Happy New Year's Eve from vacation

Hello, Mrs 40 and I are down in florida for vacation this week. This morning I took a frightening bike ride over the causeway to the beach. no wonder why no one rides bikes around here.. it's pretty f'ing scary w/ no bike lane. No surf today so we went out in the boat.

The in-laws live in a condo complex on the Intracoastal waterway which has a ton of these 'spoil islands' along it. These were made when they dredged the channel. Some are conservation land, others are open to the public for camping etc. Mrs 40s parents/aunts/uncles etc have their favorites to go out to and party. One is even named after her uncle because he goes out there and camps for weeks at a time. This one had a few campsites on it. Even had 'facilities'... crude but functional:
I can imagine why they want to camp out here for weeks... nothing but dolphins, birds, manatees, and mullet for company.Well, have a Happy New Year! -40

EVIL-XMAS

The party started innocently enough... then somebody started dressing up their dog. Ingrid was in the holiday spirit with her big red bow.

Snoop-A-Loop got a brand new green hat from BBW for Xmas. It rocks. Snoopy wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture tho.

After all the holiday food was devoured, beverages consumed, and EVIL-XMAS exchange done (Swamp Yankee Swap), we all headed outside to go night sledding. BBW and I had a couple runs prepared. However, we were complete amateurs compared to CTLPs snow sculpting abilities.

Here he's putting the finishing touches on the banking and jump.

The view from the bottom looking up at the mountain and the lights:

After a few runs, Sleepy had a few more beverages then needed a nap next to his iBucket.

It was a great time. The next morning Sleepy made his patented omelets... with Bacon. I love bacon.

Thats it. Hopefully you all have a Merry Xmas! -40

Merry Christmas

The snow is out there... first real snow we have since we moved to the new place. The plowtruck worked awesome, but its going to have a bit of a learning curve to find all the rocks in the yard not to hit.

The other night I found a couple of sleds... plastic things what will probably last a few runs then shatter. Well, I tried one out this morning after walking Snoop-A-Loop...(who loves snow... go figure) on the frozen snow.... and ended up deep in the woods. Sweeeeet.

-40

Sledding

The 'early' snow this season got me thinking about sledding. Simple, fun, easy, anyone can do it. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I went sledding. Usually, snow sports now involve a 4+ hour drive to Vermont, $50+ lift ticket, and all that. Mrs 40 and I don't even own a sled. Well, now that we have snow on the ground and a wood pile pretty freaking far from the stove, i'm thinking it would be good to at least have a firewood sled to drag it down the hill in the snow rather than by wheelbarrow, and it would be cool to have a sled for bombing down hills.

These guys seem to have their sh*t together on both fronts. Drag your winter camping gear out to the yurt in a sled, then use the sled to for some fun... check out the videos. They are so serious about a good sledding run they berm the run with brush piles in the fall! I'm thinking this would be do-able on the FlatTires loop.

I'm thinking we should all find some sleds, find a big hill, bust out the ibucket, and go sledding!

Snoop-A-Loop! Bring Your Green Hat!

Ugg. It's coming early this year. I can't remember the last time we had snow before Christmas. This year it looks like we will. Lately I've been frustrated I didn't get more stuff done over the summer, and now I'm behind on house/yard projects. Not a good feeling. I've just about finished the last of the biggies. Tonight I stayed outside wiring, testing, etc, the plow rig on the old blazer we got from KungFooFish. I think i've learned my lessons tho.. on equipment that you rely on, its worth getting something that is not a project. This plow for example... Without it.. we would be S.O.L in a storm. However, It didn't work when i got it to bolt to the truck, and easily spent the amt of time getting it working that would have justified spending 2x as much. Or just getting a truck with a working plow. Owell...

The plow is done for now, as of 11:30pm tonight. The storm coming tomorrow shouldn't put a major stop to the rest of the jobs for the winter: I need to stack up some firewood, finish some inside projects, and get started splitting next years firewood. It's already cut up on top of the hill. I'm kicking aorund the idea of building a small solar powered firewood kiln for a 1/2 -1 cord at a time. Any moisture you can drive out of the wood using summer sun is the eq of free heat for the winter. Yup. I may build a 1/2 cord (a 48"cube) prototype this winter to try out the theory. I'm thinking a mini greenhouse... the specs would be similar to a passive solar house, suck in all the warm air from the sun as you can and circulate it around firewood. I've seen some articles about them.. even Vajanyatek (that's virginia tech) built one and published the plans on the web.

Other than that.. it's time to think about other indoor/garage friendly projects with the short days/sh*tty weather time of year. I'm dying to turn the bfb stuff into a recumbent. Or at least try it. If i can build a 8 ft long bike that can turn around on a dirt road and go 25mph.. i'll be thrilled.

Anyhow.. hope to see you guys soon. -40.

Wii videos on YouTube

Today I was reminded how much video games have changed. It used to be you sit around not doing a whole lot. Now, you need to move to play games. Gets lots of people who wouldn't normally play want to try it.

Head over to YouTube and check it out. Warning.. All are definitely and completely NSFW.



First, the classic original Wii vs PS3 commercial promised this would be a totally different console.


