned, but this time, rather humble and contrite. He came to apologize, profusely, for what he had discovered was a grave, false acusation, and that in fact our boys had nothing to do with the break in. Vindicated, Angi stated she already knew that. What information he had obtained, clearing the boys, he never said, but I think Angela's summation that it was an "inside" job within his OWN family, may be right on the money! Sad part is, had he just approached us civilly, and spoke with me, I could have given him pictures of the most likely suspects, as a neighbor and friend up the street from us, recently had his porch raided. In an attempt to trap the thieves, he bated the porch and waited up all evening, until again, in the early am, they came back. He cornered them, and took very clear pictures of them. Now, at this point, I neither condone or condemn his actions, but I can only wonder what reasoning he has for NOT relinquishing the pictures to the police. However, I do believe his sense of Street Justice, surpasses my own.
ANYWHO!
That all behind us, we can redirect our attentions, once again to more important matters!
Yesterday, was another odd bird! First thing in the am we got in a slew of repairs, but the majority were minor tweaks, not taking more then a few minuets each. The fine gent with the Schwinn Road bike came by, and she is going to be a peach when we finish her up! After that, though, I only had one remaining kiddo bike to do, which gave my hands about an hour of activity, then it was on to processing wheels and parts sorting. yay. It wasn't until a little after six pm, that I got a jumpin' again! Had a donation of a promising DBS that I jumped right on! While doing that, got a visit from a very nice young lady and her Dad, both displaced Yankees from my neck of the woods! ALWAYS nice to chat with folks from the 'hood! Only bad part is, each time I have to dwell a bit in home sickness! She'd been looking for a hybrid to fit her diminutive frame, but had little luck. Out of what we had left, I pointed her to the Specialized Hard Rock (with the promise of an upgrade to road tires) and she felt it worked for her perfectly. I do appreciate that the Blog brought them in, but she didn't look hard enough for "Stripe". Sadly mam, you were very close to him, just didn't realize it! No hints though, that's the rule! Well, anyway, hope you enjoy the ride, and the tires will be in next week! Then, we had a visit from one of our longer running regulars we had not seen for sometimes, but he ended up snagging up the Fuji road bike, bringing his grand total of acquisitions from us, to seven. This man changes bikes more often than I do, shoes! Now THAT'S an enthusiast!
Today, aside from finishing up the new DBS....enh. I got nothin'! Hope the day brings more goodies! I really don't want to have to start reorganizing wheels again!!
OKEY DOKEY!
So as to not promote atrophy in my gluteus maximus, I best get motivated!
Friday, May 8, 2015
“We need not take refuge in supernatural gods to explain our saints and sages and heroes and statesmen, as if to explain our disbelief that mere unaided human beings could be that good or wise.” _Abraham Maslow
You know what I'd REALLY like? For any of our International friends who visit us each day to send us a note in the comment section, tell us what you think, what brought you here and what keeps bringing you back. Even better, send us some pictures (jpeg please) of you, your family and friends, out enjoying cycling in YOUR country! I think that would be a most EXCELLENT addition to our picture gallery! Just think, being immortalized for all eternity in the hallowed halls of this, most audacious of Tomes! OK, sorry, overkill at the end there! But you get the point! PLEASE, send what ya got to yojimbo_saki@yahoo.com and become a welcome member of our family! Frankly, I can only assume (considering some of the parts we have sold, and delivered to Russia) there must be some KILLER mountain biking over there! We'd LOVE to see it! Please include your name, and where you are from!
OK, yesterday...again, somewhat quiet. Oh, we had a few repair's come and go (thank you all so VERY much for your kind words and patronage!) and the ones from the day before all came in to pick up, but only sent one newbie home. *sad face*.
Speaking of repairs, I especially found the Schwinn Hybrid we did work on to be a bit of a challenge. I've never encounter one like this before. The way the rear derailleur was mounted was clearly factory, but it was mounted in the middle of the chain stay? It had a rear frame mount, but also one in the middle, and a WEIRD looking derailleur that when in place was stretched completely forward!? Needless to say, as it was not working, I yanked it and used the rear mount, which of course, was stripped out, so it took some creativity to make it fit and be stable! Not to mention, NO cable housing pick up in the rear? No worries, used a barrel from a side pull brake set in the auxiliary derailleur mount. Worked fine! She was very happy with the end results and back on the road again, with her new and improved ride!
OH! I FINALLY bested my White Whale!!! Yes, completely abandoning the constrictions of the excepted norm, I cheated. Completely abandoning the gearing and going WAY off the reservation...I turned it into a three wheeler! VICTORY!!! Hee, hee! The tore down three wheeler we bought for parts a couple days ago, came in handy! It had some real good stuff, and an excellent set of aluminum wheels, 15m, and a solid rear axel!! NICE! just slapped the rear end on, used the front forks to turn it from a 26 to a 24, and with just a tad more tweaking this morning, it'll be ready to go out!
Did put out two more yesterday. One being the returned, repurposed EZip, but another full rebuild is a real sweet looking 20" Mongoose Rebel BMX! VERY nice!
OK! So on to an "Uncle Chippie" inspired contest! A while back, while he was digging through the confines of their museum quality home, he stumbled upon an original Gremlin! No, not the really cool car, but a Gremlin from the movie "Gremlins". And it's Stripe, the bad one! SO, here's the rub, "FIND STRIPE!!!" This little guy, pictured below, will be hidden some where in the shop (and no, we aint going to cheat and put him somewhere you can't see) If you locate him, you get 10% off your purchase and bragging rights. And yes, if he's found, we'll hide him some place different!
Here's his mug shot....
Today, we are hoping folks will be taking advantage of the GORGEOUS riding weather and be planning a weekend out on two wheels! You know, I see it often, but always wonder, why do people mount their bikes to their cars to drive to where they're going to ride? I mean, why not ride there? It's kind of like going to an Earth Day celebration in a Hummer!
Anyway, these things pop into my head and I just have to jot them down. Make's me look contemplative!
Now, off to the grind stone (well, wire wheel, anyway) See ya soon!
OK, yesterday...again, somewhat quiet. Oh, we had a few repair's come and go (thank you all so VERY much for your kind words and patronage!) and the ones from the day before all came in to pick up, but only sent one newbie home. *sad face*.
Speaking of repairs, I especially found the Schwinn Hybrid we did work on to be a bit of a challenge. I've never encounter one like this before. The way the rear derailleur was mounted was clearly factory, but it was mounted in the middle of the chain stay? It had a rear frame mount, but also one in the middle, and a WEIRD looking derailleur that when in place was stretched completely forward!? Needless to say, as it was not working, I yanked it and used the rear mount, which of course, was stripped out, so it took some creativity to make it fit and be stable! Not to mention, NO cable housing pick up in the rear? No worries, used a barrel from a side pull brake set in the auxiliary derailleur mount. Worked fine! She was very happy with the end results and back on the road again, with her new and improved ride!
OH! I FINALLY bested my White Whale!!! Yes, completely abandoning the constrictions of the excepted norm, I cheated. Completely abandoning the gearing and going WAY off the reservation...I turned it into a three wheeler! VICTORY!!! Hee, hee! The tore down three wheeler we bought for parts a couple days ago, came in handy! It had some real good stuff, and an excellent set of aluminum wheels, 15m, and a solid rear axel!! NICE! just slapped the rear end on, used the front forks to turn it from a 26 to a 24, and with just a tad more tweaking this morning, it'll be ready to go out!
