Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Tuesday Musette: 10NOV2009

Ronde Van Oakkenberg

First up, a reminder about this upcoming cyclocross event. For a taste of the excitement, take a look at Elisa's post on the BikeSkirt blog. She attended her first ever cyclocross race and is now well hooked.

Barring accidents, family emergencies, earthquakes, tsunamis, or another abduction by those pesky super-models, I'll be at the Ronde Van Oakkenberg this Sunday.


Draw your own crash

This site insists on calling them 'accidents' which would be true enough if they were acts of god. Getting hit by a meteorite or a falling tree branch is an accident. Getting left hooked by elderly Aunt Edna in her '71 Chrysler New Yorker is a crash - despite old auntie's insistence that 'she never saw you.' Crashes are preventable. Acts of god are not.
http://draw.accidentsketch.com/

This tool includes bicycles, motorcycles, and various trucks as well as automobiles. Bookmark this for future reference, or, if you're extremely 'accident' prone - go use it today.


Typewriter erasers

Who still uses the humble typewriter eraser? These were ubiquitous once upon a time. I always kept one in the case with my manual Smith-Corona portable typewriter. They look like a pencil with a nylon brush at one end and a coarse, high pumice content eraser replacing the pencil lead.

I still use them, though in all honesty, I haven't used a typewriter for decades. (And no, I don't use them to erase mistakes on my computer screen!) These days, they're very handy for removing corrosion from battery terminals and cleaning the threads of small parts. They're slim enough to reach down inside battery compartments. And if you have recessed fasteners like Allen bolts, they can be used to remove rust. The white erasers are natural rubber and do not contain oily coloring agents. So they're a good choice to clean camera batteries, cyclocomputer batteries, or similar low current devices. Just don't touch the contact areas with your fingers afterward. Fingerprints leave oils and salts behind.


Aches and pains: An update

I recovered well from Saturday's fall. Sure, I was stiff and sore all of Sunday, and who would have thought that it's possible to pull muscles in the abdomen when tumbling onto your back? It's mostly gone, anyway.

And my shoulder is improving. It doesn't wake me up at night anymore, though it's still noticeable. I damaged it by carrying my upper body weight on it while laying tile last year. Yes, last year. This getting old stuff really sucks sometimes. We have more flooring to do after painting the living room. Oh joy. But this time I'm manning the table saw, cutting wood flooring, rather than being down on my hands and knees doing tile. Oh, there's still MORE tile to do, but I'm not in any hurry.

3 Comments:

Blogger Steve A said...

So, do they charge $5 more for your events in exchange for making the suffering five minutes shorter? Have fun and I look forward to reading about it. Don't do a face plant in the mud hole and don't puke!

8:33 PM  
Blogger Yokota Fritz said...

Bah! Accident Sketch Fail: "Sorry, the browser you are using is not supported by Accidentsketch.com right now."

12:44 AM  
Blogger Ed W said...

Accident sketch didn't like Opera

4:52 AM  

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