SummerChilde

Sturmey Archer Hub

Justin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:25:56 +0000

The hub has arrived! First task is to clean it up.

Correct indicator chain sizing:
If your axle measures 5 3/4″, the correct indicator is HSA125 (a.k.a. Mark I).
If your axle measures 6 1/4″, the correct indicator is HSA126 (a.k.a. Mark II).

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Raleigh Sports

Justin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:36:54 +0000

A few days ago I was checking out the bike listings on Craigslist and came across this 1972 Raleigh Sports 3 speed. It is in rough shape. Today I started taking it apart to see what needs replacement. So far it needs new cables, brake pads, chain, saddle, and tires. The tubes are still good. The chain was rusted solid and was difficult to remove. The cranks were frozen in place as well but I few sprays worth of PB Blaster loosened those up and they spin like new now. The saddle is the original Brooks B72 but the leather is rock hard and torn. I’m not sure it is replaceable.

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Before and After

Justin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:52:43 +0000

Raleigh Sprite rear derailleur.

Hercules Winter is here and so there’s going to be a...
Cotter Pins I decided today to try removing this pin from...

Cotter Pins

Justin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:12:33 +0000

I decided today to try removing this pin from Keri’s Robin Hood. Let me tell you, this is what a really messed up bicycle cotter pin looks like when you finally manage to get it off the damn bike. Bike shop, which shall remain nameless for now, did not file the pin to the correct shape before installing it. Grrr!!!!!!!!!

The good news is that the crank on the bike is not damaged at all. I just need to go pick up some new pins and file them correctly. Sweet!

Hercules Winter is here and so there’s going to be a...

Hercules

Justin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:43:44 +0000

Winter is here and so there’s going to be a lot less biking around here. That’s ok though because I’ll be spending the winter working on my Hercules and Keri’s Robin Hood! Just ordered NOS front and rear cables for my Hercules today. These cables are really really hard to find but I found one of each for sale on Ebay AND they’re still in the original packaging! Sweet! They don’t make this type of cable anymore. The ones I had on the Hercules were so stretched out there was no braking power left and I was forced to replace the entire braking system with a spare set salvaged from a Columbia 3 speed. Later tonight I’ll be ordering a reproduction frame pump that fits the pump bosses on my bike. Next up is to replace the shifter cable. The pics above are a bit old so I’ll take some new ones as work progresses.

Currently the bike has a Peugot saddle since the old Pearson’s pretty much fell apart. I’ve repainted the fenders a nice cream color to match the original paint. I took care not to paint over the decal. The rear fender reflector was salvaged from an old Raleigh fender. I’ve replace the basket with a slightly smaller version. I’m on the lookout for a replacement pedal cap since one of mine has rattled off recently. Grr… The original front wheel needs truing badly so I’ve temporarily placed a spare on for now. The rear wheel needs truing soon. Eventually I’d like to rebuild both wheels using these hubs and rims. The bike rides pretty smooth but has developed an annoying click that only happens every other rotation of the pedals. I haven’t been able to pinpoint where it is coming from. I thought it might have been the pedals so I broke those down today and repacked them with new grease. Click’s still there. Hmmm. I’m kind of thinking I’ve got a broken gear inside the old Sturmey Archer SW hub so I’m going to have to take that apart at some point. Luckily I found this video:

I’m a bit nervous about doing this without practice first so I need to find an old junked wheel with a similar hub to try it out on.

Update:

reddit is just awesome. The other day I posted in r/bikeshop asking if anyone had an old Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub they didn’t want. I’ve been wanting one to use for practicing how to disassemble and reassemble one before attempting it on my old Hercules bike. Reddit saves the day and a user there is sending me one for FREE all the way from Vancouver! Sweeeeeeeeeeet.

Cotter Pins I decided today to try removing this pin from...

Occupy!

Justin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:03:52 +0000

journal excerpt:

Just finished our march on City Hall and downtown Providence. The People gathered at the Burnside Memorial and together we read the letter of intent to stay and maintain the occupation. The mayor was in attendance and I think he may have wanted to talk but we marched on to and into City Hall to the Mayor’s office to formally present the letter. Upon entering City Hall everyone went silent. Marched up the stairs. Presented the letter. Then burst into chant and began the march out into the city past the banks. We are the 99%! All day, all night, Occupy Burnside! Banks got bailed out, we got sold out! This is what democracy looks like! Several police cars followed the crowd through the streets and stopped traffic for us. We marched to the State Courthouse and then back to Burnside. Now the people are gathered for the drum circle.

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Tea in Sahara

Justin — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:57:57 +0000

Late afternoon in the late winter and the air is crisp outside. I sit here in the warmth of the teahouse drinking my coffee slowly. I don’t know if they do free refills here.