Did put out two more yesterday. One being the returned, repurposed EZip, but another full rebuild is a real sweet looking 20" Mongoose Rebel BMX! VERY nice!
OK! So on to an "Uncle Chippie" inspired contest! A while back, while he was digging through the confines of their museum quality home, he stumbled upon an original Gremlin! No, not the really cool car, but a Gremlin from the movie "Gremlins". And it's Stripe, the bad one! SO, here's the rub, "FIND STRIPE!!!" This little guy, pictured below, will be hidden some where in the shop (and no, we aint going to cheat and put him somewhere you can't see) If you locate him, you get 10% off your purchase and bragging rights. And yes, if he's found, we'll hide him some place different!
Here's his mug shot....
Today, we are hoping folks will be taking advantage of the GORGEOUS riding weather and be planning a weekend out on two wheels! You know, I see it often, but always wonder, why do people mount their bikes to their cars to drive to where they're going to ride? I mean, why not ride there? It's kind of like going to an Earth Day celebration in a Hummer!
Anyway, these things pop into my head and I just have to jot them down. Make's me look contemplative!
Now, off to the grind stone (well, wire wheel, anyway) See ya soon!
 |
| 20" MONGOOSE BMX!! ONLY $70.00!! |
 |
| 26" CONVERTED EZIP! ONLY $120.00!!! |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
One, is the loneliest number that will ever be!
Rule of thumb, folks: do not start a "Godfather" marathon, unless you are properly rested, and imbibe sufficient quantities of caffeine! Once the house hold was settled, fed, bathed and in bed Angi and I popped in #2 (I already watched the first one at the shop) and curled up on the couch, ostensibly, to watch the flick, but also awaiting Elijah's return from his "late night" shift. Sadly, we had forgotten to confirm what time he would be returning, so we were somewhat unclear as to how long we would be waiting! By about the time Michael Corleone was having his sit down with Hymen Roth, I was far too comfy snuggling with Angi, and was drifting in and out of consciousness, Comfy, yes, but as I was remaining in a semi prone position, with my neck slightly cocked, when I did drift back to the waking world, it was if I'd been hit by a truck. Finally around 1 am, the movie over, we opted to retire to bed and hope he didn't make a big racket when he came in, alerting Suzanne, who will then growl and bark until she is satisfied that he is not a ne'er-do-well intruder!
A long preamble, I know, into explaining why I was ten minuets late this morning! Funny too, as I take the same route to work each morning, in front of the schools, several pedestrians, teachers and crossing guards all jokingly pointed out "You're Late!"
Yea, yea...I know!
Yesterday, was an unfortunate reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Monday and Tuesday, so let's not repeat that today! We did manage to send the Desantis Recumbent home to Sarasota with a very nice gent who took the long trek to snag it up! He'd had his own, back in the day, but gave it too his daughter for college, and was missing the ride. He was quite excited to find another, and at the very low price we were asking! After that, however, things got quiet. Had a few more drop offs, though, so we thank you all for that, and a shout out to the several folks referring them to us!
Speaking of referrals, got a call from another gent, who, at first, spoke such properly annunciated English, rather formally I might add, I almost hung up on him, as I assumed it was another annoying telemarketer call. BUT, thankfully, I did not, as he had, some time ago, picked up a vintage Schwinn road bike and slowly was doing a restore on it, but he had hit a couple of road blocks and scarcity of parts (alloy Suntour, of which we have a plethora) not to mention the desire to have a repaint done. He got our name from Angi's List, and sighting the multitude of rave reviews we have there, wants US to finish her up! WAY COOL! LOVE working on the classics!!
Now, somehow, for reasons unknown, I only managed to put out one ride yesterday. ONE?! Yea. And only a kid's bike to boot. Not sure where the time went, as I was puttering with other, less meaningful tasks, but...there ya go. Going to try harder today!
Speaking of today! The converted E-Zip we sent to a new home a couple weeks ago, is back, Unfortunately, some folks, with all good intentions in mind, set out to alter their lifestyles, kick the Oil and Gas addiction, and take up the cyclecommuting cause. Some, sadly, come to the conclusion that for their needs, it just aint gonna work out. Such was the case here. Now, please, cast no aspersions on this gents character! Bicycling is NOT for everyone (even if it should be) and better for him to realize that, and return the bike, giving someone else an opportunity to enjoy it, then do like a lot of people, and shove it in the backyard or dark recesses of the garage to gather rust and dust!
As far as what's on the docket for today? Obviously, get the repairs up and running, but as I have to wait for Elijah to get motivated this morning and go get us the necessary parts, I'll probably bang out the two remaining kiddo bikes, and get started on my "White Whale". What's a white whale? To refer to both "Moby Dick" and "Gone In 60 Seconds" It is that which is difficult bordering on the impossible! Mine is the Schwinn Roxie Comfort Cruiser. Had another one donated, and in a display of my own unwillingness to succumb to thoughts of futility, I'm going to try, yet again, to make this one a viable ride! Don't know what it is about that bike, that makes it so prone to failure, but I don't like to give up!
ANYWHO!
That'll be it for me this AM, but hope to see y'all soon!
A long preamble, I know, into explaining why I was ten minuets late this morning! Funny too, as I take the same route to work each morning, in front of the schools, several pedestrians, teachers and crossing guards all jokingly pointed out "You're Late!"
Yea, yea...I know!
Yesterday, was an unfortunate reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Monday and Tuesday, so let's not repeat that today! We did manage to send the Desantis Recumbent home to Sarasota with a very nice gent who took the long trek to snag it up! He'd had his own, back in the day, but gave it too his daughter for college, and was missing the ride. He was quite excited to find another, and at the very low price we were asking! After that, however, things got quiet. Had a few more drop offs, though, so we thank you all for that, and a shout out to the several folks referring them to us!
Speaking of referrals, got a call from another gent, who, at first, spoke such properly annunciated English, rather formally I might add, I almost hung up on him, as I assumed it was another annoying telemarketer call. BUT, thankfully, I did not, as he had, some time ago, picked up a vintage Schwinn road bike and slowly was doing a restore on it, but he had hit a couple of road blocks and scarcity of parts (alloy Suntour, of which we have a plethora) not to mention the desire to have a repaint done. He got our name from Angi's List, and sighting the multitude of rave reviews we have there, wants US to finish her up! WAY COOL! LOVE working on the classics!!
Now, somehow, for reasons unknown, I only managed to put out one ride yesterday. ONE?! Yea. And only a kid's bike to boot. Not sure where the time went, as I was puttering with other, less meaningful tasks, but...there ya go. Going to try harder today!
Speaking of today! The converted E-Zip we sent to a new home a couple weeks ago, is back, Unfortunately, some folks, with all good intentions in mind, set out to alter their lifestyles, kick the Oil and Gas addiction, and take up the cyclecommuting cause. Some, sadly, come to the conclusion that for their needs, it just aint gonna work out. Such was the case here. Now, please, cast no aspersions on this gents character! Bicycling is NOT for everyone (even if it should be) and better for him to realize that, and return the bike, giving someone else an opportunity to enjoy it, then do like a lot of people, and shove it in the backyard or dark recesses of the garage to gather rust and dust!
