tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320825542024-03-12T21:01:17.579-05:00In the Bike LaneBiking, Gadgets and combining the twofullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-30924571547903355882020-10-23T13:18:00.003-05:002020-10-23T13:18:59.004-05:00Playing with 3D printing<p>My most recent <a href="https://www.instructables.com/Star-Trek-Apple-Watch-Charger-Dock/" target="_blank">Instructable</a> is a 3D printed object that looks like a miniature Star Trek Desktop monitor from the original series back in the 60's. The files needed to print it yourself can be found in this <a href="https://www.instructables.com/Star-Trek-Apple-Watch-Charger-Dock/" target="_blank">Instructables</a> link.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWQ3R1vlybs/X5MdmXyIrbI/AAAAAAAA6S0/IUVSUerSkMo_w2ZsQtNryxEsVs2z9jeHACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_1734D%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1518" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWQ3R1vlybs/X5MdmXyIrbI/AAAAAAAA6S0/IUVSUerSkMo_w2ZsQtNryxEsVs2z9jeHACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_1734D%2B2.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-91832944846506680702017-10-16T18:04:00.001-05:002017-10-16T18:06:45.370-05:00Save ~$85 by fixing your Bontrager ion 700<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7IOtLZtfRU/WeU7RXAVxqI/AAAAAAAAqGw/9IeV86mocrgVRpa-DzRcrJNrrBNuUKtegCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7IOtLZtfRU/WeU7RXAVxqI/AAAAAAAAqGw/9IeV86mocrgVRpa-DzRcrJNrrBNuUKtegCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_3938.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My Bontrager ion 700 died recently, but instead of buying a new one, I did a DIY project, (see the link below) to replace the old battery with a new one. So, instead of spending ~$100 on a new light, I fixed the old one for ~$15.<br />
<br />
https://www.instructables.com/id/Replacing-the-Battery-in-Bontragers-Ion-700-Bike-L/fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-2225054890162715262016-03-01T19:30:00.002-06:002016-12-08T10:05:43.658-06:00Why I RideThe "Why I Ride" theme is from my recent entry for a Brand Ambassador position with <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/" target="_blank">Pactimo</a>. <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/" target="_blank">Pactimo</a> has a great line of cycling related clothing, and of all my cycling gear, the Pactimo items are my goto gear of choice.<br />
<br />
The "Why I Ride" themed video, is a compilation of some clips from my favorite rides of the past year or so. It was hard to pick from hours and hours of video, when the entry video could only be 60 seconds, but these where my choices:<br />
<ul>
<li>The 1st clip after the title is from this seasons <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Lapham-Peak-Fat-Bike-Race-Series-363535247158012/" target="_blank">Lapham Peak Fat Bike Race Series</a>. This might have been the first one where we had some snow, right after Christmas. All of the races in this series were at night.</li>
<li>The 2nd clip is a from a ride to <a href="https://www.holyhill.com/" target="_blank">Holy Hill</a>, that particular part was a bit of the decent, probably after having a piece of pie at the cafe after the climb to the top.</li>
<li>The 3rd clip is also at <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/lapham/" target="_blank">Lapham Peak</a>, but this time during daylight hours and some of our bike club members rented Fat Bikes to try them out for a group ride.</li>
<li>The 4th clip is me rolling in to the start of one of our clubs (<a href="http://www.springcityspinners.org/" target="_blank">Spring City Spinners</a>) summertime organized rides.</li>
<li>The 5th clip is short, so if you blink you might have missed the deer crossing in front of me on the trail. Early morning Fat Biking, with a little snow falling, is a great time to see deer on the trails.</li>
<li>The last clip is from the <a href="http://wisconsinbikefed.org/2015/11/02/the-santa-cycle-rampage-is-dead-long-live-the-santa-cycle-rampage/" target="_blank">2015 Santa Rampage</a> event in Milwaukee, with every rider (and there were a couple of thousand all together) dressed as Santa (or - as in the video - some winter or holiday themed characters).</li>
</ul>
So, even thought I didn't supply any audio for the video, other than the background music, these clips represent "why I ride". For the love of cycling, friendship, group rides, experiences, the downhills, and the climbs.<br />
<br />
Here's the video entry, wish me luck, the winners will be announced on March 17th.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dztEZWIAk_w-LY8MWGUrEON-26rKwIwxrTat5HWH-7rEdy6MNv4vaukR9wFdNzIsd5LO4rxdYo9v9U' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-41199596800408782562015-07-02T10:12:00.003-05:002015-07-02T10:12:52.535-05:00DIY fix for a broken lawn mower wheelRecently while my son was mowing, one of the wheels came off of the mower. This mower is old enough that the part I needed was obsolete, but the rest of the mower was in good shape and the battery was almost brand new, having been replaced earlier in the year. So, to fix the wheel, I came up with a solution. You can read all about it on <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Black-Decker-Mower-Wheel-Repair/" target="_blank">Instructables</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GtNEmgWFA_Y/VZVTEZiSNrI/AAAAAAAAZRY/meg_w92wZfA/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GtNEmgWFA_Y/VZVTEZiSNrI/AAAAAAAAZRY/meg_w92wZfA/s320/IMG_0817.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Black and Decker Cordless CM600 (12-15 year old)</div>
<br />fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-62019352842080746342015-06-23T22:38:00.003-05:002015-06-23T22:39:55.710-05:00Start of organized ride season for meI completed the first of two rides that I plan to do this summer. The first was the <a href="http://www.horriblyhilly.com/" target="_blank">Horribly Hilly Hundreds</a> 2015.