I like this place. Low-lit and exotic. A hint of mint in the air. There are always people here but it’s never too crowded that you can’t get a table.

I smell sesame and pita and garlic. Coffee. Mint.

My thoughts are on the real Sahara today. War in Libya. Our forces attack. The French and British allied with us and the Libyan rebels against the Ghadafi regime. So much bloodshed.

My thoughts are also with the Japanese. Their coast laid waste by earth and water and now contaminated with nuclear radiation. Disaster. The radiation has touched our Western shore. How long before it contaminates our food supply? Will the government cover it up?

It’s hard to know what is truth these days. The media, a government mouthpiece, spews meaningless fluff. I read the other day that the government has designed social media software to mimic real people in order to spread propaganda throughout the internet.

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Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Justin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 00:34:28 +0000

Hungarian Mushroom Soup is one of our favorite soups to make. We actually discovered this soup at the East Side Market in Providence a couple years ago and decided we had to make this for ourselves. Our recipe is based on the Moosewood Cookbook recipe except we add a bit more paprika. Paprika is the secret ingredient to making pretty much any meal AWESOME. Anyway, here is our recipe:

Recipe: Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

12 oz. mushrooms (about 1 1/2 packages), sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons paprika (more is good!)
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
3 cups water
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon of flour
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 big pinch of salt
1 big pinch of pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

Saute the onion and garlic. Add to soup pot with water and bouillon.
Mix flour and milk. Add to pot.
Add all other ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cook until mushrooms are tender.
Right before serving, add the sour cream.
Enjoy!

Cooking time (duration): 60

Diet type: Vegetarian

Dietary restriction: Buddhist

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: dinner

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

Roasted Jalepeno Tomatillo Salsa We had a ton of tomatillos left over from the...
Pease Porridge Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the...

West African Peanut Soup

Justin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:17:32 +0000

West African Peanut Soup is something Keri and I have wanted to try for ages. Yesterday we finally got around to making it. It is so good! Here’s the recipe:

Recipe: West African Peanut Soup

Ingredients

1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 large carrots
1 large yam or sweet potato
6-8 plum tomatoes or 1 large can of diced tomato
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup peanut butter
couple pinches of salt
4 cups water
2 vegetable boullion cubes
green onion and hot sauce for condiments

Instructions

In a large pot dissolve the boullion cubes in water.
Sautee onion and garlic until golden and set aside.
Chop the carrots and yam/sweet potato into smaller chunks. Steam these for 15 minutes.
In a blender, add tomato, carrots, yam/sweet potato, ginger, onion and garlic. Blend well. Add water from soup pot if needed.
Add the blend to the soup pot and all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil.
Serve over rice with green onion and hot sauce.

Quick Notes

If you do not have a blender you can grate the carrots and yam/sweet potato and also buy canned pureed tomato. You may use smooth or chunky peanut butter but make sure it is all natural peanut butter i.e. peanuts and salt only.

Cooking time (duration): 60

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): High protein

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: African

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

Pease Porridge Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the...

Paper Journals

Justin — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:20:04 +0000

Paper journaling is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve been keeping a journal continuously since 1995. It is an excellent tool for creating focus in your life. When writing by hand you are forced to slow down and think about what you’re doing. It’s a practice of Mindfulness. I use my journal as a diary, a lyric/poem workbook, a sketchbook, and as a place to write down my most personal thoughts. I try to write in it daily and take it with me wherever I go. If you’ve ever thought of keeping a journal, there is no time like the present so let’s get started!

Materials:

This is simple. All you need is a blank notebook and something to write with. I am partial to those old school marble composition notebooks. They’re relatively cheap, very durable, and have a sewn binding which I find ideal. You can use any kind of blank book you want though. As for writing instruments, I prefer to use ball point pens. The ink won’t fade and is much easier to read than pencil. However, you should write with whatever you are most comfortable with.

Additional Materials:

These are some things I like to have on hand when working on my journal at home: spray adhesive, glue stick, scissors, x-acto knife, markers, crayon, stickers, ephemerae, ruler, tape, blender pens, rubber stamps, and ink pads. None of these are necessary for journaling but they can be a lot of fun to use to make your journal look exceptional. Art supply and office supply stores are excellent sources to get materials that you can use with your journal. Another really good place to look for stuff is your local hardware store. You’ll find not only the basic supplies you might need but you’ll also find gems such as aluminum tape used for insulation, copper tape used as snail/slug repellant in the garden, stencils, spray paints, contact paper, die stamps, and copper or aluminum flashing used for roofing. All of these things can be used to make your journal rock.