Then came the homemade spoofs. Why girlfriends think the Wii is cool



I was emailed a link to this one today, completely couldn't believe it. If you are offended by topless models, baby oil, video games, or British Accents, do NOT click this link. You have been warned.

In other news... I've been running around like an idiot lately finishing projects before the holidays. Trying to fix the plow truck, filling in craters we made while digging out boulders from the front yard, splitting/stacking firewood, etc. This weekend will be yet another another busy one.

The holidays are coming. With them, come commerical insanity, massive overspending, and *ugg* malls. It's my goal to not set foot into a mall until after the holidays. Wish me luck.

BUT! The holidays mean PARTIES! Head on down to the southernmost tip of the BeerMuda triangle on Dec 22nd for the festivities. Bring your kid(s), dog(s), glow in the dark frisbees, headlamps, Disc Golf baskets, and drinking shoes as applicable. We have plently of spare beds, couches, comfy recliners, floors, and whatnot for anyone to stay over if you want/need to.

That's it! Cya, -40

Treadmill Bike

Ok, I thought this was a joke, but it's not. It a Treadmill Bike. You have to watch the videos and make sure you watch the video of the "sweet jumps". I just don't get it. Why? What's the point? And it only costs $2500 canadian (although now that's probably cheaper than US), I can't believe they are able to keep these in stock. The best are the spinner wheels.
Anyways, check it out, besides "It's the future of urban transportation in this country".

Cold weather, and the holiday's, are coming...

Today was a holiday for some. I had the day off, and needed it big time. I tried to get as much done as possible on the 3day w/e.

On Saturday FlatTires came over, picked me and my garbage up, and we went to the transfer station. Met CTLP there after he had his coffee at Blueberry Hill. We all dumped in peace, Left all recycling in the bins they belong in (i'm told taking books out of the paper shed is against the rules).

Then, CTLP and FlatTires helped cut up all the wood piled up on the hill. Buck-it-up, if you will.

Sweet. Funny what dueling chainsaws can do with a go-fer shuffling around stacking wood. The current BeerMuda record stands at 2 log-length-cords(LLC) in about an hour with 2 saws. Yeehaw. Of course... Those are 2 sharp Huskies. Don't try to keep up w/ a homelite. I smoked my clutch(sparks flying) due to dull as sh*t chain. BTW, Split-a-dab might be in the works for a crispy cold winter weekeend activity, if we save the -adab till we're done. Renting a splitter for 2 days or a few even is well worth it.

Sunday was spent raking, dragging, and dumping ton after ton of leaves. Not surprised I feel asleep at 9. Ugg.. Getting old. Today I finished lots of little, must-do, jobs that have been driving me nuts. Gutters full of leaves, ripping up that ugly ass bamboo sh*t living under the porch(transplanted to the frontyard...), trying to replace the light out front with one that works, stuff like that. Then, Snoopy and I went for a quick mtbike loop around Big River, he was so pooped when we got home that he jumped up on the couch and has been sleeping since 5:30. Sheesh.

BBW and I are considering an overnight next weekend. Work on a project until it gets close to dark (~3pm these days), and bail for the bikes or kayaks for an overnight someplace local for watching some caveman TV(campfire) and B**r. Of course, that is if winter doesn't start too early(ie, looking for 40s days, 30 nights) doable with lightweight camping gear.

This week is the official kickoff to the holidays. The Italian Social Club dinner is thursday, then the holidays fly by in rapid succession after that. Txgiving, Xmas, New Year. LIke nothing. We need to check calendars for the early Pandapas Holiday gathering. Right now it might be either the w/e of Dec 22nd, or thereabouts. Stay Tuned.

Anyhow.. have a good week. Hopefully see you next weekend or... around. :) -40

Recycling

Here's an article that I found about how to recycle some odd things. I just thought I would share it.
That's it. Have a wonderful weekend.

Getting Chilly.

It's finally starting to feel like fall. Nights have gotten down into the 30s. If you're like me, heat with oil, and have been watching the news...

you would have seen that a barrel of crude has reached the psychologically important $100/barrel. The most visible sign of energy prices come when people see gasoline go up 20 cents in a week. It's a dollar more a gallon than last year. The rest of the world would tell the US, "tough sh*t, welcome to the party d*uchebags." Its hilarious to hear the people at work complain about it when our friends in the EU have been paying $5-6 a *liter* for years.
I bet it gets to the high 3s this year. Still unbelieveably cheap for what it is.

Anyhow.. this time of year makes me want to squeeze in the last of the summer activities, biking, boating, f'ing around. This weekend is a 3 day weekend for some. I'm hoping to get the yard cleaned, collect some firewood, and start digging the garden beds for next year. Other than that..... No plans. Next weekend BBW and I have been discussing a local bike/boat/beer overnight. Someplace easy to get to, where we can tote some beverages and watch fire. That's is. Maybe even the FlatTires Plateau if he lets us or we get wicked lazy. Everyone is welcom to join..you know where it is.... Under the birch/beach(not sure which it is) tree with the treestand in it. May even head down the river, by kayak or bike, and check out some new campsites. Should be fun no matter what. Only 2 rules... your stuff needs to get to the site by human power and byob.

-40.