Cheney rears himself yet again

Too bad is what I say. He's never at a loss for criticizing the current administration. The more I learn about Afghanistan the more I realize that little or no research was done by the previous administration about the Afghan's history, culture and geography. If they had, they would not have jumped so fast. Don't get me wrong. I abhorred the 9-11 attacks. But remember that the attacks were executed by a band of people that are spread over the globe. They blend in and and live otherwise normal lives. Sending tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan will only displace Al Qaeda. When I hear about all the troops going to fight in Afghanistan I can't help but think about our own revolutionary war. How the British would all line up and march forward with rifles blazing as America's fledgling rag-tag fighting force scattered among the rocks and trees of well know neighborhoods ultimately won out. We are trying to fight an unconventional army with conventional tactics.
I applaud President Obama's thoughtful approach to the execution of the war. President Bush painted us into a corner and now we need to find a way out.
American's also have a lot to answer for. Our demand for so much oil and drugs ( from Afghanistan) only weaken us in many ways.

Concerning Joe Wilson

Imagine; one politician calling another one a liar!
Where was he when President Bush told us that Iraq had WMD??

THe AP has made a bad decision

I agree with Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the AP should not publish the photo of a mortally wounded Lance Cpl Joshua M. Bernard. Cpl Bernard's Parents asked that the photo not be published. The Ap defended it's decision saying it "conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.” HELLO? We are at war. We get it. Why "use" this soldier and his family to sell news? I can only imagine if it were a son of mine how I'd feel. Apparently those at the AP can not.

The frame is built up.

I have attached the decal to the downtube and "branded" my bike "Carter's Cycles." I get Carter from my middle name. I like the way it sounds with cycle. I'm still building up a repair kit / tire pump for this bike but so far the ride is nice, stable and comfortable.
I tried a different brand of spd pedals on the bike. Spds are the type of pedal that my shoe clips into. Unfortunately I didn't test getting out of these new pedals until I was nearly at the front door of my destination, Genuardis. I must have looked funny careening around the front of the store struggling with both shoes trying to get released. I managed not to hurt anyone and returned the pedals for ones I am familiar with.
Link to pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/harryhellerman/NewCustomFrameBuiltUp#

The frame's progress

Here is an update on the frame that I built while out in Oregon in May. The frame is painted and has most of the accessories attached. I need to make two more attachments (peddles and water bottle cage.) and apply a decal to the down tube. I appreciate your patience. A picture is soon coming.

Hiking on the appalachian trail....REALLY!

I went hiking on the AT recently. I climbed out of Delaware water gap on a bright sunny day. I thought the first day it might be good to stop at 6 miles and relax at the shelter. I ended up staying there for the night and glad I was. At about 10 PM it started to rain, lightning and thunder. It rained hard until about 6 AM. Shortly after I got up to take care of making breakfast, get water and pack up. I was on the way a little after 9. The view out the shelter was over the valley and showed a sky that was overcast and some low hanging fog. I found myself walking into a foggy sections of trail. All the ferns and varieties of mushrooms! This walking with my head down had me seeing things I normally do not see. As the day progressed the fog burned off and the sun would come and go as would the brief showers. What was constant on this part of the AT were the rocks. Big 'uns little 'uns, sharp ones and round ones. Still I managed to stay on the trail despite rarely looking up. There seem to be quite a few people coming the other way. "Through hikers" making their way from Georgia to Maine. To be in PA at this time of the year they would need to have started in the March-April time frame. Many stopped to talk and learn what was ahead or how far Water gap was. Rocky as it was there were no hills to climb or descend. Until I got to Wind Gap where I waited for another south bounder Mark. We then walked into town for some Dinner.

The frame has "feet!"

I have managed to make progress on the bike frame. I'm happy to convey that there have been no issues. So far all the parts are coming together. It was recommended that I put some parts on the bike to make sure it would all come together before painting. I know enough now to start the next step which will be painting. I'm not sure how I am going to do it yet but I will post it when complete.

post trip follow up

As many of you know US Air lost my one checked bag on the way home. This is the first time this has happened with all the flights I have taken. I found that after I got home I started thinking of all the stuff that was in the bag. Like a jacket that I have had for over 20 years ( still in good shape.) Other clothes that I had just bought. All the notes that I had taken over the two week class. computer cables etc.. I know that most of the stuff could be replaced but I felt like I really would like to have my stuff back. Well, it's been 4 days since I have been home and I'm happy to tell you I now have my bag.
I think from now on I will be more careful about what I put in the carry on bag and what I put in checked luggage.