I did the "100K" route again this year. The course was a little
tougher, with ~7,000ft of climbing within ~72mile route (a little longer due to some detours because of road work). I bettered my climb up Mounds Park
Rd by almost 4 minutes over my last years time of ~20 minutes. Strava says it s Cat 3 climb from the very bottom all the way to the
top at the <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/bluemound/" target="_blank">Blue Mounds State Park</a> parking lot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Y2ZwUAVIbA/VYomELFVuVI/AAAAAAAAY98/HcfZBiQRrqU/s1600/IMG_0837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Y2ZwUAVIbA/VYomELFVuVI/AAAAAAAAY98/HcfZBiQRrqU/s320/IMG_0837.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Club Jersey with my HHH Bib number.</div>
<br />
I still had the 11-32 cassette with a long cage derailleur installed on my Specialized Tarmac. I also the arm coolers again (for UV protection). The
temperatures during the day were pretty good, maybe lo to mid 70s, but we did have rain and wet roads, and some
light to moderate winds. I also had a set of Carbon (Zipp brand) wheels (loaned to me from a friend) for the ride, which may have help contribute to my reduce time for the Mound Park Rd climb<br />
<br />
The next ride on the schedule is the <a href="http://wrightstuffcentury.com/" target="_blank">Wright Stuff</a> in July (that ride was moved up this year from it's usual date in Sept.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-88189512810476201122015-06-23T22:04:00.002-05:002015-06-23T22:04:48.075-05:00Cruisin in the bike lane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2zKSoO9hhs8/VYodysX03UI/AAAAAAAAY9k/mydasAUwqsM/s1600/inthebikelane.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2zKSoO9hhs8/VYodysX03UI/AAAAAAAAY9k/mydasAUwqsM/s320/inthebikelane.tiff" width="320" /></a></div>
Name sake picture for this blog, I was truly In the Bike Lane recently while on my way to a club ride.<br /><br />fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-91845746452229500262014-11-04T19:17:00.003-06:002014-11-16T17:15:14.959-06:00How to remove an old/duplicate Amazon Wish ListHere's what I ended up doing to get rid of an old/duplicate wishlist, it took Amazon about a day to complete the deletion.<br />
<br />
1. I initiated a chat session with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us" target="_blank">Amazon support</a>, they told me that they would
need the following info (either submitted in to the website or emailed to
them) to delete the old wishlist.<br />
<ul><ul>
<li>E-mail address used while creating Wish List.</li>
<li>Shipping address associated with Wish List.</li>
<li>First three items on the Wish List.</li>
<li>URL of the Wish List page, if possible. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
2. I had determined the email address used to create the old/duplicate wish list, by using the alternate email address to search for the wish list on the Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/search/ref=nav_wishlist_find" target="_blank">Find a Wish List or Registry</a> search page.<br />
<br />
3. Since
I couldn't login with that old email address, I went thru the Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us" target="_blank">Contact Us</a> page again and instead of the Chat I picked Email and provided the
requested info.<br />
<br />
24 hours later the old wish list was gone.<br />
<br />
This answer is buried in a support <a href="http://www.amazon.com/forum/gift%20idea/ref=cm_cd_notf_message?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1CXJAP860ADZ8&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx10H3ZTP5LIFZC#Mx1VXW9TV51OGMW" target="_blank">post</a> on an Amazon Discussions page.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-46310754255748180372014-06-29T19:52:00.002-05:002015-06-23T22:07:31.523-05:00Three Hilly Bike RidesI completed the first of three rides that I plan to do this summer. The first was the <a href="http://www.horriblyhilly.com/" target="_blank">Horribly Hilly Hundreds</a>. I choose and stuck to my plan of doing the 100K route. The course is tough, with ~6,600ft of climbing within that 100k (~66mile) route, with the hardest climb (in my opinion) being the second climb up Mounds Park Rd. Strava says it s Cat 3 climb from the very bottom all the way to the top at the <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/bluemound/" target="_blank">Blue Mounds State Park</a> parking lot.<br />
<br />
I felt good going into the ride and had my hydration and nutrition well planned for the route. I had also changed out the standard (11-28) cassette for a 11-32 with a long cage derailleur. I also tried something new on this ride: arm coolers (for UV protection). The temperatures that day were ideal, in the high 70's to low 80's with light to moderate winds. The arm coolers worked as advertised and I was wearing them even up the last climb to the parking lot.<br />
<br />
The toughest part, I'd have to say, is riding passed other riders who have started to walk up the hills. I know that a large part of climbing and endurance is not only physical but mental. I'm happy to say that training and planning allowed me to bike up every hill on the route I selected, but I don't think I could have tackled even the 150k route.<br />
<br />
The next ride on the schedule is the <a href="http://www.dairylanddare.com/" target="_blank">Dairyland Dare</a> in Aug. and then the <a href="http://wrightstuffcentury.com/" target="_blank">Wright Stuff</a> in Sept.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-79050029071208411352014-04-27T19:09:00.000-05:002014-04-27T19:09:02.871-05:00Is google glass a data gathering tool for training autonomous vehicles or AI?I had this thought the other day, that perhaps, Google Glass is a way for Google to acquire human experience, from the "human-eye-view" on real world interactions. Which could then be used as referential data for the AI algorithms that power autonomous vehicles, robots or other services for human-machine interfaces or simulations.<br />