As far as what's on the docket for today? Obviously, get the repairs up and running, but as I have to wait for Elijah to get motivated this morning and go get us the necessary parts, I'll probably bang out the two remaining kiddo bikes, and get started on my "White Whale". What's a white whale? To refer to both "Moby Dick" and "Gone In 60 Seconds" It is that which is difficult bordering on the impossible! Mine is the Schwinn Roxie Comfort Cruiser. Had another one donated, and in a display of my own unwillingness to succumb to thoughts of futility, I'm going to try, yet again, to make this one a viable ride! Don't know what it is about that bike, that makes it so prone to failure, but I don't like to give up!
ANYWHO!
That'll be it for me this AM, but hope to see y'all soon!
 |
| 20" SCHWINNTRANSITIONAL BMX ONLY $40.00!! |
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
“Some people demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” _Soren Kierkegaard
GOLLY BOB HOWDY!!!
Yesterday was a hootenanny of a humdinger of a hoedown!
OK, sorry for going "out there"
But man was it blisteringly busy in here! YAY!! Sent...oh let's do the tally....SEVEN to new homes yesterday! (Wow, that' weird, after 47 years, I JUST realized, if you put a "t" after the "s" in seven...you get my name!) Of course, no weeks is complete unless we have at least ONE fine example of the "Ten Minute Rule", and yesterday we had FOUR!!! WOOF! I do feel bad about one though, as he was a REALLY nice gentleman! He came in earlier in the day, looking for a bike for his daughter. He heard about us on the web, checked out the blog and apparently liked what he read, so he felt comfortable to come in and have a poke around. And I mean, for a variety of reasons, this man could qualify for sainthood, so more was my lamenting, that when he checked out the Schwinn Jet for her and stated he'd bring her in later so she could decide, I was keenly aware it would, more then likely, be gone.
I was right.
Shortly after he left, a couple, on her lunch break, swung in, and snagged up the Jet for her and the Mongoose 29'er for him. The Mongoose happened to be the second, and a double header "Ten Minuter" having been test rode, and loved by two other folks earlier in the am, who also returned wondering where it went, as they left to "check out a few more places"!
Oh...let me touch on THAT subject. Online and on YP there are several other bike shops in the area who propose to sell "used" bikes. But HERE'S the skinny! When we came into being, back in the day, and opted to list and advertise on YP, they actually had to create a new listing for us SPECIFICALLY in the way of "used Bikes" as there was no one working under that category at the time. Now, oddly enough, there are several...who don't, in fact, carry used bikes. Apparently, they were not too keen on us hogging that particular lime light. (one notable exception is a couple shops selling their trade in's, only, and Pawn shops, but they don't service the bikes, so you really cannot count them) So, when folks tell us they are going to "check out a few more places" they really mean "going to waste our time".
OK, sorry for the interruption, back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress...
As I was saying, I really feel bad, because of the fact I have had to try and wean myself from warning folks. I know it sounds odd, but in many cases when we have a visitor, keen on a ride, say they're going to think about it, I have tried to extend cautionary tales in regards to "snagging it up when you see it, because chances are pretty good it won't be here when you come back" but these are usually met with incredulity, and the assumption my friendly warning is nothing more then a high pressure sales tactic. The LAST thing I want to be labeled as is a "Salesman". No offence to those earning a living at it, heck I did it myself for 15 years, but was never all that comfortable doing so. The end result is that, more often than not, folks leave here for a second time, empty handed. But in the case of this fine gentleman, I really wish it hadn't sold! But, as always, there is hope! He has our card, web address and assurance that we WILL find his daughter something!
NOW, that being said, on the OTHER end of the spectrum, there is the very RARE occasion I am (petty as it may seem) gleeful for the ten minute rule. Such was the case in regards to the gorgeous Giant Iguana we had. One of those types of folks who thinks the best way to dicker on price is to denigrate the product, in an attempt to instill doubt of it's value, then offer you a paltry sum in a sort of consolation, "here, I'm doing you a favor" sort of way. Heh. Sorry. We have no problem negotiating price with folks, especially when they are reasonable and have a real desire to get out and ride. ESPECIALLY if they are choosing to use a bike for commuting and leaving the gas guzzling, smoke belching beast at home, BUT, if they come at me with THAT attitude, they're lucky I don't RAISE the price! SO, even slightly "put out" I put my best "happy face" on and gave a polite, smiley "no thank you" to his generous (*COUGH* COUGH*!) offer. Oddly enough, he seemed so convinced in his opinion, he was somewhat taken aback by my declining, and insisted I'd never be able to sell it at the asking price. Again, all smiles (Stewardess Barbie would have been PROUD) I simply stated that there would not be a problem, and somewhat disgruntled, he left.
...seven minuets later....
a very WISE gent came in, looking to get back on the road and COMMUTING, came in, road tested it, exclaiming what a GREAT deal it was and a LOT less expensive to other similar bikes he had been looking at, and snagged it up! Now, you'd think that was the end of the story, but Nay, Nay!
About an hour or so later, as I was toiling away on some new rides (that we'll get to shortly) Mr Wonderful came back in, and without even looking at the line, and in the same consolatory tone, offered ten dollars above his previous, low ball bid. OK, so...MAYBE I could have done a better job at concealing my somewhat smug smirk when I stated "I'm very sorry sir, but we've already sold that bike." His reveal was initially, a smug "yea right" kind of look, until he turned around and denoted the void in the line where the Giant once sat. And believe me, hiding my look of shock when he stated "But...I wanted that bike!" with venom, cost me a tad bit of skin from biting my tongue! I recovered quickly though, and happily handed him one of our cards, informing him "we get new stuff all the time" and wishing him a good day.
Sorry. is that too petty of me?
ENH.
Karma is as Karma does.
We were blessed with a visit from one of our local families, as well yesterday. They have been regulars of our since back in the garage days, and it's one of the many happier times we have, as we have been privileged to not only outfit them with new rides, annually, but have been able to watch their five kids growing up over the years. They, too, are a family of bike riders, ditching the petroleum teet even before us. Come to think of it, most of their kids, now in their late teens have never known getting about in a car! GOOD ON YA, FOLKS!! They came in, and upgraded to two new ones and had me do overhauls on three more. ANYTHING to keep ya rollin'!
SOOOO, on to newbies!!!
Put out an "almost record" of NINE yesterday!! OK, before you think I'm "padding the books" counting the five kiddo bikes we did, I'll let you know, that three of those took almost as much work as the adult bikes we did! The little girls bikes frames were in great shape, but had been victims of the elements, and the majority of the "chrome" had to be outright replaced, as they were to far gone to clean! OKAY, I will acquiesce, that both the 20" Motocross and one of the 26" DBS'S (the dual shock one) needed, like, NO work to make ready, but the remainder were FULL-ON tear downs and rebuilds! The Red Magna (one of the earlier, better ones) was the biggest chore, as the majority of the components on that one needed replacing as well! But...I kind of have a soft spot for these rides. They remind me of my old, reliable Huffy (yes...I CAN say that with a straight face) in appearance and feel, and they really weren't bad rides. They even look kind of cool! So, it was an effort of love. All in all, a good turn out that left me feeling like I actually accomplished something for the day.
