12.23 Studios

(05/01/24)

It's a beautiful May Day in my particular corner of the city, and with all the problems in the world I'll take it...

I took a walk to the local Best Buy to see if the Gorillapod phone tripods were restocked, and they were. This is the particular model I wanted. I went with red because it's easier to see at a distance. This closes out the gear I needed for day long Bloom/Scouting rides...

Meanwhile, I recently did a search for my high school yearbook because this year is the 50th anniversary of my senior year. Pine Bluff High School, Class of 1974, Pine Bluff, Ark. To be honest, I had no plans of going to the reunion at all, partly because right now Arkansas is a flaming red state, but mainly because for many people the most important reunion is the 10th - that's the one where you go to show off to friends and enemies how successful you've become. The 50th reunion is mainly to see who's still alive, or who looks the most decrepit...

Anyway, I did find a few copies digitized and uploaded, so I searched and found a couple photos I remembered...

I was an Art major and a member of the Art Club...

I was also an Associate Editor of the school's annual literary magazine The Winged Zebra (the school's sports team mascot was the Zebras, I think because the high school had been integrated a few years previously). That year we produced two volumes of the magazine to accomodate all the poems, short stories and illustrations submitted by the different classes. In fact, I had a number of poems accepted the previous year, which I believe helped me land an Assoc. Ed. spot in the senior year. I especially remember the African cloak I wore around campus that Spring. The photos were touched up using a free AI web app...

(05/20/24)

Well, the rain has gone away, but the chill remains...

Meanwhile, my doctor has tweaked my Metformin to a smaller pill, twice a day because my blood sugar count was still on the high side. I tweaked my food plan as well, not exactly to keto levels but limiting my carbs to a max of 120g per day. I'm not going the carnivore route, but I'm increasing my protein by consuming a pound of 80% lean ground beef cooked with mixed veggies or salsa, occasionally adding scrambled eggs that's enough for around 30g of carbs for the major meal of the day. I'm doing this at least three times a week. A single banana and a cup of low-carb yogurt works for breakfast, and to get the rest of my carbs I'm going with what would normally be snacks or junk food like chips and chocolate. So far it's working; even if I go over a bit, 120g is about half the recommended carbs for a Type 2 diet...

The best part is that I'm no longer taking horse pills, and I don't have to stick my finger to check my blood sugar levels anymore, but in a week or so I'll do a short stretch of daily post-meal readings to see where I'm at...

Also meanwhile, I just heard from bldg. management that I made the first slot on the waiting list for a new unit at the upgraded hotel up near Nob Hill, and a few days from now I'll go see what said unit looks like. I understand that at least three apartments opened up, and that the two folks ahead of me most likely passed on the one I'll be looking at, and it'll be pretty much like my current unit (no bathroom), but if it's not terrible - no drafty windows, not bug infested, no noisy neighbors, etc - I'll take it...

(05/23/24)

Ok, my appointment to check out the hotel unit went about as well as expected...

I got there a bit early to scope out the neighborhood to see what, if anything, had changed from the Google Maps Street View recorded last year. The shops were the same, the Post Office branch was still there, etc. The location itself is Lower Nob Hill, nice...

This is the view from the entrance of the hotel. It's a two story walk up with a cable car line on the street...

As suspected, this unit was passed on because it's tiny, even smaller than my current place, but it's clean and looks newly renovated. The biggest drawback aside from size is the trash room is on the other side of the wall, but it's clean as well, even if I'll hear the occasional bag being dumped late at night. The separate bathroom/shower looked newly built, and a plus is that the unit is on the second floor and there's only one next door neighbor. There's also a laundry room available...

A clean cabinet, hot and cold taps...

One window that looks out to another airwell, no radiator, hardwood floor...

Without the bed, these two walls are gonna get the most use for vertical utility. Parking the bike is gonna be a hassle...

Without even being told, I knew that if I turned it down, I'd drop to the bottom of the wait list for who nows how long, so I told the bldg. manager I'd take it. The paperwork should take a week or so, then the big logistics adventure will commence, which means some of the current stuff will go to the storage locker, some tossed, and the challenge of the new basecamp will unfold...

(05/24/24)

I spent the day after the unit visit thinking about what stuff actually needs to move besides the bike, my electronics, clothes, kitchen gear and food, household etc., essential furniture (just the folding TV tray and plastic crates) and the stone I'm supposed to be working on...

There's the Scouting/Bikepacking gear, which doesn't include the alcohol stove set, the two big batteries, the big charger and the power control panel that's part of the touring gear. Time to get another granny cart for hauling...

One thing I'm discarding will be the big ass plastic shelves that have both clearly sagged, even though they never had very heavy loads on them...

A particular challenge will be parking the bike. I can't screw mounts into the wall to get it off the floor, and that wall space will be occupied anyway, so it's gotta go vertical...
The vertical bike racks available are too expensive, not sold locally, or still require wall space. I then checked out DIY versions that I didn't like, so I looked at the empty camp cot frame I'm using as a clothes rack and considered a modified PVC version...
I checked out a few PVC clothes rack videos and imagined a simple design using 3/4" pipe and fittings...

After drawing it up, I remembered my bag of misc. PVC parts...
I had a few 1/2" pipe sections long enough to stress test for lateral load bearing. I already had the T's and Three Way fittings - I'd only need two 10' lengths of 1/2" pipe and 6 end caps from the home improvement store...