<br />
This wouldn't be a unique concept for Google, they scan our gmail for purposes of providing relevant ads. They also have years of google voice mail data to help make their voice recognition systems better. <br />
<br />
Their <a href="http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a> allows for this type of usage for the development of new services and it would seem to me to be the perfect way to provide nature interaction data that might be hard or impossible to acquire in a lab.<br />
<br />
If we are the "teachers" of these future AI algorithms, lets hope the people providing the data are doing so responsibly.<br />
<br />
Just a random thought for the day.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-91326324156504845242014-02-22T15:34:00.002-06:002014-03-02T09:32:43.179-06:00Pactimo Brand Ambassadors and Misc.Pactimo made their announcement, and sadly I didn't make the list. Oh well, maybe next year. They had ~1800 people register for just 25 positions. The full announcement and the list of ambassadors can be found at <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/pactimo-brand-ambassador-program-2014/" target="_blank">Pactimo Brand Ambassador Program</a>. Pactimo did provide a consolation gift, of a non-transferable discount on a future order, which is a pretty good deal.<br />
<br />
This coming week, on Mon, Feb, 24th, I'll be the substitute/guest yoga teacher at <a href="http://yogatrish.com/" target="_blank">Soleil Lune Yoga Center</a> for the 7:15PM Yoga for Stiff Folks who Ride Spokes class (FYI this class is full, so no Drop-in slots are available).<br />
<br />
Training continues indoors (as it's still cold and icy/snowy around here) for my summer list of rides in Wisconsin's Iowa County's Drift-less Area: Horribly Hilly Hundreds, Dairyland Dare and The Wright Stuff.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-24479527310034474762014-02-13T20:02:00.001-06:002014-02-13T20:16:46.533-06:00A few days left till Pactimo announces their Brand AmbassadorsJust a few days left until <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/">Pactimo</a> announces the winners in the search for <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/brand-ambassador/">Brand Ambassadors</a> and I'm hoping that I stand a good chance of getting one of the spots. Here's their requirements and my qualifications:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Active with a local club and group rides</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>Covered - I'm a member of the <a href="http://springcityspinners.org/">Spring City Spinners Bicycle Club</a>, Waukesha, WI. My total miles in groups rides was ~4,000 miles in 2013.</i></li>
</ul>
<li><b>Love sharing cycling experiences with other people.</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>I Manage the <a href="http://springcityspinners.org/">Spinners Website</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scspinners">Facebook</a> page as well as my own blogs for cycling and yoga where I share info and experiences.</i></li>
</ul>
<li><b>Active and knowledgeable on social media.</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>I have various Facebook, Google+, twitter and blog sites that I manage with posting and photographs about cycling.</i></li>
</ul>
<li><b>Passionate about the Pactimo brand.</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>Some of my best gear (Dairyland Dare jersey in the photo below) is the Pactimo brand.</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fpfIMqnTigA/Ut8STBqOlvI/AAAAAAAABeg/pwxGFegGaq8/s1600/118153-187-032f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pactimo Dairyland Dare jersey" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fpfIMqnTigA/Ut8STBqOlvI/AAAAAAAABeg/pwxGFegGaq8/s1600/118153-187-032f.jpg" height="320" title="Pactimo Dairyland Dare jersey" width="212" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><b>Knowledgeable and informed about cycling culture.</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>I've been riding and participating in cycling for most of my life and carry that passion into the organized events that I've attended and plan to attend this year.</i></li>
</ul>
<li><b>Willing to spread the word about Pactimo, our products and who we are.</b></li>
<ul>
<li><i>There will be plenty of opportunity for that here in this blog, my twitter acct, among club members and attendees of events that I'm participating in this year.</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-35999151401505857582014-02-12T20:28:00.000-06:002014-02-12T20:28:13.670-06:00First of several organized ridesI'm really looking forward to this event, Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Jun 14, 2014. Some of the <a href="http://springcityspinners.org/">Spring City Spinners</a> (who registered as a group) got selected after the lottery registration process. There will be an estimated 1300 total riders that day, with options to do 100K, 150K and 200K -with a range of ~6,000 to ~10,000 ft of climbing, depending on the distance you choose.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.horriblyhilly.com/index.htm"><img alt="http://www.horriblyhilly.com/index.htm" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T1CRrA_vFTk/UvwpquBvBdI/AAAAAAAABf0/LK1DFmcfDx4/s1600/hhh_logo.tiff" height="251" title="Horribly Hilly Hundreds" width="320" /></a></div>
It's held in a region of Wisconsin called the Driftless area, which was untouched by glacial activity, so it retains a rugged beauty and some obviously Horrible Hills. This will be one of three events that I'm looking at doing this year, all in that general area. The other two are: Dairyland Dare and the other is The Wright Stuff. <br />
<br />
Well, I better start looking at a training plan if I'm going to be ready for that kind of climbing that early in the season.<br />
<br />
Safe riding all!fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-28344162488707511712014-01-25T10:31:00.001-06:002014-01-25T10:31:56.548-06:00What would I do as a Pactimo Brand AmbassadorI recently saw a promotion advertised by <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/">Pactimo</a> for Brand Ambassadors...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YMhXeBKp6MU/UuPlgSfE4-I/AAAAAAAABfA/KJ4o1z9I7As/s1600/pactimo_ba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YMhXeBKp6MU/UuPlgSfE4-I/AAAAAAAABfA/KJ4o1z9I7As/s1600/pactimo_ba.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
so I sent in my application. It's not just for the free stuff that they offered (although some new kit is always good), but because I think I can help promote the brand. I'm the webmaster for a local Bike Club taking care of their website and Facebook page (<a href="http://springcityspinners.org/">Spring City Spinners</a>), so I'm already a biking ambassador, communicating biking related information to our club members.<br />
I've found <a href="http://shop.pactimo.com/">Pactimo's</a> gear to be top notch in the past and their prices are very competitive. The most recent piece of <a href="http://www.pactimo.com/">Pactimo</a> gear that I purchased was a pair of their <a href="http://shop.pactimo.com/cycling-knee-warmers-articulated-unisex/">Articulated Cycling Knee Warmers</a> and at the time I had some questions related to sizing. Their customer support was excellent, providing same day response to my emails, helping me select just the right size. I've worn them on several occasions, which required either a little
extra warmth or support, or both, as sometimes my left knee needs a
little compression/support, which the <a href="http://shop.pactimo.com/cycling-knee-warmers-articulated-unisex/">Pactimo Knee Warmers</a> provide.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pactimo.com/">Pactimo</a> makes the announcement about the winners accepted into the Brand Ambassador program, next month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.<br />
<br />
Safe (and warm) riding all. fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-61907426618945817572014-01-21T18:44:00.000-06:002014-01-21T18:44:34.921-06:00Which organized rides to do in 2014I'm looking forward to the Dairyland Dare in 2014. A few of us in the bike club had considered doing one of the other rides in the Wisconsin Triple Crown, but now that that has been discontinued, it looks like the 2014 DD will be our ride of choice. These were a couple of my favorite pictures from the 2013 DD.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hWPYc3ct8A/Ut8R_UqojQI/AAAAAAAABeU/z6UsYi4TGJQ/s1600/IMG_0544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hWPYc3ct8A/Ut8R_UqojQI/AAAAAAAABeU/z6UsYi4TGJQ/s1600/IMG_0544.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">This was taken at the start of the day. The weather was just perfect</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">that day, cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon.</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fpfIMqnTigA/Ut8STBqOlvI/AAAAAAAABec/i8xNXW-1ML0/s1600/118153-187-032f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fpfIMqnTigA/Ut8STBqOlvI/AAAAAAAABec/i8xNXW-1ML0/s1600/118153-187-032f.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">This shot was still early in the ride, but I had warmed</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">up enough to just start pealing back the arm warmers.</span></b></div>
<br />
I'm not sure which other rides I'll do in that area (drift-less region of WI), I'm thinking about registering for the Horribly Hilly Hundreds, but that's a lottery, so there's no guarantee of getting in. The other ride, which I've done a few times before is the Wright Stuff.<br />
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Safe riding all.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-29932737415137157832012-12-11T19:16:00.003-06:002012-12-11T19:16:57.067-06:00Yoga Ride ProjectMy Diverse Audience project for the 200Hr Alignment Yoga Teacher Training, that I completed, has it's own blog at <a href="http://yogaride.blogspot.com/">http://yogaride.blogspot.com</a>fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-22328315179846389732012-09-26T22:36:00.000-05:002012-09-26T22:36:38.003-05:00Cracked Carbon Fiber Frame covered under WarrantyMy 2006 Specialized Tarmac had been a great bike for me, serving faithfully for several thousand mile over the course of ~6 years worth of rides.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FevbKWPV1IE/UGPFBkj1iLI/AAAAAAAABFE/jcZHRXtRfRI/s1600/DSCN0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FevbKWPV1IE/UGPFBkj1iLI/AAAAAAAABFE/jcZHRXtRfRI/s320/DSCN0455.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>2006 Tarmac Comp (at the shop where I bought it)</b></div>
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But during a recent tune-up the tech discovered that the frame had a crack in the lower left chainstay right behind the bottom bracket. This was especially disheartening as I was about to head out of state on vacation, which included a Century ride (Capital City Century) in Springfield, IL. I ended up leaving my bike with the shop to pursue the warranty claim with Specialized, while I used a loaner (from a friend in bike club - Spring City Spinners) to complete my Century Ride plans.<br />
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While I was on vacation, word came back from the dealer the the cracked frame would be covered under warranty -- THANK YOU SPECIALIZED.<br />
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So the Sunday after our return from vacation, I picked up the new bike (my components) on a Specialized Black/Red/White 2013 Tarmac SL4 Pro frame.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWYQrpvbtRU/UGPHiDFJYZI/AAAAAAAABFM/DPefSpeaR2Y/s1600/DSC_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWYQrpvbtRU/UGPHiDFJYZI/AAAAAAAABFM/DPefSpeaR2Y/s320/DSC_0712.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>2013 Tarmac Pro (on my deck)</b></div>