Upon retuning home, a tad bit delayed, we had a good dinner and chill time until it was off to bed, although that TOO was a tad bit delayed. Kaleb has come down with a nasty case of the ickies and regardless of what else troubles he may cause, the paternal instinct kicks in when they're that helpless and we needed to make sure he was comfortable, medicated and okay before we could settle down. Not to mention, Elijah, now seemingly on a more upward climb, had been helping a neighbor move, and they gave him a little cash, which he than went, in way of helping out, and contributed to the food stuffs in the house. Impressive, so I slacked off, a little, on the whole silent treatment, and we ended up playing a few races on "Need for Speed" before turning in.
OKAY. I think I've blathered on quite a bit, and should probably try and get a few things done.
Hope to see everyone soon!
Now, here's the newbies!
Yesterday was a hootenanny of a humdinger of a hoedown!
OK, sorry for going "out there"
But man was it blisteringly busy in here! YAY!! Sent...oh let's do the tally....SEVEN to new homes yesterday! (Wow, that' weird, after 47 years, I JUST realized, if you put a "t" after the "s" in seven...you get my name!) Of course, no weeks is complete unless we have at least ONE fine example of the "Ten Minute Rule", and yesterday we had FOUR!!! WOOF! I do feel bad about one though, as he was a REALLY nice gentleman! He came in earlier in the day, looking for a bike for his daughter. He heard about us on the web, checked out the blog and apparently liked what he read, so he felt comfortable to come in and have a poke around. And I mean, for a variety of reasons, this man could qualify for sainthood, so more was my lamenting, that when he checked out the Schwinn Jet for her and stated he'd bring her in later so she could decide, I was keenly aware it would, more then likely, be gone.
I was right.
Shortly after he left, a couple, on her lunch break, swung in, and snagged up the Jet for her and the Mongoose 29'er for him. The Mongoose happened to be the second, and a double header "Ten Minuter" having been test rode, and loved by two other folks earlier in the am, who also returned wondering where it went, as they left to "check out a few more places"!
Oh...let me touch on THAT subject. Online and on YP there are several other bike shops in the area who propose to sell "used" bikes. But HERE'S the skinny! When we came into being, back in the day, and opted to list and advertise on YP, they actually had to create a new listing for us SPECIFICALLY in the way of "used Bikes" as there was no one working under that category at the time. Now, oddly enough, there are several...who don't, in fact, carry used bikes. Apparently, they were not too keen on us hogging that particular lime light. (one notable exception is a couple shops selling their trade in's, only, and Pawn shops, but they don't service the bikes, so you really cannot count them) So, when folks tell us they are going to "check out a few more places" they really mean "going to waste our time".
OK, sorry for the interruption, back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress...
As I was saying, I really feel bad, because of the fact I have had to try and wean myself from warning folks. I know it sounds odd, but in many cases when we have a visitor, keen on a ride, say they're going to think about it, I have tried to extend cautionary tales in regards to "snagging it up when you see it, because chances are pretty good it won't be here when you come back" but these are usually met with incredulity, and the assumption my friendly warning is nothing more then a high pressure sales tactic. The LAST thing I want to be labeled as is a "Salesman". No offence to those earning a living at it, heck I did it myself for 15 years, but was never all that comfortable doing so. The end result is that, more often than not, folks leave here for a second time, empty handed. But in the case of this fine gentleman, I really wish it hadn't sold! But, as always, there is hope! He has our card, web address and assurance that we WILL find his daughter something!
NOW, that being said, on the OTHER end of the spectrum, there is the very RARE occasion I am (petty as it may seem) gleeful for the ten minute rule. Such was the case in regards to the gorgeous Giant Iguana we had. One of those types of folks who thinks the best way to dicker on price is to denigrate the product, in an attempt to instill doubt of it's value, then offer you a paltry sum in a sort of consolation, "here, I'm doing you a favor" sort of way. Heh. Sorry. We have no problem negotiating price with folks, especially when they are reasonable and have a real desire to get out and ride. ESPECIALLY if they are choosing to use a bike for commuting and leaving the gas guzzling, smoke belching beast at home, BUT, if they come at me with THAT attitude, they're lucky I don't RAISE the price! SO, even slightly "put out" I put my best "happy face" on and gave a polite, smiley "no thank you" to his generous (*COUGH* COUGH*!) offer. Oddly enough, he seemed so convinced in his opinion, he was somewhat taken aback by my declining, and insisted I'd never be able to sell it at the asking price. Again, all smiles (Stewardess Barbie would have been PROUD) I simply stated that there would not be a problem, and somewhat disgruntled, he left.
...seven minuets later....
a very WISE gent came in, looking to get back on the road and COMMUTING, came in, road tested it, exclaiming what a GREAT deal it was and a LOT less expensive to other similar bikes he had been looking at, and snagged it up! Now, you'd think that was the end of the story, but Nay, Nay!
About an hour or so later, as I was toiling away on some new rides (that we'll get to shortly) Mr Wonderful came back in, and without even looking at the line, and in the same consolatory tone, offered ten dollars above his previous, low ball bid. OK, so...MAYBE I could have done a better job at concealing my somewhat smug smirk when I stated "I'm very sorry sir, but we've already sold that bike." His reveal was initially, a smug "yea right" kind of look, until he turned around and denoted the void in the line where the Giant once sat. And believe me, hiding my look of shock when he stated "But...I wanted that bike!" with venom, cost me a tad bit of skin from biting my tongue! I recovered quickly though, and happily handed him one of our cards, informing him "we get new stuff all the time" and wishing him a good day.
Sorry. is that too petty of me?
ENH.
Karma is as Karma does.
We were blessed with a visit from one of our local families, as well yesterday. They have been regulars of our since back in the garage days, and it's one of the many happier times we have, as we have been privileged to not only outfit them with new rides, annually, but have been able to watch their five kids growing up over the years. They, too, are a family of bike riders, ditching the petroleum teet even before us. Come to think of it, most of their kids, now in their late teens have never known getting about in a car! GOOD ON YA, FOLKS!! They came in, and upgraded to two new ones and had me do overhauls on three more. ANYTHING to keep ya rollin'!
SOOOO, on to newbies!!!
Put out an "almost record" of NINE yesterday!! OK, before you think I'm "padding the books" counting the five kiddo bikes we did, I'll let you know, that three of those took almost as much work as the adult bikes we did! The little girls bikes frames were in great shape, but had been victims of the elements, and the majority of the "chrome" had to be outright replaced, as they were to far gone to clean! OKAY, I will acquiesce, that both the 20" Motocross and one of the 26" DBS'S (the dual shock one) needed, like, NO work to make ready, but the remainder were FULL-ON tear downs and rebuilds! The Red Magna (one of the earlier, better ones) was the biggest chore, as the majority of the components on that one needed replacing as well! But...I kind of have a soft spot for these rides. They remind me of my old, reliable Huffy (yes...I CAN say that with a straight face) in appearance and feel, and they really weren't bad rides. They even look kind of cool! So, it was an effort of love. All in all, a good turn out that left me feeling like I actually accomplished something for the day.
Upon retuning home, a tad bit delayed, we had a good dinner and chill time until it was off to bed, although that TOO was a tad bit delayed. Kaleb has come down with a nasty case of the ickies and regardless of what else troubles he may cause, the paternal instinct kicks in when they're that helpless and we needed to make sure he was comfortable, medicated and okay before we could settle down. Not to mention, Elijah, now seemingly on a more upward climb, had been helping a neighbor move, and they gave him a little cash, which he than went, in way of helping out, and contributed to the food stuffs in the house. Impressive, so I slacked off, a little, on the whole silent treatment, and we ended up playing a few races on "Need for Speed" before turning in.
