The Warming

Well, we threw a party and people came. So technically we have warmed our house. TransMooCow invited a number of her grad school colleagues, we provided meat and booze and Ferris wheel, and when it darkened we lit up the rocket stove for some dangerously good times. Even Tika the Dog behaved herself when another canine showed up. TMC's student advisor brought her two year old Maya, and though I did not witness it she and Tika apparently had a "moment". I'm glad the dog is good with kids. People enjoyed the Wheel, the food and the beer, and I hope the company as well. I met a young gent who moved here to be with his beau and had the good fortune to land a job after two months of searching. This gives me hope.

Watched the Incredible Hulk (Ed Norton) tonight, thoroughly enjoyed it. Much better and more absorbing than the Ang Lee effort.

Cold facts on Colfax

How droll.
Checked out the Denver local hipster drag tonight, Colfax Avenue. Locals claim it to be the longest commercial street in the U.S., eerily reminiscent of Toronto's claim of Yonge Street as the longest street in the world. Rode from downtown to the 10000 East block of Colfax, then came back to the 3000's and grabbed a PBR at the Atomic Cowboy Bar. Decent bar, cheap prices, fairly standard bar scene. Listened in on a couple of dudes debating the history of the Internet (proletarian ideal corrupted by capitalism vs. military project profitably integrated into the marketplace) and a guy bragging about his credit score to another guy.
Notable Flavor: guy with two bike wheels singing to me "to know you is to love you", observing a young prostitute squatting and urinating in an alley and laughing shrilly at her companions.

No callback? Fine, I'll put up my Ferris wheel.

Oh, how I do enjoy looking for work. The routine questioning, the not-really-legal inquiries, the dismissive responses, the bored power-tripping, the patently insincere expressions of interest. I know it's just the crap one must wade through to get to the good job offers so I endeavor to keep a positive outlook on the whole process. Whatever. I have a human-powered Ferris wheel.

While waiting for callbacks I decided to be productive and build a doghouse and erect the Chesney wheel. The doghouse came out great. Lots of room for Tika inside and weatherproof. It's insulated with styrofoam sheets in the walls and even with the open door it warms up quickly once occupied; I know this because it's big enough to sit in. I used a different technique for this project after considering the challenges I encountered when building the waterbed. Instead of mitered corners and the struggle to precisely fit box sides I opted for a semi-pre-fab approach. Four wall panels plus a floor panel would make the box, with a hinged roof. The panels were a sandwich of "soffit" type plywood on the exterior (coated in plastic and woodgrain textured), 2x2s and styrofoam in the middle, and 3/8" chip-ply sheets on the interior (non-toxic in case the dog chews on it). Once made, the panels were easily and quickly nailed together to form the box. I decided to make the interior dimensions 30"X48", allowing the use of factory edges on the bottom panel. All together I used three sheets of soffit-plywood, two sheets of chip-ply, about 64 feet of 2x2 pine, 12 feet of 2x3 pine, 24 feet of 1x4 PVC faux-wood, six feet of 2x4 pine (for skids), four galvanized steel handles, 24 feet of flashing, two lbs. of nails, 2.5 tubes of caulk, two tubes of "Shoe Goo" and three hinges. It took about 12 hours to put together and another day for the sealants to dry. If I built another one with this design I would substitute 2x4 for the 2x3, use PVC 2x4s for skids, and get a nail gun.

On Monday this week I put up the Wheel. Upon inspection I found some minor rust and slight bends in a couple of the members but nothing serious so it went up without any modifications or repairs. It took a couple of tries to recall the proper way to set up the tripods and the 1/4 bolt hardware was rather dirty but otherwise it went up without issue. I loaded concrete blocks on one of the chairs as a counterweight and now it can be used by one person. I installed only two chairs to save time and make life easier for me when we have people over; managing and balancing six Wheel riders is more stress than I want at a party. Interestingly, the Wheel seems much quieter than the last time I used it, barely any creaks or metal noises. Tika the Dog does not seem perturbed in the least by me riding it.

Sneak a post

Heh, a late night sneaky post to a blog I've neglected for over a year.... no one will ever know. What could possibly go wrong? Aside from it being on the Internet and thereby exposed to at least eleven people? My genius is unfathomable.

Now I'm graduated, married and relocated to sunny Denver, the Mile High Metropolis. And as long as I'm making references to Superman, the house has become my fortress of semi-solitude save for the presence of Tika the Dog and every now and then my wife. Tika has natural charisma, the type that has allowed her to make as many friends in two weeks here as we have in two months. Except for the golden retriever next door. Bad blood boils between those two.

Since I'm unemployed, er, "newly graduated", I have kept the gibbering madness of boredom at bay by inventing new short-term projects. The first few weeks were devoted to making the house work. This involved trimming back the overgrowth in the yards, fixing the electrical system, climbing trees and chopping off huge dead branches, cleaning and mending the rain gutters, re-wiring the cable and CAT5 networks, painting, replacing a fence gate, and generally undoing years of half-assed "improvements" and neglect to this rental property.

Next came Phase II: Boredom Boogaloo. I decided to build a waterbed. Thanks to Toronto, the old waterbed frame had to be put down due to a wee infestation of bedbugs. By the way, bedbugs are very resilient creatures. These Canadian ones survived a 3,000 mile trip in the back of a U-Haul and six months in a storage unit to colonize our apartment in San Fran. Anyway, the new frame is a slightly improved version of the old one. I made the whole thing sturdier and less creaky by fully dadoing the sides to fit the base pieces, which were also improved to be lighter and less crappy. The headboard became an enclosure for storage of pillows, pajamas, sex toys and the like. It came out pretty well I think.

But a mere waterbed frame was not enough. I wanted more. More danger, more excitement, more power. So I designed and built a high output wood furnace called a "pocket rocket", originally invented by a genius hippy named Ianto Evans (buy his book). It completely combusts the wood fuel if used correctly leading to extremely clean emissions and very high heat output. This thing glows cherry red when fully loaded with good dry wood. A lot of potential for home heating with it, perhaps even a wood-fired hot tub is in our future. I highly recommend them if you have a need for a wood stove. I made a paste of clay and perlite to line the inside bottom of the stove, both to protect it from oxidation and reflect heat back up into the barrel, and it worked like a charm after the first burn had hardened it. The picture makes it look so cute and harmless but do not be fooled; even without any exposed flame this stove will set your clothes on fire if you stand too close, too long.

I'd post pictures of Tika but my wife beat me to it. Take a look at her Flickr site for the cuteness.

G'night, Intarwebs.