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I've gotten in a couple of good rides, and so far I can't tell much difference. The main differences that I see comparing the two frames: no Zertz inserts in the 2013 Tarmac frame, wider top and down tubes and beefier chainstays (where the old frame had cracked).<br />
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<br />fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-38418102020465657942012-07-03T19:00:00.002-05:002012-07-03T19:00:23.405-05:00Strava Activities<iframe height='160' width='300' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='http://app.strava.com/athletes/14913/activity-summary/1a1e483f04cefe83e3608c08e6bb514f18100669'></iframe>fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-64896885175190127922011-11-19T19:09:00.001-06:002011-12-16T20:53:20.120-06:00Could an Engineered Wing Sailboat benefit from Winglets?Recently, while I was on a business trip, I had the opportunity to see a presentation about the design and development of the Oracle AC45 wing-sailed Catamaran.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-prYBg4qWGC0/TshZKuAgpJI/AAAAAAAAAmU/nf2TyDs9oeY/s1600/DSC_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-prYBg4qWGC0/TshZKuAgpJI/AAAAAAAAAmU/nf2TyDs9oeY/s320/DSC_0128.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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It was fascinating to see some of the history of the Americas Cup and how the ship designs have changed/evolved over the years. On the trip back, while looking out at the window of the plane, I saw the winglet at the end of the wing tip...<br />
<a href="http://www.b737.org.uk/images/winglet_side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.b737.org.uk/images/winglet_side.jpg" /></a> and it occurred to me -- could an engineered wing-sail benefit from a winglet as well? Winglets on conventional aircraft wings reduce the overall wingspan, which helps to reduce parasitic drag by recovering wingtip vortex energy. The difference in an aircraft wing and wing-sail is of course that the aircraft is using the wing for lift and thrust but for sailing the wing provides thrust. It would be interesting to see if a "sail-let" at the top of the engineered wing would provide a similar advantage. It would also be an interesting to see if the sail-let could protrude to both sides of the wing-sail tip or if it would need to be a single "sail-let" that change sides to provide the most advantage. Perhaps an AC45 with a "sail-let" could perform as well as the planned AC72? NOTE: this isn't an original idea on my part. By doing some google searching showed that others had the same idea/question.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-9201992794399577742011-06-07T21:21:00.001-05:002011-06-07T21:23:31.568-05:00Most recent Garmin logged bike ride<iframe width='465' height='548' frameborder='0' src='http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/90927446'></iframe>fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-1964067407093389012011-02-22T19:37:00.004-06:002011-02-22T20:07:18.656-06:00My new winter sportUp until the last two or three years, the winters in Wisconsin had been mild enough that I had been able to keep riding my bicycle through the winter. It was cold, but the lack of snow kept the roads and trails clear. In fact I <a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://inthebikelane.blogspot.com/2006/12/my-winter-biking-gear.html">posted</a> about it and some of the gear I used back in 2007. Since then the winters have been a lot snowier, so it was time I found an alternative sport for the winter. This year I found it, by taking up snowshoeing. The first weekend I rented a pair of snowshoes, and after that I was hooked. I ordered a pair of snowshoes the next day and had them in time for the next weekend. Getting them that quick was lucky, as here in the Midwest, we had some record snowfall (even a blizzard) during that week (Feb. 2nd). The next two weekends I was "shoeing" in my own pair of snowshoes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXNX4K2Ke98/TWRptVDNr5I/AAAAAAAAAkI/1U6iV6DWSyg/s1600/DSCN2437.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXNX4K2Ke98/TWRptVDNr5I/AAAAAAAAAkI/1U6iV6DWSyg/s320/DSCN2437.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576698466057170834" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Snowshoeing at Lapham Peak</span><br /><br /></div>This past week, we we had a pretty good melt, so snowshoeing was out, but my wife and I took our dog out to Lapham Peak and did some walking/hiking on the paved trail.<br /><br />This week, we've had a little more snow, so snowshoeing might be back on the agenda for this weekend.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-54257452909114801942011-02-06T14:33:00.000-06:002011-02-06T14:34:35.824-06:00Diary of a reverse-engineer and the SPARC T3-1How does one get into the business of reverse engineering? For me it started at an early age, I loved to take things apart. Of course it's also desirable that, if whatever it is that's being taken apart was working, it should be again, once it's put back together. It took a little while before I was able to put them back together successfully. Sometimes the problem was that there would be extra parts left over during the re-assembly process. But the thing I always took the most pride in was being able to fix something that was broken.<br /><br />In the late sixties it was old watches, transistor radios and telephones that were some of my first "projects". The old crank type phones were some of my favorites. I still have an old 5-bar magneto from one of those phones. As the years went by the technology changed, but my interest and curiosity remained, progressing into computers and programming.<br /><br />So, this year I find myself doing some reverse engineering again, bringing the new Oracle/Sun SPARC T3-1 systems into an existing Solaris jumpstart environment. The first issue is that this environment is customized and the person who wrote the scripts is no longer around, thus that reverse engineering that I've been talking about.<br /><br />First problem, the SPARC T3-1 wouldn't jumpstart in the existing environment because the custom scripts which try to specify the boot drives in one of two ways:<br /><ol><li>try to look up the drives in a disk map file based on the machine type and a wild card for logical disk names. </li><li>or use physical paths (assigned to a custom devalias) to look-up the logical path (/dev/dsk/c#t#d#) once the jumpstart is initiated.</li></ol>In the product notes (821-2059-15) for the SPARC T3-1, it's stated that this system now uses a SAS 2.0 WWID (16 digit hexadecimal number) in place of the "t#". Of course this WWID is unique to each disk drive, so that rules out a wild card in the disk mapping file.<br /><br />Option two was also a bust, because once the SPARC T3-1 boots, the physical path (whether using the format listing, or an "ls -l" command of the logical disks) doesn't provide the same physical path used at the eeprom boot level. This issue also comes into play during post jumpstart processing as well, when we try to write more devalias values for the root drive and its mirror. But I'm getting ahead of myself.<br /><br />Example: ls -l and partial format listing (both show the scsi_vhci as the path)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" >/dev/dsk/c05000CCA00AD91644d0s2 -> ../../devices/scsi_vhci/disk@g5000cca00ad91644:c</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" > 0. c1t5000CCA00AD91644d0 <sun300g></sun300g></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" > /scsi_vhci/disk</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" >@g5000cca00ad91644</span> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "GE Inspira"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }p.Text, li.Text, div.Text { margin: 6pt 0in 3pt 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>To solve the first problem, I did two things, I modified the script that looks up the boot drives to recognize the devalias when they were given as a logical device, vs physical. This allowed the jumpstart to proceed normally and only involved a few commands from the "ok" prompt to determine the WWID of the disks that I wanted to specify. In this case I wanted to use the first drive of each of the two internal controllers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:courier new;">{0} ok probe-scsi-all</span><br /></span> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "GE Inspira"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }p.Text, li.Text, div.Text { margin: 6pt 0in 3pt 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >/pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >#--------^^^^^ 2<sup>nd</sup> controller</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >FCode Version 1.00.54, MPT Version 2.00, Firmware Version 5.00.17.00</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >Target 9</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><span style=""> </span>Unit 0<span style=""> </span>Disk<span style=""> </span>HITACHI<span style=""> </span>H103030SCSUN300G A2A8<span style=""> </span>585937500 Blocks, 300 GB</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><span style=""> </span>SASDeviceName 5000cca0150611a0<span style=""> </span>SASAddress 5000cca0150611a1<span style=""> </span>PhyNum 0</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >#-------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this will be the root mirror</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >/pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >---------^^^^^ 1<sup>st</sup> controller</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >FCode Version 1.00.54, MPT Version 2.00, Firmware Version 5.00.17.00</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" > </span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >Target 9</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><span style=""> </span>Unit 0<span style=""> </span>Disk<span style=""> </span>HITACHI<span style=""> </span>H103030SCSUN300G A2A8<span style=""> </span>585937500 Blocks, 300 GB</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><span style=""> </span>SASDeviceName 5000cca01502f6e4<span style=""> </span>SASAddress 5000cca01502f6e5<span style=""> </span>PhyNum 0</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >#-------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this will be the primary root disk</span></p> <br />These disks are in HDD slot 0 (for pci@1) and HDD slot 4 (for pci@2). Note, switch any alpha characters to uppercase, as that's how they are listed in the /dev/{r}dsk/ directory.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:courier new;">{0} ok nvalias boot1 /dev/dsk/c0t5000CCA01502F6E4d0<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;">{0} ok nvalias boot2 /dev/dsk/c0t</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:courier new;">5000CCA0150611A0</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:courier new;">d0</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >{0} ok nvstore</span></span><br /><br />Now the jumpstart could proceed as normal, but as I mentioned above, the additional post processing (more of the custom stuff) tries to create devalias entries for the root disk and its mirror. The problem here was the same as mentioned earlier, i.e., the "ls -l" doesn't provide the info needed to re-construct a physical path that would be valid at the eeprom level.<br /><br />One other things to note, during jumpstart the normal post processing does write the bootpath to the eeprom "boot-device" entry. However, it includes the unique WWID. This can be problematic if that disk should need to be replaced (i.e., how do we know the WWID of the new drive?). The solution I used in this case was to write the values for the root drive and its mirror using the default paths of the devalias listing for <span style="font-family:courier new;">disks0</span> thru <span style="font-family:courier new;">disk 7</span> (this system has an 8 disk backplane vs 16).