OKAY. I think I've blathered on quite a bit, and should probably try and get a few things done.
Hope to see everyone soon!
Now, here's the newbies!
 |
| 16" GIRLS W/TRAINERS ONLY $20.00 |
 |
| 18" SCHWINN STARLETT! ONLY $25.00!! |
 |
| 26" LADIES "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" ONLY $75.00!! |
 |
| 20" GIRLS KENT! ONLY $40.00!1 |
 |
| 20" GIRLS SCHWINN STARLET!! ONLY $30.00!! |
 |
| 26" MEN'S "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" ONLY $85.00!! |
 |
| 26" MEN'S "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" ONLY $80.00!! |
 |
| 20" MOTOCROSS! ONLY $70.00!! |
 |
| 26" DUAL SHOCK "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!!" ONLY $80.00!! |
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Finding Permit A-38 "The Place That Sends You Mad"
HOWDY!! Top of the charts this morning? Turkey and China running a VERY close second to the States! Keep it up folks! Love seeing you all in attendance!
But I have to wonder just what the Chinese think of us, considering the Not so Nice things I have to say about some of their imports. Oh well, not going to worry about voicing the truth, as it shall set me free!
(or get my ass plugged!)
Heh, My favorite passage posted on our wall (thanks to Angi for this one, even though I think she meant it more as a warning then a joke)
"My death will probably be caused by being sarcastic at the wrong time!"
ANYWHO!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all the wonderful folks for paying us a visit yesterday! Sent four rides to new homes, dwindling the stock a bit, but managed to pick up four donations that will help fill a few vacancies! ALSO, 'twas a day of HEAVY repairs! SO heavy in fact, we didn't even touch on new builds until about five thirty!!
OK, so it wasn't ALL "busy, busy" that kept me occupied, hence why I am thankful that not only did Angela give me constant morale support, but that folks coming in helped get my mind off...The Department of Revenue! OH YES! THOSE people! Seriously...could there be any more inept a department of government? I know, that's a rather redundant saying, but LORD! These people just want me to wring my hands, stick an ice pick in my front lobe and sit drooling in the corner just so I can be on the same intellectual level as them! We got a letter yesterday, which made the ire rise up until the mercury burst through the top, not unlike those cartoons of yesteryear! EVERY bloody time, they have an internal personnel switch (which seems to occur about every three months) our account is handed off to someone else. Unfortunately for us defenseless tax payers, they don't have the foresight to pass on ALL the paperwork and notes! SO, instead of contacting us with whatever questions they had, they just passed the account on to collections to establish a "payment plan" ALTHOUGH we already established and maintained a payment plan through the local office eight months ago!!!!
SOOOOOO, I have to go in...YET AGAIN, in June, to start....the....whole....process....over!!!
No WONDER they go through so many employees, I can only imagine that working in such an incompetent work place HAS to be draining! Honestly, I'd last about until lunch time on the first day and then impale myself on the flag pole outside as a warning to all others! I've said it before, but all we want to do is PAY OUR BLOODY TAXES!!! Why should that be such an endurance trial for those with a heart condition!!
OY!
SO, Ok, now our pain is known!
Back on topic.
Yes, had several "challenging" repairs yesterday, plus a full rear end change on an older (but well loved) French three wheeler. OH, THAT was fun! Try incorporating French and English measurements. Makes for some colorful "Daddy Language"! You don't realize just how many "K's" you can put in one LONG run on sentence, until you're motivated to do so! Seriously, I would have made rappers and sailors blush!
Today, having caught up on everything (well except the two that just came in) I've got another 26'er stripped, cleaned and in the rack needing building. A nice, sturdy DBS! Then, a few kiddo rides to pound out, right quick and keep myself hopeful more come in so I can beef up for the weekend!
ON THE HOMEFORNT!
.According to Angela, Elijah may just have gotten the point, as he was WAY Mr. Helpful yesterday. Mind you, I'm not counting my blessings on that one. He's famous for "false starts" BUT I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm ALL about chances, much to my detriment! Kaleb? Well, let's just say, about five minuets after getting home last night, he got "physically removed" from the premises for ANOTHER altercation with Owen. He's not getting the point that there are worse things in the world than having to behave yourself.
SO, it's going to be a very interesting four months.
OKEY DOKEY SMOKEY!
Now, I'm starting to get busy, so I need to get a movin'!
Hope your day brings you tangible moments of joy!
But I have to wonder just what the Chinese think of us, considering the Not so Nice things I have to say about some of their imports. Oh well, not going to worry about voicing the truth, as it shall set me free!
(or get my ass plugged!)
Heh, My favorite passage posted on our wall (thanks to Angi for this one, even though I think she meant it more as a warning then a joke)
"My death will probably be caused by being sarcastic at the wrong time!"
ANYWHO!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all the wonderful folks for paying us a visit yesterday! Sent four rides to new homes, dwindling the stock a bit, but managed to pick up four donations that will help fill a few vacancies! ALSO, 'twas a day of HEAVY repairs! SO heavy in fact, we didn't even touch on new builds until about five thirty!!
OK, so it wasn't ALL "busy, busy" that kept me occupied, hence why I am thankful that not only did Angela give me constant morale support, but that folks coming in helped get my mind off...The Department of Revenue! OH YES! THOSE people! Seriously...could there be any more inept a department of government? I know, that's a rather redundant saying, but LORD! These people just want me to wring my hands, stick an ice pick in my front lobe and sit drooling in the corner just so I can be on the same intellectual level as them! We got a letter yesterday, which made the ire rise up until the mercury burst through the top, not unlike those cartoons of yesteryear! EVERY bloody time, they have an internal personnel switch (which seems to occur about every three months) our account is handed off to someone else. Unfortunately for us defenseless tax payers, they don't have the foresight to pass on ALL the paperwork and notes! SO, instead of contacting us with whatever questions they had, they just passed the account on to collections to establish a "payment plan" ALTHOUGH we already established and maintained a payment plan through the local office eight months ago!!!!
SOOOOOO, I have to go in...YET AGAIN, in June, to start....the....whole....process....over!!!
No WONDER they go through so many employees, I can only imagine that working in such an incompetent work place HAS to be draining! Honestly, I'd last about until lunch time on the first day and then impale myself on the flag pole outside as a warning to all others! I've said it before, but all we want to do is PAY OUR BLOODY TAXES!!! Why should that be such an endurance trial for those with a heart condition!!
OY!
SO, Ok, now our pain is known!
Back on topic.
Yes, had several "challenging" repairs yesterday, plus a full rear end change on an older (but well loved) French three wheeler. OH, THAT was fun! Try incorporating French and English measurements. Makes for some colorful "Daddy Language"! You don't realize just how many "K's" you can put in one LONG run on sentence, until you're motivated to do so! Seriously, I would have made rappers and sailors blush!
Today, having caught up on everything (well except the two that just came in) I've got another 26'er stripped, cleaned and in the rack needing building. A nice, sturdy DBS! Then, a few kiddo rides to pound out, right quick and keep myself hopeful more come in so I can beef up for the weekend!
ON THE HOMEFORNT!
.According to Angela, Elijah may just have gotten the point, as he was WAY Mr. Helpful yesterday. Mind you, I'm not counting my blessings on that one. He's famous for "false starts" BUT I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm ALL about chances, much to my detriment! Kaleb? Well, let's just say, about five minuets after getting home last night, he got "physically removed" from the premises for ANOTHER altercation with Owen. He's not getting the point that there are worse things in the world than having to behave yourself.
SO, it's going to be a very interesting four months.
OKEY DOKEY SMOKEY!
Now, I'm starting to get busy, so I need to get a movin'!
Hope your day brings you tangible moments of joy!
Monday, May 4, 2015
“Stop begging God to increase your territory when you can't even maintain the territory you already have. Work with what you got first.”
....AND...it's Monday!
OK, so now I remember the downside to taking a day off, It's end.
*sigh*
Not that I have any problem working, oh Nay, Nay! It's just the whole "relaxing" thing! Surprisingly, I did not have as much problem with the whole "Not having anything to do" thing as I had anticipated. We actually slept in for the first time in six months! Oh yes, actually didn't roll out of bed until 9 am!! Angi, in preparations, made sure the majority of the house chores had been taking care of Saturday (Yea, we pretty much have to clean EVERY bloody day around here!) so as to not impede anything we wanted to do for the day. This was very sweet, as I DEFINATELY did not want to do the whole "couch potatoes" thing!
Izabella starts school next year, so in preperation I wanted to work on her "bike riding" skills. She's got the tricycle down pact, but that's not going to carry her all the way to the school, so I broke out the little 12"er I brought home for her over a year ago (Tinkerbell, VERY cute ride!) only to realize (DUH!) it is a tad bit small for her! BUT, seeing as she still has to work with the training wheels, we used it anyway. It only took her a few minuets to get the pedaling down, and within about a half an hour, she was turning correctly and slowly starting to get off the "lean" and stabilize. In an attempt to keep Miranda from being left out, we gave her the tricycle, and quickly everyone was out riding in the street. However, once I put Miranda in the back of the "Truck" and started pedaling her around (and testing it's capacity for towing kiddo's) Izabella abandoned her ride, in lieu of going in the back and riding with Daddy. At this point, we opted to take a ride out.
Mind you, earlier in the day, the older boys, having awoke in their usual "foul" moods over having to actually get out of bed and motivate, started in with the little ones, pissin' and moanin'. Of course Kaleb went after Owen for some perceived slight or antagonizing, and the usual rounds of yelling. Well, I wasn't interested in our first "family day" being it's reminiscent "@!tc#ing fest" so I told them both to get out for the day, and not to return until dinner time. Some may find that harsh, and I'm sorry if you do, but we are having "issues" with the whole "teenager perceived entitlement" without the prerequisite efforts to procur them, and am finding myself having to "amp-up" the "Iron Fist" rule. Tough Love and all that.
Just so you have the whole picture, If you've been reading this Blog, you already know our difficulties with the eldest, but a new twist is in a recent enlightening conversation with Kaleb. In short, he has somehow convinced himself (in NO small part due to the BAD influence of his older brother) that there is no point in him finishing high school! HENCE, his recent backslide into cutting class, not doing the work, sometimes not even going to school, and being perpetually late! Basically, his expectation is to just "ride it out" until he turns 18 in September, then drop out.
OH....he has a RUDE awaking on THAT front! It's kind of like being "Redneck Rich", his expectation being that once he turns 18 and has his "freedom" everything is going to be peaches and cream, so why bother to even put out an effort!
OY!
SO, in a small attempt at getting them to realize appreciation for what they DO have, I gave them a day out to see what it was like NOT to have it. Now, our house follows old world traditions and dinner is attended by all, and is done so, between 6-6.30 (7.30, now on weekdays) (if you're late NO fruitcup!! (SPECIAL NO-PRIZE if you get THAT movie reference!) so they were not to return until then.
After we worked with the girls on riding (and riding in the Truck) we decided to take a family ride, and I am SO thankful to report, THIS ONE worked out VERY well!! With no particular place to go, we just headed out. Of course, with me at the helm of the truck (which will NEVER break any land speed records) the pace was plodding at best, several times everyone else had to stop for me to catch up! Thank heavens Angi took her old three speed, rather then the racing Trek, or she would have been done, and home in bed before I got to the corner!
With no kids whining for this, no arguing or fighting we ended up at Fritzee Freeze (it's amazing how, regardless of the myriad of directions we could take, we inevitably end up heading in the direction of the shop!) where we had a pleasant lunch and then dessert, and yet again, the children amazed me at how well they behaved! Even the little ones sat basically still until getting there lunch! Even more "flooring" was the fact that, once the baby girls had their fill, the older ones split up the leftovers...without arguing!
WHOA!!!
GOD it was a good day!
Sated, we drifted homeward (after getting part of dinner at the fresh veggie market) and stumbled on a yard sale, where we found a few goodies. Proving just how easily amused I am, I was very excited to find four overstuffed boxes of coat hangers!!! Hey, 200 coat hangers for $4.00? Beat that! Not to mention another functioning VCR for only $2.00!! Angela found a very lush Duvey set (I have NO idea how to spell that!) and some toys for the kiddos (Rozy got a cute tea set for her and the little girls that she spent half an hour cleaning!!). Once loaded down, I realized that, "UGH!" I was going to have to pedal it all up a rather steep incline! YEESH! Made it though!
Now, shortly after arriving home, getting dinner prepped and sitting to chill for a second, the older boys came back...two hours early. In the mood I was in, this breaching of what I had spelled out in the morning almost went unnoticed. Were it not for the fact that the moment they went in they broke several of the rules we were TRYING to enforce, by raiding the refrigerator without asking, and both of them yelling at the other kids almost immediately.
Not wanting to loose my temper, I told them simply that they were early and to head back out. Of course, they ignored this, and went to the patio, and sat. When I approached them and informed them they needed to leave they made the grave mistake of a smart ass answer, and stated "but we're not in the house" with a snicker.
wrong choice.
There arrival time was now elevated to 9pm, after the girls went to bed, and well after dinner. Sad too, as it was a real nice barbeque.
Sorry, that may sound petty, but these two HAVE to learn what we have been trying to teach them for YEARS!! They are so hung up on the false precepts that they are entitled to "be who they want to be", that they are convinced the world will bend to their will in allowing them to do so. Why am I being so hard on them, some may ask? Well, not to put to fine a point on it, but I was once a "know it all", smart ass, brain dead teenager too (and my own mother will attest to the fact that I was probably a lot worse) and what my mother could not drill into my head, life sure as hell did! I'm just trying to spare these two the inevitable (which Elijah should know by now, in no small part due to the fact that he had to compromise his "individuality" recently in the way of having to to cut his hair, as a prerequisite for work. A fact he lamented over for DAYS in regards to how unjust, and unfair it was!) clash of harsh reality!
Sadly, what Angela has been saying about "tough love" all along, may very soon, come to pass!
ANYWHO!
Sorry for railing on about all this, once again, it's my therapy!
Suffice to say, that all not withstanding, our first day off was GAH-REAT!
Jumping back to work! Saturday was swell, sending several rides to new homes, and taking a couple more in, not to mention several repairs! SAH-WEET!
Our friends came in from the UK, and you couldn't meet a nicer couple! Their little girls were adorable! The youngest one in curls! Owen and Rozy helped them get their tadpole hooked up, and I threw together the tow behind. We hope they have a great visit!
Today, have several repairs that have come in, and one is an "Ugly Mutt" conversion! Haven't done one of those in a while! (BMX bars for lift on a Cannondale Commuter!! HEH, HEH! Take THAT Mr. Conventional!) And we took in the oddest of looking recumbants on consignment! We'll have it ready later today so be looking for this thing to list tomorrow!
ALL RIGHTY-ROO!
I'd best get a move on! Got some heavy chores ta do!
OK, so now I remember the downside to taking a day off, It's end.
*sigh*
Not that I have any problem working, oh Nay, Nay! It's just the whole "relaxing" thing! Surprisingly, I did not have as much problem with the whole "Not having anything to do" thing as I had anticipated. We actually slept in for the first time in six months! Oh yes, actually didn't roll out of bed until 9 am!! Angi, in preparations, made sure the majority of the house chores had been taking care of Saturday (Yea, we pretty much have to clean EVERY bloody day around here!) so as to not impede anything we wanted to do for the day. This was very sweet, as I DEFINATELY did not want to do the whole "couch potatoes" thing!
Izabella starts school next year, so in preperation I wanted to work on her "bike riding" skills. She's got the tricycle down pact, but that's not going to carry her all the way to the school, so I broke out the little 12"er I brought home for her over a year ago (Tinkerbell, VERY cute ride!) only to realize (DUH!) it is a tad bit small for her! BUT, seeing as she still has to work with the training wheels, we used it anyway. It only took her a few minuets to get the pedaling down, and within about a half an hour, she was turning correctly and slowly starting to get off the "lean" and stabilize. In an attempt to keep Miranda from being left out, we gave her the tricycle, and quickly everyone was out riding in the street. However, once I put Miranda in the back of the "Truck" and started pedaling her around (and testing it's capacity for towing kiddo's) Izabella abandoned her ride, in lieu of going in the back and riding with Daddy. At this point, we opted to take a ride out.
Mind you, earlier in the day, the older boys, having awoke in their usual "foul" moods over having to actually get out of bed and motivate, started in with the little ones, pissin' and moanin'. Of course Kaleb went after Owen for some perceived slight or antagonizing, and the usual rounds of yelling. Well, I wasn't interested in our first "family day" being it's reminiscent "@!tc#ing fest" so I told them both to get out for the day, and not to return until dinner time. Some may find that harsh, and I'm sorry if you do, but we are having "issues" with the whole "teenager perceived entitlement" without the prerequisite efforts to procur them, and am finding myself having to "amp-up" the "Iron Fist" rule. Tough Love and all that.
Just so you have the whole picture, If you've been reading this Blog, you already know our difficulties with the eldest, but a new twist is in a recent enlightening conversation with Kaleb. In short, he has somehow convinced himself (in NO small part due to the BAD influence of his older brother) that there is no point in him finishing high school! HENCE, his recent backslide into cutting class, not doing the work, sometimes not even going to school, and being perpetually late! Basically, his expectation is to just "ride it out" until he turns 18 in September, then drop out.
OH....he has a RUDE awaking on THAT front! It's kind of like being "Redneck Rich", his expectation being that once he turns 18 and has his "freedom" everything is going to be peaches and cream, so why bother to even put out an effort!
OY!
SO, in a small attempt at getting them to realize appreciation for what they DO have, I gave them a day out to see what it was like NOT to have it. Now, our house follows old world traditions and dinner is attended by all, and is done so, between 6-6.30 (7.30, now on weekdays) (if you're late NO fruitcup!! (SPECIAL NO-PRIZE if you get THAT movie reference!) so they were not to return until then.
After we worked with the girls on riding (and riding in the Truck) we decided to take a family ride, and I am SO thankful to report, THIS ONE worked out VERY well!! With no particular place to go, we just headed out. Of course, with me at the helm of the truck (which will NEVER break any land speed records) the pace was plodding at best, several times everyone else had to stop for me to catch up! Thank heavens Angi took her old three speed, rather then the racing Trek, or she would have been done, and home in bed before I got to the corner!
With no kids whining for this, no arguing or fighting we ended up at Fritzee Freeze (it's amazing how, regardless of the myriad of directions we could take, we inevitably end up heading in the direction of the shop!) where we had a pleasant lunch and then dessert, and yet again, the children amazed me at how well they behaved! Even the little ones sat basically still until getting there lunch! Even more "flooring" was the fact that, once the baby girls had their fill, the older ones split up the leftovers...without arguing!
WHOA!!!
GOD it was a good day!
Sated, we drifted homeward (after getting part of dinner at the fresh veggie market) and stumbled on a yard sale, where we found a few goodies. Proving just how easily amused I am, I was very excited to find four overstuffed boxes of coat hangers!!! Hey, 200 coat hangers for $4.00? Beat that! Not to mention another functioning VCR for only $2.00!! Angela found a very lush Duvey set (I have NO idea how to spell that!) and some toys for the kiddos (Rozy got a cute tea set for her and the little girls that she spent half an hour cleaning!!). Once loaded down, I realized that, "UGH!" I was going to have to pedal it all up a rather steep incline! YEESH! Made it though!
Now, shortly after arriving home, getting dinner prepped and sitting to chill for a second, the older boys came back...two hours early. In the mood I was in, this breaching of what I had spelled out in the morning almost went unnoticed. Were it not for the fact that the moment they went in they broke several of the rules we were TRYING to enforce, by raiding the refrigerator without asking, and both of them yelling at the other kids almost immediately.
Not wanting to loose my temper, I told them simply that they were early and to head back out. Of course, they ignored this, and went to the patio, and sat. When I approached them and informed them they needed to leave they made the grave mistake of a smart ass answer, and stated "but we're not in the house" with a snicker.
wrong choice.
There arrival time was now elevated to 9pm, after the girls went to bed, and well after dinner. Sad too, as it was a real nice barbeque.
Sorry, that may sound petty, but these two HAVE to learn what we have been trying to teach them for YEARS!! They are so hung up on the false precepts that they are entitled to "be who they want to be", that they are convinced the world will bend to their will in allowing them to do so. Why am I being so hard on them, some may ask? Well, not to put to fine a point on it, but I was once a "know it all", smart ass, brain dead teenager too (and my own mother will attest to the fact that I was probably a lot worse) and what my mother could not drill into my head, life sure as hell did! I'm just trying to spare these two the inevitable (which Elijah should know by now, in no small part due to the fact that he had to compromise his "individuality" recently in the way of having to to cut his hair, as a prerequisite for work. A fact he lamented over for DAYS in regards to how unjust, and unfair it was!) clash of harsh reality!
Sadly, what Angela has been saying about "tough love" all along, may very soon, come to pass!
ANYWHO!
Sorry for railing on about all this, once again, it's my therapy!
Suffice to say, that all not withstanding, our first day off was GAH-REAT!
Jumping back to work! Saturday was swell, sending several rides to new homes, and taking a couple more in, not to mention several repairs! SAH-WEET!
Our friends came in from the UK, and you couldn't meet a nicer couple! Their little girls were adorable! The youngest one in curls! Owen and Rozy helped them get their tadpole hooked up, and I threw together the tow behind. We hope they have a great visit!
Today, have several repairs that have come in, and one is an "Ugly Mutt" conversion! Haven't done one of those in a while! (BMX bars for lift on a Cannondale Commuter!! HEH, HEH! Take THAT Mr. Conventional!) And we took in the oddest of looking recumbants on consignment! We'll have it ready later today so be looking for this thing to list tomorrow!
