jaygietl.com – Page 2 – Random thoughts and pictures

Project Electrilope

This is a current fascination for me. I used to LOVE riding bikes. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up and be a racer, or do some sort of endurance thing. Really even up into college I rode a lot. Then into my 20’s going out to bars was more fun and then I just didn’t care.

A few times over the last 15 years I *tried* to get back into it, but I do have some physical limitations which makes it that much harder for me personally. So it’s literally an uphill task always. Found lots of excuses, we got a dog, then a second. Not really feasible to take them while riding, at least it’s not safe for either of us.

A recent thing came to mind, there are some electric kits for bikes. What really sparked my interest was our trip to Newport Beach last year and the rental places had bike with electric assist. You could literally ride to Laguna Beach and back.

So I started looking and around the time the economy was really in the toilet and gas prices were super high it seemed there were a number of people making kits. Keep in mind in like China these have been around forever. We seem to be anti electric here in the US. I spent some time researching, I already ride a motorcycle so I don’t need a bike that can do 50. I want to be able to ride on the paths and trails, but have some help when I need it.

I came across a front wheel replacement with a 250W geared motor (so you can have freewheel), which also comes with a Lithium battery, charger controller, everything packaged together.

Great, so I found a kit, now what? Well I was very anti-mountain bike in the early 90’s, I still had a love for my Mongoose Supergoose and thought Mountain Bikes were stupid and pointless and….oh hey all my friends just bought one and we are all about to go to Colleges around Colorado I better get one. After seeing what my friends got I settled on the same thing for the most part (in one case identical) a 1992 Trek 850 Antelope. To this day I have no idea why they added other names, I have seen tons of pictures of 850’s bit with various names. Don’t ask me, I just bought it and rode the hell out of it for a few years.

Most of the last 18 years it has sat, collecting dust, spider webs, I think about 300 generations of spiders probably spawned from it over the years. About 4 years ago I tried busting it out, but it turned out both the shifter pods were bad, so I gave up.

Now it’s really important to me to get back into it, not to be some world class rider, but it’s good for me. I have the resources to do the basics. We are going to buy a couple trailers so we can go on those multi mile rides and take the dogs with us.

So stay tuned, the new shifter parts as well as brake levers and cables will be here tomorrow. I will have the electric kit later in the week. Goal is to get it rideable (it technically is, in one gear) and be able to test fit the kit and make sure I like it before doing more.

Here is the picture of my starting point, I will admit I just installed the rear deck last week, got it for $10 on Amazon. Need a place to carry the 2.3lb battery.

Progress:

Pictures:

Tap, tap….is this thing on?

This seems to be the blog that time forgot, or Jay forgot. I am lightly dusting it off. I have a few projects coming up that I think I want to document and I prefer this format over Facebook or other places where I can’t really control the format.

Since I am like 2 years behind on updates, for those that aren’t connected with me elsewhere. Still working for Sympoz/Craftsy. It’s been a great three years so far. Keeps me very busy, hence the lack of time to be able to sit and write out thoughts. We now have about 200 employees, I think there were about 10 of us when I started.

We’ve had to deal with losses in the family the last few years, while mourning comes in all forms, I didn’t feel compelled to update my blog with it and my usual ringing in the new year posts didn’t feel right. You grow up thinking these people will always be with you, but the reality is that’s not true. So always take the time to spend a few extra moments, or make that phone call to someone you care about.

Most people know I am a car nut. Last year I picked up a 2013 Subaru BRZ. It’s a lot of fun. We drove it to Michigan last year for my cousin Katie’s wedding. I still need to sell my Audi…if you’re interested. 😀

Also, last year we adopted another dog, Bella. We have no idea what she is. Best guess currently is a flat coat retriever mix. She is a sweetheart, she is huge, and she is a little shy. She had a rough time before she met us. Kona is still as awesome as ever, much more mellow than ever too. Getting a little grey here and there, but so am I.

Hopefully I’ll be adding more content soon, mostly project based stuff. Whether it’s cars, house or whatnot. Of course, chances are 2 years from now I’ll be like, huh, I totally haven’t posted anything in two years.

So long 2011!

Second post for the year, woot! Been a year full of good and bad, happy to see it end and move on to the next challenge. Working for Sympoz has been fantastic and is one of the best decisions I could have made personally and professionally. The people I get to work with are the best ever and I have learned so much more in 11 months than I did in the previous 8 years at my former job. Granted without the knowledge I gained in those 8 years I wouldn’t have been in a position to be where I am now.

