Archive for August, 2008

Today’s Tweets

Friday, August 29th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

  • 09:19 Okay, I’m apparently really bad at making this thing work. stupid php. #
  • 09:22 Maybe I’ll stop trying to customize this WP theme. #
  • 12:02 #Blog: Jumping the Gun… kclose3.com/blog/?p=60 #
  • 13:34 No Permit! #
  • 15:50 Hmm, I may be riding home in the rain. #
  • 16:49 So much politics on Twitter, must find a way to filter it! #
  • 17:03 I should be home by now but I can’t open my timesheet. #

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Jumping the Gun…

Friday, August 29th, 2008 | Blogging | 6 Comments

…in which I talk about my new blog style, before I’m even done with it.

I’d gotten more than one comment (complaint) about the white on black text layout, so I started looking for a new theme with a lighter color scheme. I like the one I got, but its got some layout issues that I’m still working out. So for now, its looking better, but I still have some work to do on it. I hope this is a bit of a better color scheme for you guys. › Continue reading

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Jumping the Gun…

Friday, August 29th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

…in which I talk about my new blog style, before I’m even done with it.

I’d gotten more than one comment (complaint) about the white on black text layout, so I started looking for a new theme with a lighter color scheme. I like the one I got, but its got some layout issues that I’m still working out. So for now, its looking better, but I still have some work to do on it. I hope this is a bit of a better color scheme for you guys.

Oh, and I love CSS, but I hate deciphering PHP. Too I’m too picky just to take a theme as it comes, I have to customize it and make it the way I want it.

I’ll continue working on it and make it even better, so stay tuned for future improvements.


Originally posted at K. Close III
You can comment at kclose3.com


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Today’s Tweets

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

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I’m sweaty, I’m sore, and I’m in love…

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 | Cycling | No Comments

…in which I talk about my bike being fixed and how awesome it is now.

I’m going to start with the short version of what happened to my bike to get where I am today.

Two weeks ago, on August 9th I believe, I took my bike to The Bicycle Path to get it tuned up. It was going to get a simple adjustment of brakes and shifters, a lube, and a wipe down. I also wanted to get my grips replaced, and was willing to pay extra for that. I was supposed to pick it up on the 11th, all ready to ride. › Continue reading

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I’m sweaty, I’m sore, and I’m in love…

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

…in which I talk about my bike being fixed and how awesome it is now.

I’m going to start with the short version of what happened to my bike to get where I am today.

Two weeks ago, on August 9th I believe, I took my bike to The Bicycle Path to get it tuned up. It was going to get a simple adjustment of brakes and shifters, a lube, and a wipe down. I also wanted to get my grips replaced, and was willing to pay extra for that. I was supposed to pick it up on the 11th, all ready to ride. Instead, I get a call on the 11th, saying that my brakes are broken and they need to be replaced. A thirteen year old part had broken and they wouldn’t be safe to use anymore. I asked them how much and they said they could put effectively identical brakes on for $30 or the brakes they recommend to all their customers were $40. Being poor and not a hard core rider, I chose $30. The brakes had to be ordered, and would not arrive until the 13th. On the 13th, I get a call saying that the $30 brakes were back ordered, and they would not be in until the 20th at the earliest – if even then. So I decided to suck it up and get the $40 brakes. They had to be ordered, and would not arrive until the 15th. On the 15th, I go to pick up my bike and not only have they not replaced the grips, but when they ring me up, the brakes that were quoted as $40 are priced at $60. I bitch about being quoted $40, twice, and the owner actually marks them down. They take 30 minutes to replace the grips and I can finally take my bike home.

Last week, it either rained or I needed to haul heavy equipment to and from work, so I didn’t get to ride my bike at all.

Finally, on Monday, the 25th, I got to ride my bike to work. The gears were shifting beautifully and the brakes were nice and tight. However, after about two miles, my rear shifter locks up in third, it won’t shift up but it will still shift down. Finally after about two blocks, the shifter frees up, but the “click” that indicates one gear from the next on the shifter is gone, but at least I can shift through all the gears. After another block, the shifter locks up again before releasing and restoring the “click.” This time, however, the shifting is all un-callibrated and I can’t even shift into 7th. I call The Bicycle Path from work and they say “oh, sometimes the cables slip after a tune-up, bring it in and we’ll adjust it.”

When I take it in, they start working on it immediately, but shortly afterwards, they return to admit that the shifter is broken and needs to be replaced. I ask them how much, but then, in a surprise twist, they explain that there’s no way of knowing if it broke before, during, or after the tune-up, so they claimed responsibility and paid for the shifter. However, it had to be ordered, and would not arrive until the 27th. So yesterday, I went and picked up my bike, again, and its all fixed and working great. I’ve got entirely new grip-shifts which means the last of the thirteen year old rubber is gone from my bike.

Today – with the new brakes and shifters, the tuned gears, and a new bike lock – it was like riding a whole new bike. It was a great ride in with nice weather, low traffic, and a sweet newly tuned bike. I’m, once again, looking forward to riding as often as possible. It’ll save me gas, reduce stress, and its a great way to stay in shape. When my rear-view mirror comes in, its going to be awesome.

The Bicycle Path has tried very hard to make up for the trouble that they have inadvertently put me through. To be honest, I’m not even sure they realize how frustrated I’ve been through this entire process, but either way, I’m inclined to not patronize them again. There are certain things, in my opinion, that you should keep in stock at all times. Brakes and shifters are kind of requirements and seeing as how the brakes they wanted to install were their “recommended” brakes, you’d think they’d have some on-hand. The shifters they put on my bike looked like the “standard” shifter for today’s bikes, too, so that should be an on-hand item as well.

People make the same complaint about my friend Derek, over at Talon Comics, and I respect their complaints. I agree that Derek’s consistent response to customer inquiry is “I can order it,” but the main difference here is that comic books are a speculative market. Something that you may think is going to be a big seller may end up sitting on your shelf collecting dust, and you paid for it out of your own pocket to stock it in the first place. At a bike shop, however, there are certain inalienable necessities: brakes, shifters, tires; the things that make the bike go. You’re going to need them, people are going to buy them. None of them are limited edition, none of them are released and replaced weekly. I can’t say if any other bike shops in Denton will be any better about this than The Bicycle Path, but I’ll probably be giving them a chance before I return. Fortunately, for the time being, my bike is in such good condition, I shouldn’t need anything that I can’t buy online, or from a general sporting goods store (I’m still contemplating the whole helmet issue).


Originally posted at K. Close III
You can comment at kclose3.com


Today’s Tweets

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

  • 08:30 I hope this morning is no indication of how the rest of the day will go. #
  • 09:54 Only one novel left in the Blackharts Omnibus. #
  • 10:59 Eating my last Triscut. So sad. #
  • 11:00 I haven’t blogged in over a week and I’m getting twitchy. #
  • 11:41 Anyone know of a way to combine Songbird with Simplify Media? #
  • 13:00 #Blog: What day is it… kclose3.com/blog/?p=54 #
  • 14:55 Well, it may be time for a walk, a beverage, and a little work on a computer in Scoular. #
  • 20:26 Okay, Ubiquity could be really cool! #

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What day is it…

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 | Cycling, Work | 4 Comments

…in which I talk about how crazy busy I’ve been and how that stress is not healthy.

Holy shit, where did the last two weeks go? Its been a mad house up in here and I’ve not only lost complete track of time, but pretty much any semblance of order and reason as well. I can’t even effectively recall everything thats been going on the last two weeks, but I guess I’ll try.

On Ansel

If child development was an Xbox game, Ansel would have opened up a ton of new achievements in the last couple of weeks. He’s a crawler (50 points). He’s cruising one handed (10 points). He’s feeding himself chunks of food (15 points). He’s identifying common objects (25 points). He’s figured out push-toys (10 points). He’s sleeping nights in his crib (100 points). That is a gain of 210 points over last time! He made some progress on Mobility acquiring 2 achievements, Self Sufficiency acquiring 2 achievements, 1 more achievement each in Playing and Communication and oh… man was it ever sweet!

On Home Life

I think Heather is getting used to being at home. Its a little tough to tell at the moment because we just finished our monstrous garage sale and things still haven’t quite settled back to “normal” yet. We spend the majority of last week setting up the garage sale, then all of the weekend running it, and this week is still recovering. I feel like I missed my weekend completely, because of it. We made some good money, as did those who participated in it with us. Heather also said that we could use the money from the garage sale to buy me Rock Band 2 when it comes out next month. She’s so awesome.

Aside from the sale, though, there hasn’t been that much going on. I’m so exhausted from work every day that I pretty much go home, play some xbox, watch some tv, and go to bed. Its so sad that I see Heather and Ansel so little every day, and yet I can’t hardy gather the energy to really enjoy my time with them. I’m totally turning in to the husband that works all day, comes home, sits on the couch, passes out and then slides off to bed. All I need is some slippers and a pipe.

On Cycling

So, after a week long drama of trying to get my bike tuned and subsequently repaired, I finally got it back just in time for a week long downpour. When I finally was able to ride it again yesterday, the shifter started locking up and gears started slipping. I took it in to have them look at it and apparently my shifter is broken. I should write an entire post just on my experiences with The Bicycle Path because its a rant and a half, and as soon as I get my bike back, I’ll probably never go there again. At the very least, they are willing to replace the shifter for free because they don’t know if it was broken before, during or after the tune-up. Either way, I was unable to ride my bike for a week due to repairs, another week for rain, and now half a week for more repairs. Is it so wrong that I want very badly to ride my bike daily, not on the rare occasion that its not at the shop?

On Work

We have a huge server migration coming up, and we’re way behind. I don’t know nearly enough to handle my end of things, some of the things I need to handle can’t be handled until the servers are all configured correctly. We’re all trying to get things together as quickly as possible which is stressful enough by itself, but then on top of that, the semester has started and that’s always its own little adventure. Add to that the fact that we’re doing a new website, and everyone has grand designs for its potential and I’ve got upwards of 20 new computers coming in any day now… is it any surprise I drink a beer or two as soon as I get home? Then again, maybe that’s why I fall asleep on the couch every day. Its an endless, vicious, cycle.

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What day is it…

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | No Comments

…in which I talk about how crazy busy I’ve been and how that stress is not healthy.

Holy shit, where did the last two weeks go? Its been a mad house up in here and I’ve not only lost complete track of time, but pretty much any semblance of order and reason as well. I can’t even effectively recall everything thats been going on the last two weeks, but I guess I’ll try.

On Ansel

If child development was an Xbox game, Ansel would have opened up a ton of new achievements in the last couple of weeks. He’s a crawler (50 points). He’s cruising one handed (10 points). He’s feeding himself chunks of food (15 points). He’s identifying common objects (25 points). He’s figured out push-toys (10 points). He’s sleeping nights in his crib (100 points). That is a gain of 210 points over last time! He made some progress on Mobility acquiring 2 achievements, Self Sufficiency acquiring 2 achievements, 1 more achievement each in Playing and Communication and oh… man was it ever sweet!

On Home Life

I think Heather is getting used to being at home. Its a little tough to tell at the moment because we just finished our monstrous garage sale and things still haven’t quite settled back to “normal” yet. We spend the majority of last week setting up the garage sale, then all of the weekend running it, and this week is still recovering. I feel like I missed my weekend completely, because of it. We made some good money, as did those who participated in it with us. Heather also said that we could use the money from the garage sale to buy me Rock Band 2 when it comes out next month. She’s so awesome.

Aside from the sale, though, there hasn’t been that much going on. I’m so exhausted from work every day that I pretty much go home, play some xbox, watch some tv, and go to bed. Its so sad that I see Heather and Ansel so little every day, and yet I can’t hardy gather the energy to really enjoy my time with them. I’m totally turning in to the husband that works all day, comes home, sits on the couch, passes out and then slides off to bed. All I need is some slippers and a pipe.

On Cycling

So, after a week long drama of trying to get my bike tuned and subsequently repaired, I finally got it back just in time for a week long downpour. When I finally was able to ride it again yesterday, the shifter started locking up and gears started slipping. I took it in to have them look at it and apparently my shifter is broken. I should write an entire post just on my experiences with The Bicycle Path because its a rant and a half, and as soon as I get my bike back, I’ll probably never go there again. At the very least, they are willing to replace the shifter for free because they don’t know if it was broken before, during or after the tune-up. Either way, I was unable to ride my bike for a week due to repairs, another week for rain, and now half a week for more repairs. Is it so wrong that I want very badly to ride my bike daily, not on the rare occasion that its not at the shop?

On Work

We have a huge server migration coming up, and we’re way behind. I don’t know nearly enough to handle my end of things, some of the things I need to handle can’t be handled until the servers are all configured correctly. We’re all trying to get things together as quickly as possible which is stressful enough by itself, but then on top of that, the semester has started and that’s always its own little adventure. Add to that the fact that we’re doing a new website, and everyone has grand designs for its potential and I’ve got upwards of 20 new computers coming in any day now… is it any surprise I drink a beer or two as soon as I get home? Then again, maybe that’s why I fall asleep on the couch every day. Its an endless, vicious, cycle.


Originally posted at K. Close III
You can comment at kclose3.com


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Today’s Tweets

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 | LiveJournal Archives | 2 Comments

  • 13:21 Its been fucking non-stop today. Wasn’t that supposed to be yesterday? #

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