<br /><br />Example of the devalis. <style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "GE Inspira"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style> <b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-GB">Note</span></b><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-GB">: The disk#’s match the HHD#’s</span> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "GE Inspira"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }p.Text, li.Text, div.Text { margin: 6pt 0in 3pt 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk7<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p3</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk6<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p2</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk5<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p1</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk4<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p0</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk3<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p3</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk2<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p2</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk1<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p1</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >disk0<span style=""> </span>/pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p0</span></p> <br />So, at this point I decided to scrap the old method and create the bootdisk and bootmirror devalias values based on these default disk devalias values, and they are based on the disk "port#"/HDD# slot position and not the WWID numbers. Note the addition of the "<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >,0:a</span>" to provide a slice/partition selection (needed to support a possible live upgrade to an alternate partition).<br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "GE Inspira"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }p.Text, li.Text, div.Text { margin: 6pt 0in 3pt 0.5in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "GE Inspira","sans-serif"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">{0} ok nvalias bootdisk /pci@400/pci@1/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p0,0:a</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">{0} ok nvalias bootmirror /pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@4/scsi@0/disk@p0,0:a</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">{0} ok nvstore</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">{0} ok setenv boot-device bootdisk bootmirror</span></p> <p class="Text" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">{0} ok boot</span></p> <br />This solution should be short lived as we are currently looking at implementing a different method of provisioning Solaris systems. If anyone has other suggestions for a solution, I welcome them.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-25877121245091683002010-12-05T10:10:00.004-06:002010-12-05T10:41:08.394-06:00Fresh Cut Christmas Tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7U-H1-SI/AAAAAAAAAjw/JVo5DSamSV8/s1600/DSC_0003.jpg"><br /></a>This year I wanted a little more nostalgic Christmas, so my wife and I went to <span style="visibility: visible; font-weight: bold;" id="main"><span style="visibility: visible;" id="search"><em>Riehle's Tree Farm (Dousman, WI)</em></span></span> and cut our own tree. As a kid we always had a real tree, but I couldn't remember actually going out to a tree farm, so this year we made our own memories. The folks at Riehle's made it easy, with a huge selection and help getting the tree baled and loaded on the van. We went with a Spruce, for the shorter needles and a more "filled out" look. Here's some pictures once we got the tree home.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7T4pJSjI/AAAAAAAAAjg/LbCwBv1pMEQ/s1600/DSC_0052.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7T4pJSjI/AAAAAAAAAjg/LbCwBv1pMEQ/s320/DSC_0052.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547233316333767218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Still baled and ready to go in the house</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I trimmed the branches at the bottom first, to attached part of the base of our tree stand. The stand is kind of neat in that it has a two piece swivel base so that you can attached part of the base to the tree and then just drop it into the floor piece of the base. The swivel allows you to straighten the tree by stepping on a "release" lever. This came in handy as you can see from the second picture.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7UfEZozI/AAAAAAAAAjo/EE1Ak2hA4Fk/s1600/DSC_0053.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7UfEZozI/AAAAAAAAAjo/EE1Ak2hA4Fk/s320/DSC_0053.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547233326648632114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">In the stand, but a little tilted</span></span><br /></div><br />After a little adjustment it was much better, the tree is straightened and some LED lights are applied.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7U-H1-SI/AAAAAAAAAjw/JVo5DSamSV8/s1600/DSC_0003.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/TPu7U-H1-SI/AAAAAAAAAjw/JVo5DSamSV8/s320/DSC_0003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547233334984571170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Straightened, lit and ready to decorate</span></span><br /></div><br />Now I just have to remember to water it regularly, so far it seems to be needing about a quart of water a day. I'm sure some of that is just evaporation, but so far it's not losing a lot of needles.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-35275764320209493152010-08-23T18:23:00.005-05:002010-09-06T14:44:28.955-05:00Century Rides that were like Night and DayWith summer winding down, I just participated in a couple of great cycling events. I usually try to do a couple of mid-summer Century rides, but with vacation and some other things that came up this summer I wasn't able to do the Heat Stroke 100 or Bay View Bicycle Clubs - Lake Country Classic.