This has been by far the busiest year of my life with work and other goals. I graduated from college finally, it took a really long time, but I always wanted to get it done and it’s D-O-N-E DONE! I do wish I had finished years ago, but better late than never right? Diploma is of course just sitting on my desk here at home, still in it’s protective cover. Maybe I should add to my todo list framing that puppy.

Speaking of college, on October 13, 2011 little Elvis passed away. He was 17. He came into my life as a tiny kitten that could curl up in the palm of my hand and sleep when I was going to school at CU Boulder. Elvis witnessed many changes in my life, lived at 5 different addresses with me and left behind a legacy of science test questions at Prairie Middle School thanks to Chad. It’s been a hard adjustment without him, when JJ passed away 4 years ago we still had a cat so the routine was still in place. Now we are cat free so those routines ended and it was tough to make those adjustments.

Kona-Bob is still crazy as ever, each year he mellows out a little more. He had trouble with Elvis passing away as well, but has come around and enjoys being the sole center of attention around the house.

Took a nice vacation in late Summer, spent a day in Vegas then a week in California with family. Rode the 100K ft ride again this year with Andrew, needed a shortcut this year as I just didn’t have it in me to do the full route. Had to skip RMIHR (aka the Scout show) because of the California trip, hope to make it next Summer. Put in ten days of skiing last season, which were some of the best ski days I have had in a long time. New skis help!

As I sit here fending off this end of year cold, I look forward to celebrating the new year and as always seeing what the future holds. Here’s to the new year! Considering the world is supposed to end next December, do something you’ve always said you’d do but never did. If you’ve done it all, try something new, or help someone else accomplish something great. Lastly, be good to yourself and the people around you.

What happened to 2010? Oh hai 2011!

I don’t seem to “blog” much these days, I think I had like 3 posts total for 2010 and 2011 comes with some changes.

Wrapping up 2010, well it was a very busy year. My entire Summer (for the most part) was dedicated to a project at work and I watched 2 months go by at the blink of an eye. It was a good experience and we built some cool stuff. While stressful I am always willing to do that for a project I think has potential and knowing if it fails that some good will still come from it.

I did have the opportunity to squeeze in a few things during that busy time, went to RMIHR again and completed my first FULL 100,000ft motorcycle ride. It’s a change in vertical feet, worked out to be like 500 miles I think. Pretty grueling, looking forward to the 2011 ride. We also attended my sister’s wedding in Vail, was a beautiful ceremony and a great time! Packed in there as well was a trip to Vegas, only one trip in 2010 :(.

In October we headed out to my cousin’s wedding in Texas. My car rolled 200K miles, we got to hang out in Ft. Worth, see lots of family. The wedding was wonderful and plenty of fun. We also checked out another cousin’s restaurant/bar called Magnolia Motor Lounge. If you are in the DFW area you must visit and you must have chicken fried bacon.

Around Christmas we got the new Samsung Google Nexus S. Slick phone, leaps and bounds better than my old HTC G1. It’s been hard adjusting to having no LED notification lights. I instead annoy those around me with audible tones. I am trying to find like a Giraffe screaming or something to really make it stand out.

What’s next? The big change for 2011 is…..I decided to leave my position at ServiceMagic after almost 8.5 years. It has been a difficult decision, but in the end it is time for me to try something a little different. I will be moving over to a small start up in Denver called Sympoz. The opportunity is a good fit for my career goals.

Though I haven’t promoted it much only because I seem to jinx myself each time I have tried this in the past. I will be accomplishing a life long goal of getting my degree! Holy crap it’s been a long time, but I am getting it done and I look forward to staying out of a classroom for a little while. In about 4.5 months I should be all done!

I have no idea if anyone reads this anymore, but if you do, well that’s what’s been going on for about the last 7 months. 🙂

skinit for my G1

T-Mobile has a deal with Skinit where you can make a custom skin for your G1. I did it, it was about $23 shipped. http://www.tmobileskins.com/

Quality is not bad, on 3M material that is supposed to not leave any residue if removed. I was disappointed in the back cover portion as it was much smaller than I anticipated. The pieces for the front were fine.

Not sure it was worth the money, but still a neat way to personalize your phone.

Front:

Back: