Finals Week

gear

Life has been unreasonably busy lately.  While sitting at the lab computer today, for some reason, I imagined this collage.

Here was my original thought:

Here was the outcome:

2-14-2012

happy valentines day ya'll

one of my old bikes

I think I got this bike back in the summer of 2008.  Before this bike, all of my interest was in mountain bikes.  Essentially, this was my transition into the strange, mysterious world of road bikes.  I was at home back in northern california for that summer and hopped on craigslist to see what I could find.  Somehow I lucked out and found this:

which quickly turned to this:

and then this:

The guy I got it from was a tiny little dude who clearly couldn't fit on it.  He told me he just wanted to get rid of it and get a few bucks for some sodas.  It was painted when I got it and all I did was slap on an old skate sticker as a head tube badge. I enjoyed this bike very much.  It was a fun transition/introduction to a whole new part of the sport. I even poked a rattle snake with the front wheel on a ride in southern oregon.  I never figured out the make of the frame.  All the bike shops I took it to couldn't figure it out either.  It had a very unique brake arch in the back.  One guy thought it was a Klein.  I am leaning towards an old Nishiki due to its component set.  The chainstay sticker said "Boston Bicycle Company" hence my query in the search box in the screenshot. I always dug those gold rims.  Ultimately I sold this bike in 2010 for $140.  It needed new tires and a bottom bracket badly.

old disposable

So over summer or winter break (I don't remember), I found an old disposable camera in my closet at my real home.   There were already a handful of pictures taken on it.  It took me this long to finally fill it up with stuff I found "worthy".  I had absolutely NO idea what those first few photos were of.  The answer: A) I brought the camera snowboarding a looonng time ago or B) I found it a long time ago while snowboarding and kept it.  Either way, the first few shots may or may not be of people I actually know. 

mt bachelor circa 2004 or 2005

 oregon coast 1

 oregon coast 2 (the day I found the dead llama on the beach)

 work

 engineering lab....... classsssic.....

Disassembly of the fork that came on my new bike, just for fun. It was heavily bent at the steer tube.

2/8/12

It appears that I'll be spending the summer and fall in the Portland area as an engineering intern.  My hopes and spirits are high and I'm looking forward to the opportunity in many ways.  

Here's some more random stuff:

A magazine at work, the best part is the little picknick of snacks sitting on the rock in the spring.

out with the old (unwillingly) and in with the new

Welp, as some of you know, the bike that I painted and put together last summer was stolen.  Living in Corvallis and being who I am, I need a bike.  I managed to score this beast for a killer deal on criagslist.  Its not my typical campus cruiser but I'd always wanted to be a poseur and ride a dirt jumper...  It is now the ugliest disgrace of a dirt jumper on the block but I dont give a $#!%.  It makes going to and from class pretty fun.  RIP PON-TON.

blur days

disposable cameras

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

another relaxing day at smith

sushi

never done this before:

Jacoby Creek

Goodbye Friends

lake tahoe

ice textures

Took a trip to Tahoe.  Frustratingly enough, there was very very little snow.  It got cold though. Cold enough to freeze the top 8ish inches of Eagle Lake.  Walking on the lake was a trip.  When the sun came out it groaned and shook as new cracks formed. There was a hockey game going right before we got there.

lens surgery

About a month ago I took a spill on the skateboard on my way home one night.  It was dark, didn't see the crack, sprawled out on the pavement. No big deal...  There conviniently some attractive chick there to see the event unfold. 

Anyways, I'd been carrying the k1000 with me all over the place just in case. The next day in class, a buddy of mine asked to see the camera. He then asked why it wouldn't focus.  It dawned on me that I probably smashed it on the ground during the skateboard accident. Great. New project.  

The lens was an SMC-A 50mm f/2.0. Online I found the exploded view of the f/1.7 version (which I also have). Out came the tiny screwdriver and curiosity took over. It turns out that one of the three little screws (closest to the top left of the diagram) had dug into the plastic and kept the focus ring from turning.  Something else was a little wonky too.  Even when I chiseled away a bit of the plastic allowing the ring to rotate, the elements wouldn't move in and out.  I think a makeshift repair would have been possible but the motion of the focus ring would never be the same. Oh well, now I have some cool little pieces of glass.

It was interesting deconstructing the lens. Many things were attached by threading them on the lense body.  Someone online suggested using a rubber crutch bottom as a friction wrench.  I ended up using some anti slip mat and a Mrs. Dash seasoning bottle.  It worked great. The aperture mechanism was pretty cool to see up close. A very delicate and precise little function.

time to find a new 50mm for the film camera...

chillin' time

relaxation

three eggs each

I love my job.

when it rains, it pours...