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Friday, July 31, 2009

Vorhese.com

I can't believe I haven't updated my portfolio website in 3 years. Coincidentally that's about when Lori and I started going out! Interesting :) I should get back on that. I have a lot of stuff I could add. It seemed for about 3 years I was really just doing art every spare second I had. Of course, I was unemployed, sleeping on people's couches, no money. But still! I need to get back on that. it's so hard to get back on the wagon when you've been off for so long. New responsibilies and priorities come up. Next thing you know, you have nothing new to show. I need that creative outlet in my life. I think I'll be turning one of our small spare rooms into my art studio. Right next door to Lori's sewing room.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wharf To Wharf

Sunday Lori and I ran the Santa Cruz Wharf To Wharf race. I ran 6.08 miles in 69 minutes, and Lori was 3 minutes behind me. I probably could have got a little better time if it wasn't for all the idiotic walkers who lined up at the front of the race instead of the back where they belonged. But it was hells of fun. There were countless bands rocking out for us, it was a cold 52 degrees which meant no heat exhaustion. The winner was a Kenyan who did it in 26 minutes. Jeebus!

Here are my results:
http://runtracker.runnersworld.com/ba/journal/archives/13179/20090726

And here are some pics!












Monday, July 27, 2009

Take 2

I've decided I'm going to make another sissy bar, as I'm not 100% satisfied with this one. The initial bend didn't go as planned. Since I didn't have the bar locked down, as it was bent, the bar pulled out, adding another 2 inches of height, and a sharper, less appealing bend. Plus, I dont like the way the bottom bends come together. I want it to be a little more graceful. So this weekend will be take 2.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Sissy Bar in 3:30

Lori helped me make a sissy bar today for the Triumph. Threw in some Yakety Sax for good measure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpHRIk7Ed2M

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Gas Tank... RUSTED!

I got it out. I tried to syphon the gas, but all I did was get 3 mouth fulls of gasoline in my mouth. I will definitely be seeking help to put it back in.



It had 5 gallons of gas in it. This is what was at the bottom of the bucket.



Fuel pump bowl.



Shake shake time.

Monday, July 20, 2009

I think there's some sediment in there...

Mystery solved? This is what happens when you don't run a fuel filter, especially on an old car. One year ago I rebuilt the carburetor. After 3 months the fuel filter came loose, I disconnected it, and never put it back on. Time goes on, you forget... well, I am surprised the damn thing ran at all! This is motivating me to drop the gas tank and clean the sucker out. And of course run a fuel filter again. Eeeeesh.



Sunday, July 19, 2009

Gas Stop Brake

Got the foot brake mounted, including brake rod, brake stop, and brake light switch. A bit of a challenge. I hodge-podged it together. Brake lever is of unknown pre-60's origin. Ignore the welds, I'll clean them up in post. I'm probably going to redo the brake rod. I thought the bend would look neat, but it distorts under pressure. I'm sure there are better ways of doing things, but this is what I came up with. Moving on.









[IMG]http://vorhese.com/gallery/albums/album302/sP1050022.jpg">





I even made a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7BUVGzmnBI


This is what the kids do while dad's in the garage

Friday, July 17, 2009

Desoto... back when

I finally got my camcorder to work with this computer and have been going through some old tapes. Here's one I made of when I first got the Desoto in summer 2007. Lori's driving. Luka's younger. It's fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wh6kr-_Tzw

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Draw'd

Did this for Caffeine

Where oh where has my baby gone

Lori is in Arizona this week. Me and dogs have formed a pack, and I am alpha dog. We eat together. We play together. We sleep together. And I've been pissing on the couch.
Come back soon baby!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Tack Tack Tack

Was another busy weekend. Lori had a show at Thee Parkside and I gotta see the Lost Puppies play as well. Their show was right after the Laff-A-Lots car club, and when we got there, they were doing drunken burnouts. As our car barely escaped being smashed, I was standing right in front of a Camaro as it was burning out in slow motion. I wanted to just reach out and touch it as it went by. Crazy.