Starting Points:

Obviously, the only thing you need to do is start writing in your journal. But, what if you are having trouble getting your first words down on the page?

Title and cover design:

Before I start each journal I like to decorate my covers and come up with a title for it. I start with the title and design the cover based on that. For example, my current journal is titled, “Until the Day Breaks.” This is a line from Song of Solomon that I have noticed on many gravestones here in New England. The full passage is “Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of Myrrh and to the hill of incense.” I loved the way this sounded and thought it would make a great title for the journal. I wanted the cover to be simple and retain most of the “marble” so I used walnut ink to stain the white of the marble for an aged effect. For the title space and the barcode space on the front I decided to replace them with a bit of tin which I hammered the title and journal number into with die stamps. This required splitting the cover stock in half and cutting out the original label and barcode then inserting the tin and reglueing it all back together. The inside title page was made with a map of Pawtucket which I soaked in water and then sprinkled with powdered instant tea. This gave the paper an aged effect that matched the walnut ink on the cover. It worked nicely.

Current journal front cover

Current journal title page

The title and design of your journal is totally up to you. You can call it “My Journal” and leave the cover blank but where’s the fun in that? Journaling should not be a chore. Have fun with this. Below is a gallery of all my journal covers since 1996.

Content:

“What on Earth should I write about?” you might ask. There are so many things you can write about. Write about your day. Write about your frustrations at work. Write poems and songs. Write down quotes you come across in the world. It’s really up to you. NOTHING you write is dumb. One of the main struggles I had when I first started keeping a journal was ignoring the “inner critic.” The “inner critic” would tell me that this thing or that thing I was writing about or wanted to write about was just plain stupid or cheesy. Don’t listen to that “inner critic” when you keep a journal. You’re not writing a novel here so there is no need to censor yourself. Not every journal entry has to be profound. This journal is for you. Think of it as a way to clear your head at the end of the day.

If you’re really stuck for something to write about, don’t fret. Collage! Get out your old magazines you might have laying around the house. Cut out words and quotes that speak to you. Cut out pictures that inspire you. Glue these in your journal.

One thing I really like to do is have an ongoing theme for each of my journals. Not every entry needs to be about the theme but I find it helps me focus my more serious entries if I have one. One of my recurring themes is the Buddhist practice of Mindfulness. The act of writing itself is mindfulness. Entries may detail everything I experienced when I performed some specific action. For example, years ago when I had to use a local laundromat to do my laundry I would spend the time writing in my journal while waiting for my clothes to wash and dry. I would write about the other people in the place, the sounds of the washing machines and dryers, the smell of detergent and dryer air, the din of the bar next door, and the sounds of the traffic in the street outside. Try this out the next time you’re in doing the laundry, having coffee in your favorite hangout, or riding the bus. Write as much detail as you can. Before you know it you’ll have filled pages and pages in your journal.

Inspiration:

We all need inspiration at one point or another when it comes to creating things. The same goes for keeping a journal. Inspiration is everywhere.

Esthetics:

The look of my current journals are heavily inspired by the journals of photographer Peter Beard, Joseph Cornell’s constructions, and Wallace Berman’s Semina series of mail art books. What art do you like? Go to art openings and museum exhibits for ideas. Go to the library and look up books about your favorite artists. Here are some links to get you started:

Peter Beard journal

Wallace Berman’s Semina

Joseph Cornell Interactive

The written word:

A lot of my journal entries are inspired by writing practices of the Beat Generation authors like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. The best way to learn how to write is to read and read as often as you can. Memoirs are very good for inspiring your personal journal entries. Writing workbooks and writing prompts can also help you with ideas of what to write about. Here are a couple books to check out:

Beat Spirit: The Way of the Beat Writers as a Living Experience by Mel Ash. This book is filled with exercises modeled after writing techniques of Beat Generation authors. The author encourages you to keep a journal while using it.

Room to Write by Bonni Goldberg. This book is a collection of writing prompts to spur your creativity.

Your Writing Space:

You can write just about anywhere you’d like. At home I usually write at an old school desk I have. I’ll brew a cup of tea and put on my favorite Jazz record and get right down to business. Occasionally I like to go out to a coffeehouse and write/people watch while drinking my coffee. The only important thing about where you write is that you are comfortable. If the sounds of people are too distracting wear headphones and listen to music. If sitting at home feels too isolated get down to your local coffeehouse and write there. Get into the habit of taking your journal with you wherever you go. You never know when inspiration will come. Set aside time to write every day even if it’s only for 5 minutes. Set the mood with your favorite music and a cup of tea or coffee.

Journaling and Blogging Ok, I’ve been seriously lagging on the blog but mainly...