One last tweak is due to the pieces from the bag for 'C' and 'D' sections. Since I'll only need to cut one 'C' section from the new pipe, I can add two inches to each 'B' section, making the rack itself closer to 6' tall...

The last part for the rack will be a padded hook for the front wheel...
Bike rack hooks are all wall mount screws, or bolt-end requiring drilling a hole in the the top crosspipe...

The closest useful design is this 90 degree twisted closet hook for purses and backpacks, sold on Amazon and Wally World, but it's too lightweight...

The alternative is to pick up an 18" piece of 1/4" plain steel rod, the same thing I used for the handlebar harness rack. I'm not gonna dig my vise out of storage, but I'll come up with some kind of jig to make the bends...

(05/25/24)

Ok, after a breakfast banana and yogurt I hit the home improvement store. They only had five 1/2" end caps but no big deal - the PVC pipe was the most important item this trip...

I can get the final end cap anytime during the long weekend...

They didn't have 18" long plain steel rods, three feet minimum, and without a vise I decided to go with a 1/8" rod, since the bike will be propped up instead of hanging off the floor. The clerk at the store confirmed that the rod should handle a 30lb. load in the case of my rack design, though I'll probably have to add a backstop after it's done...
I marked the center of the rod and bent it on the handlebars, then made the initial 90 degree twist hook..

I wrapped a double layer of Gorilla tape around the hook and tested it on the front wheel - little to no deforming when I lifted it off the floor. That's it for the first weak link of the vertical bike rack...

After cutting the remaining sections, I finally realized that the three way on the bottom wasn't the four way in my drawing, so I went back out and hit the two hardware shops in the neighborhood - no four ways, but I did pick up another end cap...

Not sure about balance issues with the rack, I assembled the sections, saw that the thing was too damn high, and trimmed the 'B' sections until they worked...
In the middle of the room, the bike was unstable, but when I propped the rack against the wall, the thing was stable even when shifting the rack forwards and backwards. The rear wheel didn't need a backstop. Turns out I didn't need the 'D' sections because the easiest way to mount the bike is to lean the rack down, put the hook through the wheel and roll the bike into place. Having the rack in a corner will work just fine...

The adjusted final design with updated measurements...
As a project, the PVC pipes and fittings plus a 3' length of plain steel rod should come to between $25-30, less outside the Bay Area, and less than most freestanding (free leaning) vertical bike racks in stores...

Obvious caveats - this rack is sized to my specific vintage 26" wheel/18" frame MTB with a full length rear fender - your mileage may very...

(05/26/24)

Getting a little more pre-moving prep done...

To replace the big ass saggy plastic shelves, I looked for the best cheap metal type available in town, but apparently the old school gray shelves are no longer sold at Ace Hardware, but I did find these indoor/outdoor galvanized shelves at Ikea for $25, so I got two. they're roughly 2' wide, 10" deep and 4.5' tall...

You're supposed to anchor the shelf to the wall, but that was true of the old shelves too; as long as you don't make it top heavy it'll work...
I'll wait until the move to set them up...

Meanwhile, I got a dollar store (nowadays it's the $3 store) tarp to make a carry bag for the vertical bike rack ...

Ok, vertical rack ready to go...
Tomorrow I'm going off diet to respectfully observe Memorial Day with BBQ hot dogs and potato salad...

(05/27/24)

The day began cloudy and chilly, then turned sunny with a chill breeze...
I picked up one more pre-moving item to wrap up the month - six 1 cu. ft. U-Haul boxes because the store was open...
The last item for moving is the aforementioned folding shopping cart, but instead of a smaller cheap granny cart, I'm looking at one made for cargo...

This cart sold at Ace Hardware has an advertized 21" x 24" trunk size and 150 lbs carry capacity. Two bungees tying the handle to the rear rack makes it a viable bike trailer, my very first touring trailer idea...

(05/28/24)

Ok, the regular work week is up, so I went to the home improvement store and got the 'deluxe' Ace Hardware shopping cart, put it together and measured the trunk size, which came to 15" x 18". I double checked the product number (yep, the same), so I'm betting it probably only has a carry capacity of 90-100 lbs max, which I won't be testing...

I'm gonna beat the hell outta this thing...

I talked to bldg. management, got a few more details, like how much the new rent will be - slightly more, but it's still the cheapest rent in town...
In a couple days I'm to sign the new lease, get my keys, and I'll have a week to get moved. I'm pretty much ready to get started...

(05/29/24)

All right, testing out trailer hitch ideas...

I tried the medium sized ball bungees tying the cart handle to the rear rack, but it didn't feel secure, even when I added a pair of the rock climbing carabiners, so I switched to two utility straps that can be adjusted and easily removed...

Two carabiners is overkill for a safety catch...
To keep the cart from shifting laterally, I'll modify the handle's padding...

A 5.5" gap will help keep the hitch straps centered...

Gorilla tape on both ends of the padding sections to keep the rubber from slipping...

The finished trailer hitch. Carabiner first to couple, straps first to uncouple, and I'll take the bungees just in case ...

(05/30/24)

Ok, going back up to the new place to do the paperwork...

So, the general neighborhood is Lower Nob Hill, but the specific area is known as Polk Gulch because that's the street running along the bottom. BTW, the California St. cable car line runs all the way to the Ferry Bldg. on the Embarcadero...

(05/31/24)

All right, last day of the month...
I finally got my keys, paid the rent, and submitted change of address to the Post Office and the DMV. It was a full morning of running around, so I spent the afternoon resting and enjoying an extra helping of snacks...

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