The end is near

Today was our last full day of class. It was very busy with more lectures and for me, a mad dash to attach all the braze-ons that a touring bike has. All went well and I pretty much kept to the course outline. Tomorrow we have more lectures and we'll have our frames looked over for safety. We'll get a picture taken of the class and discuss the implications of being in business. Also, if we were to go into business what tools we would need etc.. I will be taking a red-eye home tomorrow night and do not expect to update this blog for a bit.
I hope this was a bit entertaining and gave you insight to this adventure of mine and it allowed you a look into frame building.
A special thank you to Dort for her support and taking care of things at home and to Flo, who from the moment I talked about doing this she said "Go for it!"
I welcome feedback and your comments on this journal. Let me know if this was something of interest to you.
Harry

The heavy work is over.

The big stuff is done. Time for the little things that make all the difference. Places to put water bottles, route cables, attach racks etc. It was a long - and productive day and for the first time I have caught up with the class schedule. Tomorrow is our last full day in the shop. The last thing we need to do is file. That is saved because if we run out of time we can do the final filing at home. I believe that everyone is caught up so that on Friday we will celebrate the "final Friday frame finale."
After school I took a drive up some of the hills that surround us. I can tell you I was glad I was not riding up them. The terrain sure makes for some interesting landscaping.
The weather could not be better. Cool and dry.

Houston, we have a triangle

Yes, Let it be known that I made a significant step in making all those pipes look something like a bike. It wasn't without having to "talk tough" to the chain stays so that they would go where I was insisting they go. Still after an hour with the flame they all ended up being were they were supposed to be. After cleaning up the mess I found I will have to go back and do a bit of a touch up but for the most part this stage is done. The next step is completing another triangle. This is the one step that we are allowed to be creative and put our own mark on our bikes. I take that step tomorrow. We're starting to see the end near with 2 and one-half days left to "create." Can't stop now! Onward and upward.

Is it Monday already?

It must be time to work on the bike again. I spent the day preparing the tubes of the main triangle for assembly. Mitering, measuring, cutting etc. When it came time to put them in the jig I was told that they are were in use. Being that I am an adaptable bicyclist I changed gears.... I started cutting and mitering my chain stays to the proper length. I am told once a jig becomes available I will put the whole lot together. I have to say I am really looking forward to this moment. Up until now I have felt very much like a plumber!
Not much else to report. Tomorrow I hope to convey that I did indeed put most of the bike together.

taking the day off

I am taking today off. I started by walking to a local breakfast place for some eggs. I then went walking around town to see what I could see. I took some more pictures and have moved them on line at:http://picasaweb.google.com/harryhellerman/Oregon#

I did some food shopping keeping in mind how many more meals I will have here. I talked to a friend and was asked how much of my bike is together. This might me a good time to describe my progress. I have the fork together. The traditional diamond shape of the bike has not been put together yet. That will start on Monday As I will be attaching the head tube to the top tube and starting to put the rest of the parts in a jig to see how it all comes together.
It's 90 again today but the coming week we anticipate cooler temps with some light rain on Tuesday. Friday a class ended and it is quiet around here. Other students left to go to Portland for the weekend. Tonight I expect it to get a little busier as new and returning students arrive.

Oh Eugene! Fold that bike!

Finally - Saturday and I was off with my newly rented car to Eugene. I wanted to get a tour of the bike Friday shop. Actually I thought it might be a bike store too where I could buy bike parts etc.. Inside they had a room with cushioned chairs and about 10 bikes on display. about half of them were used. There were no other bike parts, no bike Friday labeled stuff like shirts. I found it interesting that even in the show room they had a cable that had to have been 30 feet long locking all the bike together. I have yet to have seen bikes locked IN a store. The tour through the back was even more interesting now that I can identify more bike building tools and equipment. They have a lot of room for machinery but precious little for workers! They have quite a collection of old, prototype and unique folding bikes ( and non-folding bikes) hanging, dirt covered, from the ceiling in the work room. I found myself more interested in looking up at the old bikes than looking at the current batch of bikes being worked on. I got the answer to two questions I had about a few models they offer or used to offer. For those interested I will put that info at the bottom.

From there I went to Eugene airport to see an air museum. Sadly this one did not measure up to others I have visited. The displays were all nicely done but they appear to be working with very little money. It might be unfair but I end up comparing these type of museums with Reading Pa's. They [Reading]have money and have used it to get unique planes in the air so they can be used to draw paying spectators when they fly.

The weather started cool but by noon it was approaching 90. Still the driving conditions for my over 5 hours on the road were excellent. The drivers I encountered today were very good.

Now, for those interested here are some details on the bike Friday questions I had. I wanted to know why they did not have an air Fridays on display. The salesman explained that the "beam" can be difficult to ride with both side to side and up and down movement while pedaling. He explained that you really need to know what you are doing to ride one. I asked about the sat-r-day which was a folding recumbent that they once sold. He explained that the market for folding recumbents was too small to make them profitable. I did get to see the first bike Friday made. It hung from the ceiling of the work area unlabeled and filthy. I saw a few tandems that were really interesting for folders. How so? One owner wanted campy equipment even though campy does not make things specific for folding tandems so existing campy parts were modified to work. One tandem looked like a viewpoint ( the viewpoint is made by Steve Bilinky in Philadephia) but instead was a modified bike made by a husband to take his paraplegic wife on rides. Don't think she got off easy! She used hand cranks!

As it was Saturday morning there were only a few people there but the tour was still very interesting. I will include a picture of the air Friday with this entry.

TGIF

Well, thank goodness it's Friday. My mind is spinning. There was a lot done today. If you look back to yesterday's post you saw a link to the school's site and some pictures. You may want to go back there and look again. I managed to get into a picture this time. The guy to my right ( in the picture) is Sam. Yes, he is significantly taller than me. You see me / us watching another demo of something we will have to do in the future. As promised I completed my fork this morning. I then completed my chainstays and started to work on the main part of the bike. Monday it should start looking like a bike and with next Friday approaching it is not too soon! Weather continues to be really good here. Tomorrow I hear it will be close to 90. I went to the airport this evening and picked up the rental car for the week. Tomorrow I will be off on field trip to Bike Friday in Eugene.
No school Saturday and Sunday. I may update the blog but it will not have any progress reports on the bike build.

Not the Spoon, not the knife but the fork......

Well today we had a lot of time to do hands on work. I started by taking two straight fork blades and bending them to a specified curve. I then brazed the dropouts ( the parts that the front wheel gets attached to.) I then made sure they were even and tried putting the fork crown on to see how it fit. Then I got a steer tube to attach to the crown. All looked like it was going together pretty good. Tomorrow first thing I will braze it all together and then stick a fork in it! It will be done! Today I came into the shop after finding fork parts and saw a staff member with a digital camera. I had a hunch and went on the school's web site and sure enough they posted pictures they took today in the shop. Do not look for me, remember? I was getting parts. In my absence they took a picture of my drafting table, which has my full size drawing, the fork crown and another head tube lug. Look for it at the bottom of the page I will give you further on. We are starting to fall behind a bit with archiving our daily tasks. I have to say; and I think I can speak for the majority of the 8 students, that the pace so far has been break-neck. Still, going from nothing to a full bike frame in 80 hours is no small feat!
As students we are given the opportunity to buy from a really big catalog of bikes and bike stuff for VERY good prices. We can do this once and only once. We need to have the order in by tomorrow so that we can leave with the stuff a week from tomorrow. I will tell you this much. I will be coming home with something myself. More on that later.
Here is a link to the UBI ( united bicycle institute) web page that contains the pictures referred to above. Notice how everyone is busy!
http://www.bikeschool.com/
This will take you to the main page. Then click on the photo in the top right hand corner of the page.

Sharpen your pencils!

OK, Pencils out ( number 2 please) Big sheet of paper on a big drafting board. T-squares out, triangles and away we go. starting with a line from front to back axle, then bottom bracket drop.... well you get the idea. we drew a two dimensional depiction of the bike we will be building. Good thing for me the tables we worked on were big!
A little more practice with brazing. Tomorrow we will start actually making our bikes.
In the meantime I am going to rent a car for the next week. I hope to go to Eugene this Saturday and tour bike Friday's factory.... or is it tour bike Saturday this Friday?? You can always Google Bike friday's web site; they make folding bikes.
A little rain today but only while we were in class.

Sometimes you feel like a "lug-head"

Today we did more brazing of lugs. Lugs are used to hold the "pipes" of the bike together and at the right angles too. It is important that these be done right so that the bike does not fall apart! Learning this new skill was a bit awkward and yes, did make me feel a bit of a lug-head. But hey! This is only the second day. I don't expect to be an expert this soon. Today we moved from working with a silver braze to a bronze braze and a different technique due to the different melting temperature of the bronze. Tomorrow we will be talking about bike fit and the characteristics of different bikes and how that manifests in the frame geometry. Time for the old protractor!
Weather continues to be good here and the views and environment are conducive to our studies.

Playing with Fire

Well, after a few tips on safety we fired up the torches and started brazing on the first day. We brazed a small attachment point on a downtube and brazed a lug onto a toptube/headtube. Later this week we will get more into the fit of bike frames, tube set selection etc.. The class is broken up into class sessions and hands on trial ( and error!) We all survived. There are 8 students and 3 instructors. I am really impressed with all the instructors so far. We certainly are busy though.
The distance from where we are staying and where we are going to class is about a block's walk. I'm going to have to walk into town if I am going to get any exercise this week.
Although I am taking pictures I forgot the camera's computer cord so we'll all have to wait to see were I am.

Travel Day to Oregon.

It all started this morning at 5AM. A ride to the airport, through security. I had some frequent flyer miles so I upgraded my ticket to first class. Very nice. Plenty to eat and plenty of attention from the flight attendants. It was a beautiful day for traveling and we got in to San Fransisco right on time. The bad part was the second leg of the journey from Calif. to Oregon. Our flight was delayed 1 hour then moved to another gate. Oh and I had to go back through security.
I'm here now. The weather is great. I am in a hostel and sharing the place with three others. Ashland is all about bikes; they are everywhere.
Tomorrow we will start the class.
Stay tuned.
Harry

Update

I'm closing in on my departure date but I haven't been sitting around. I completed a course to prepare me for a network+ certification test. The instructor was a Verizon employee. ( We had some common acquaintances.) After taking the class I knew I better line up the certification test pretty quick before what I had learned would drift.... I scheduled ( and paid) for the test. I took it at Bucks County Community College. It's a pass or fail and I passed. I'd like to build on that by taking two more essential certification tests. Not until later though. After my upcoming bike building my educational finances will have run out for the first time in my life.
As to the frame building I intend to take a laptop and update this blog with the goings on there. I'll take the camera and post pictures to my picasa site. During the course of the class I expect to learn about and build a bike frame that will fit me. Once I get it home I will have a lot to do with it including paint, and equip. Between the two weeks I am out there I hope to rent a car and travel to Eugene and tour the Bike Friday ( folding bikes) factory. I also hope to do some sightseeing. I'll be staying in a hostel while schooling and hope to enlist others to come along. Stay tuned to this site as I hope to post more frequently the next two weeks.

Tea Parties

The republicans are not in power. They don't have a leader. They don't have any better suggestions about the budget. So, they devolve to the lowest common denominator. Rush Limbaugh. So we see tea parties, and talk of Texas' cessation. Let me assure the tea party participants that President Obama had no choice but to do what he did. He certainly did not want to come into office and spend trillions of dollars. He's ultimate goal is to balance the budget. It seems to me that fighting two wars for over 6 years did not do anything for the budget. Oh, and by the way it wasn't just President Obama that is spending money it's Congress. So please, direct your venom at the appropriate parties and not to Barack.

I'm back

OK, I got hit by a virus. Yes, I had virus protection software installed. Getting back from a few years on this computer took some doing. Vista's backup program left much to be desired when I needed to restore from it. Now, a little older and wiser I have a different anti-virus program and a different method of backing up. It was an eye opener to me how much I used old e-mail files as an often accessed resource. Mostly as it pertains to computer work I do for the rescue.
Well, on a completely different topic I would like to write about the books I have been reading. Typically I do not read detective stories. However my sister-in-law turned me on to an author I really like. David Rosenfelt writes books about a character named Andy Carpenter. Yes, these are detective stories but Rosenfelt builds in these quirky characters and uses amusing twists to make these stories entertaining.
Currently I am reading "The world is flat." This fits in nicely with the course I am taking about computer networking. It's through personal computers that the world is becoming more "flat." I was amazed to learn that when someone pulls up to a fast food restaurant to order take out food he or she may be giving their order to someone a half a world away. I find the scenario depicted somewhat disconcerting. Hopefully the author concludes with strategies to deal with all the outsourcing discussed.

AIG

Recently, the bonuses at AIG are in the news. I waited a few days before I wrote this hoping that my anger would subside. So far I have not seen any point of view from AIG. I have only heard from so many politicians and news makers voicing their outrage (Democrats and Republicans.)
I find it interesting that these ( AIG) people, without the aid of the government, would have run the finances of the world off the cliff. I am also surprised that 1. these people still have jobs. 2. That they would still be drawing pay let alone bonuses.
Maybe it's time for the government to look at prohibiting institutions like this from getting so big that they are too big to fail. As it is now, they hold this country hostage.
All this is happening when men and women stand in harm's way for our country. All this when people are now forced to live in tents and jobs are so hard to find.
Worse yet, I think this is only the tip of the iceberg. I think that there is a lot happening in other big corporations that would scare me.