ALL RIGHTY-ROO!
I'd best get a move on! Got some heavy chores ta do!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”_ Maya Angelou"
OK, before I forget, I need to clarify something, and perhaps even put a PSA on the blog. Recently, for some odd reason, I have had some folks come in or call regarding a Bicycle we posted on the blog. No, THAT'S not the odd part, it's the fact that there are some variants out there of how are blog is presented, and what format they use. IPhones and the like don't reproduce all three common columns of the Blog. If you're on a PC you see the center part as the body of text with the pictures of rides we produced that day. To the left is a picture list of what's still available, and to the right, pictures and info of a more personally pertinent persuasion. The confusion lies in the fact that, whereas, we DO edit the column to the left (IE: remove the bikes we no longer have) we DO NOT go back into the body of text and remove them there! No, we leave them in as a record of what we have built in the past, as a representation of our masterful skill (*ahem*--cough, cough!) SO, as a result, those with the other, slightly annoying format, assume that everything in the blog is still available. "ENH...not so much!" We offer, and update the "What's Still Here" column (which is, believe me, a time consuming pain to update each day) as the majority of our stock will rotate within 48 hours. Sad part is, some folks will make the trek here to pick up a bike they saw, only to find we had already sold it, in yesterdays case, over a year ago! So please, we ask, should you see a ride listed that you like, and you have a drive to get here, just call ahead first to make sure it's still here, and let us know you're coming to get it so we can put it aside. EVEN if it was listed, only that day!
OKEY DOKEY!
Yesterday, we were blessed, briefly, with a few repairs, but not until later in the day. Managed to put out the remaining ride we'd been working on from the day before, but as it was pretty much finished anyway...? Took about five minutes to do! Giving up the ghost, and with nothing left to do, went ahead and did "What-Not Box" sorting!
yay.
Surprisingly, that didn't take too long either!
At this point, with nothing and I mean, NOTHING, left to do, I decided to indulge myself! I have been, for awhile now, wanting to spend some time working on one of my books. And with nothing left to do, started to pump it out. Not an easy feat, given the frustration of "Sticky Keys" on my keyboard! BUT, managed to put down (and I LOVE the fact the MS Word gives you a word count) 8345 words. Although, I may have to go back and break it up into a couple chapters. It's going to be a long one. I'm not sure of the excepted average length of a common novel nowadays, but this story spans the course of, roughly, 1500 years, and covers a lot of characters, so, who knows! Pretty much writing itself at the moment!
At least I have something to keep me occupied during the course of the summer months!
ALRIGHT!
Now, I'm going to polish off the last remaining repair, do a tear down...and see where the day takes me!!
OKEY DOKEY!
Yesterday, we were blessed, briefly, with a few repairs, but not until later in the day. Managed to put out the remaining ride we'd been working on from the day before, but as it was pretty much finished anyway...? Took about five minutes to do! Giving up the ghost, and with nothing left to do, went ahead and did "What-Not Box" sorting!
yay.
Surprisingly, that didn't take too long either!
At this point, with nothing and I mean, NOTHING, left to do, I decided to indulge myself! I have been, for awhile now, wanting to spend some time working on one of my books. And with nothing left to do, started to pump it out. Not an easy feat, given the frustration of "Sticky Keys" on my keyboard! BUT, managed to put down (and I LOVE the fact the MS Word gives you a word count) 8345 words. Although, I may have to go back and break it up into a couple chapters. It's going to be a long one. I'm not sure of the excepted average length of a common novel nowadays, but this story spans the course of, roughly, 1500 years, and covers a lot of characters, so, who knows! Pretty much writing itself at the moment!
At least I have something to keep me occupied during the course of the summer months!
ALRIGHT!
Now, I'm going to polish off the last remaining repair, do a tear down...and see where the day takes me!!
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| 26" 7 SPEED COMFORT CRUISER! ONLY $75.00!!! |
Friday, May 1, 2015
"All I know is that in this outfit I feel like a total femme. And you know what? I don't have a problem with it!" -Tom Servo.
Well, at least I got away with not having to do busy work yesterday! As stated, jumped right on the Peugeot hybrid and was lucky enough to find two 700 tires that had good tread and no dry rot! YAY! Such is the power of not throwing things away! While working on that one had a gent come in and snag up the 26" dual shock Mongoose we put out that morning and leave us a ladies Schwinn Jet in it's place! Nice, lightweight aluminum 18 speed comfort cruiser! Needed a LOT of work as well, but she's looking the peach now! Jumped right on her as soon as the other was finished. Thankfully, yet again, while working on THAT one, had another gent bring me in an Avalon comfort cruise in exchange for the 24" dual shock MTB! In both cases, the young men had grown somewhat weary riding something that was classified, a ladies bike! No worries! I'm sure we will QUICKLY find new homes for them! The Avalon is about 90% done in the rack, and going out shortly. After that, well my fingers are crossed for the Friday stream of repairs, and possibly picking up some more newbies, but I do have two Dutch folding bikes we got in last week. Not quite sure what I'm going to do with them, as they are REALLY rough, but we'll see! Trying to keep the amount of build up in Bone Row to a minimum. And in a rare "across the isle" show of non partisanship, got in a few looky loos, and promised returns from a few referrals. and these were not the kind we're used to, from friends, relatives or neighbors helping folks out to find a ride. Oh Nay, Nay! these came from four separate bike shops within Florida...and one from Indiana!? We'll cover the last one first, because it caught me the MOST off guard! A young couple, residing up there, were driving down to stay with his folks for the summer (odd, I know, most folks avoid Florida summers!) and, hearing of the great trail riding we have down here, went into their local bike shop to procure a couple good rides. Now here's where I resoundingly applaud the shop owner, for putting the customer first! As he was a "New" bike shop, upon learning of their vacation plans (and the diminutive size of their transportation) he recommended they take advantage of OUR vacation plan!! WOW! Thank you sir! wish I had the foresight to have asked the name of the shop so I could give them proper props! As far as the others, we have, humbly, become accustomed to some of the shops in our area giving out our name (and in some cases business cards) to folks not in a position to invest heavily in a new ride, or an expensive repair for that matter. Seems that, over the years, they have begrudgingly accepted that there is a need for a shop that deals in used. Surprisingly though, this time around, none of the other four are what I would call local. Perhaps it's the fact that over the last thirteen years of not driving anywhere, distance ha somewhat shrunk for my perception, and anything over about twenty miles seems like a day trip! But, in the case of these folks, who for all intents and purposes, were just browsing, had come a reported "distance" to get here. In one case a three hour drive! Now, I know that can mean just trying to get ten miles on 275 during rush hour, but as this was the middle of the day, they came a ways! Two other "towns" given out were the outskirts of Miami, and Key West. Key West!?! I thought there was a bike shop on every corner down there! True, I'm sure they probably had other things to do that drew them here, but still... makes you feel real proud that they'd take the time to drop in and see us! Not to mention, the shops in their towns sent them!
ANYWHO!!
Now, gonna jump back on the Avalon, and figure out where to go from there!
See ya soon!
ANYWHO!!
Now, gonna jump back on the Avalon, and figure out where to go from there!
See ya soon!
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| CLASSIC PEUGEOT HYBRID!! ONLY $145.00!! |
 |
| 26" SCHWINN JET!! ONLY $70.00!! |
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