<br /><br />These next two rides were only a week apart but they were like Night and day...<br /><br />A little over a week ago I rode in the Cream City Cycle Club Century - Aug. 29th. This ride started out of Waterford Wisconsin and it wasn't bad at the beginning, but as the day wore on, the temperature and wind speed both started to increase. By the end of the ride I was close to "bonking". Not as bad as some, who required some medical attention, but I downed some fluids, ate the post ride meal (spaghetti dinner) and rested in the AC of the Waterford High School building before heading home. This was definitely a last ride of Summer with the heat, sun and wind to prove it.<br /><br />Now fast forward exactly one week to Sept. 5th at Mt. Horeb, WI - actually Tyrol Basin Ski Lodge - to start the Wright Stuff Century (WSC). For this ride the temperatures were almost 35 degrees cooler (maybe 40 degrees at the start) and no wind for the first 3-1/2 to 4 hours. I followed a few tips on this ride that helped thru the day. Started with a 16oz sports drink about 2 hours before the start, I drank more during the ride (my hydration pack helps with that) and ate less at the rest stops. That's not to say I didn't eat, but I kept it to a piece of fruit and carbs with some protein; like a 1/4 bagel with peanut butter or I spread some peanut butter on a oatmeal cookie and then a banana or watermelon or orange slices. At the end of the day I had no cramping and felt a lot better. No doubt the lack of heat played a big factor it that, but the hills (and the number of them) are a lot tougher on this ride than the one a week early. The WSC was definitely the first ride of Fall (but not the last).<br /><br />Safe riding all.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-46227155982125217312010-05-24T19:14:00.006-05:002010-05-24T20:26:43.012-05:00A walk at Old World WisconsinIt's been a while since we last visited <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/">Old World Wisconsin</a>. I'm pretty sure one of the kids was still in a stroller the last time. So this trip was a lot easier, and the trams helped with getting us from one cluster of buildings to the next. We got there around noon and headed over to Caldwell Hall.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_skpD2TheI/AAAAAAAAAhw/hgNE9Qiebgs/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_skpD2TheI/AAAAAAAAAhw/hgNE9Qiebgs/s320/DSC_0043.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475010059825284578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Caldwell Hall</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Education Center<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_skpjyz78I/AAAAAAAAAh4/keckf6PjdO0/s1600/DSC_0044.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_skpjyz78I/AAAAAAAAAh4/keckf6PjdO0/s320/DSC_0044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475010068400566210" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The education Center also had a baby animal exhibit</span></span><br /></div><br />Our next stop was the Crossroads village, where we went through most of the homes and shops, including a demonstration at the village backsmith.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc1DOwjrI/AAAAAAAAAhY/Bmee-T3usKE/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc1DOwjrI/AAAAAAAAAhY/Bmee-T3usKE/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475001469724823218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blacksmith Shop<br />- </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;">part of the Crossroads Village</span><br /></div><br />From here we took the tram over to the Finnish area. This barn has some interesting construction with dove-tail joints (usually only seen in cabinet making) on the corners of the buildings.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc2nJFiPI/AAAAAAAAAho/TG-kWmTYec4/s1600/DSC_0061.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc2nJFiPI/AAAAAAAAAho/TG-kWmTYec4/s320/DSC_0061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475001496544577778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finnish Area Barn</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The Rankinen farm was a little hike off the mail road, in the same Finnish area.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc1xpkwlI/AAAAAAAAAhg/S0lGkeXh-B8/s1600/DSC_0058.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S_sc1xpkwlI/AAAAAAAAAhg/S0lGkeXh-B8/s320/DSC_0058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475001482185327186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">View of the Rankinen Farm House</span>,</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">from the access road</span><br /></div><br />It was a great way to spend a warm and lazy Sunday afternoon, in the midst of these 1800's era farms and buildings. We topped it off with somethings to eat and drink in the Clausing Barn Restaurant.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32082554.post-4368218186918791402010-04-01T18:57:00.008-05:002010-04-01T21:09:19.906-05:00Maintaining your bikes Free HubWhile riding out to Dousman last week, I noticed some intermittent vibration in the rear wheel of my bike. When I got to Dousman I pulled into the Bike Doctor and asked them to take a quick look at it. Luckily it wasn't anything too serious, my Freehub was in need of some maintenance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S7VRLvulVUI/AAAAAAAAAgc/ZclhloQN4nE/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7c_yAOhrS5I/S7VRLvulVUI/AAAAAAAAAgc/ZclhloQN4nE/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455355785861485890" border="0" /></a>After a quick rebuild and lube they had me off and riding smoothly again. Here's a link to a page for <a href="http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech/fix/?id=howfix_freehub">Freehub maintenance</a>, that way if you're so inclined, you can give it a try yourself.fullcarbonbikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18123233218322470834noreply@blogger.com0