Madoff

I can not imagine what it is like to have a lifetime of savings stolen in this way. It's sad for me to see so many people, and institutions, some non-profit, to lose so much. It's also sad for me to hear that people were trying to tell the SEC about this years ago! Sometimes I think this government has gotten too big to function. Imagine the frustration of those trying to report this crime and being ignored!
Madoff will go to jail for the rest of his life. His needs now will be paid for by the state. And what of those left behind?

wow - it's been a while....

Well, what have I been doing? Not blogging obviously! I've been spending some time on facebook. Twitter? I don't have the time or inclination. Maybe after I get my iPhone?? I'm looking forward to two classes this spring. One on computer networking. The other my 2 week class on bicycle building in Oregon. Arrangements are made. I have to decide whether I take my laptop to keep up with e-mail / blog! The other decision is whether to take a bike with me for some after class riding. Thoughts? e-mail me!

Hero on the Hudson

I just heard the vice recordings before Sully's plane had to land in the Hudson. From the moment I heard that the landing was flawless and that everyone survived I was amazed at the professionalism of those on board. Now I realize that it was not just the pilot and crew that deserve accolades. It's also the air traffic controllers. Wow, I encourage you to listen to the exchange between Sully and traffic control. I was truly amazed.

FORMER vice president Cheney

Even now Dick Cheney continues to cry wolf. I will believe him when I see he and his family move to a different country.

Stimulus

I woke this morning to hear that not one house republican voted for the package. There were some democrats that didn't vote for it either. What would it take to get these representatives to wake up to what is happening to the people they represent? Would they have all gone down on the Titanic arguing whether it had hit an iceberg or not? Maybe we need to declare war on the recession. Maybe then we could get people working together. Between home foreclosures and when worker's unemployment runs out there will be riots in the streets. I wonder if they will notice in Washington? Or will it be another Katrina?

Torture

This past week President Obama started the process of closing Guantanamo Bay prison. This black hole was created by the Bush administration to hold "enemy combatants." Rather than deal with them, they were put here so that someone else would have to deal with them. Also, there were CIA run areas in foreign countries for the sole purpose of torture. I feel that this torture was the product of the frustration that the Bush administration had with religious groups they did not understand. It would have been better for president Bush to better understand the culture of the Afghans and the Iraqis before invasion. Now I hear that President Obama's declaration that we will not torture will lead to more attacks. Through this whole debate I can't get one phrase out of my mind. "Treat others as you would want to be treated."

Welcome Barack Obama

Today we saw history in the making. The first Black man to become president. When ever I vote in the election I am normally voting for the least of two evils. I can honestly say that this time I voted for someone I really wanted. It has been a long 8 years of President Bush and I often wondered if it would ever end. The world is now warmer. Certainly science has had to take a back seat and there was constant bickering in Washington. Barack brings hope that things will get done, science will be brought to the fore. I'm so glad he is talking to Republican and Democrat alike. We need more of that in Washington. I hope you will join me in wishing Barack well as he takes on so many huge challenges.

Good Bye President Bush

Well, the other night Mr. Bush said his farewell. This was his last attempt to try and convince the world that he was a great president. Once again we heard him tell us how he had kept the country safe since 9-11. Wrapping up 8 years of highlights took all of 13 minutes. That was about 10 minutes too long. So many issues of this country and this world still linger. Some issues, have gotten worse. So now Mr. Obama has the daunting task of trying to make up for 8 lost years as well as handle 2 wars, the economy etc.. Good rideance Mr. Bush we will not miss you.

My latest concern...

As I reflect on the news in the recent past I am concerned. I'm concerned about banks that lend to anyone, Madoff swindling so much and even these coal ash reservoirs polluting towns. Where is the oversight? Although a good question, I have another. Why aren't people using better judgment? Would you buy a house while unemployed? Now I see statistics about the high percentage of students cheating. So I am guessing that their theory on getting through life successfully is to cheat? Are we destined to take our life's lessons from those who are the lowest common denominators? i.e. "He does it, why not me?" How do we instill self-responsibility? After learning many lessons the hard way I have found that it's not so much the decision made but the motivation behind the decision that makes the difference. If we are destined to have to oversee so many professionals to keep them from cheating think of the waste of manpower and finances.

Biking in Philadelphia

Recently it was my pleasure to accompany a number bike riders riding from Manyunk to center city. Riding past boat house row is interesting and this time of year it was quieter than normal. Once we reached the art museum I felt like we were playing Russian Roulette with traffic. There simply is no easy way to get to center city. Bike lanes would come and go with no rhyme or reason. Traffic was unforgiving. When the country is trying to rid itself of foreign oil, and resolve the obesity problem, it's my feeling that cities should get federal money to help establish and maintain useful bike lanes through the city.