Also did some running. Ran 8.38 miles yesterday. That's a long ass time to be out there running. At first you're like, "Yes, this is great! Smell the air! Hear the birds!" But after an hour and a half, you're just, "Oh god is this over yet? I have shit to do." Anyway it was a good run. 12:52 mile pace, 157 BPM heart rate, which is really good for me. My pace at the same heart rate and decreased almost 4 minutes in the last 2 months base training.

And finally, I got some Triumph time in. I deradiused the fender so it matched the contour of my rear tire better. Basically i accomplished this by using a 2X4 lever system, and just pushing it out every 4 inches.







I also got the 2 front mounts of the fender on. I made all my brackets with a die grinder cutting wheel, flap disc, and my bench grinder. They took forever. I wanted something mechanical, but also a fail safe to prevent fender rotation like the last accident I was in. I think they came out good. Everything is tack welded until I get the sissy bar made next weekend I hope.







During the fab process, you really realize how much a mill, lathe, band saw, bench sander, and media blaster would be useful.

I haven't done much on the Desoto yet. I pulled the plugs, and they look good. Not sure if I'm getting spark. I have a feeling I'm not. We shall see.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

No more

I had a fairly horrible night last night, as did Lori and the dogs, and all completely my fault. It all began with Lori thinking it was a cute idea for the wedding to have vintage hubcaps as table setting pieces for the reception. I found a guy on Craigslist selling a bunch, so we made plans to go after I picked her up from work. I decided to drive the Desoto, because, hey, a guy selling old hubcaps could appreciate that. I actually drove the Desoto to work that day. I booked home, let the dogs pee, and packed them up and we headed to pick up Lori. After that we went south to pick up the groomsman outfits from Banana Republic.

I called the hubcap guy and let him know we'd be there in 15 minutes. We went south on El Camino Real and then, the engine just cut out and I coasted to the right. Oh silly Desoto. You see, the battery doesn't charge. Even though I rebuilt the generator, the battery doesn't charge. Maybe it's the generator, maybe it's the voltage regulator. I'm not sure, I'm apparently too stupid to figure it out myself and took cheap (broke) to have a professional. So,, the battery goes dead after driving it so many days without a charge. No big deal, I carry a spare.

I yanked the dead battery out, and put in the spare. Nothing. Dead. The battery was shitty, but I had just recently charged it. It apparently wasn't holding a charge anymore. Great. But I was within walking distance of Autozone. I went in and asked for a 6 Volt, they had just sold both of theirs. I walked back to the car murmoring "fuck" under my breath. I didn't know what to do. I now have an upset fiance and a hub cap guy waiting on me. Out of desperation I put in the original battery. Car fired right up.

I took off and drove like a madman to get to the guy's yard. We pull in, Lori picks out 4 hubcaps she liked. $50. We had $30. See, part of the plan was stopping at a bank on the way there to get cash, but the car problems threw a wrench in that plan. We asked the guy if there was a bank nearby and he said there was one by his house. So we followed him out and up towards his place.

Engine cut out again.

He comes back and tows us to out of the way. And we begin a frantic phone search for a 6 volt battery. We find one at Pep Boys and he (reluctantly) agrees to drive me there. Lori stays with the dogs and the car. I make some small talk, apologize profusely, and ask him if he had any plans for the evening. "Yeh, our dinner is waiting for us at home." Yikes.

So I get the battery, car starts right up, we get the money, I give him $10 extra bucks, and he leaves grumpy. I hop in the Desoto and we zoom home. I'm informed that Lori has called her parents and they aren't too happy either. We pull off the freeway, just beating the sunset. We pull up to the light for the final stretch home.

Engine cuts out. Car turns over. Doesn't start. Gas?

I push the Desoto through the intersection, with the help of Lori steering and a bum's extra hands and into a gas station. I put in some gas. This is going to work, right? It turns over. And over. Ok, it's just priming the carb, right? More turning over, no starting. It's now dark, it's cold cold, and the wind is blowing like crazy. I pull off the oil bath air cleaner and yank off the fuel hose; gas splurts all over. So it's getting gas. Is the carb clogged? Spark plugs fouled? Coil bad? Distributor fucked? Out of shear desperation I begin disassembling the carb, in the dark, cold, windy night while Lori sits hating her life. The Dogs are passed out in the back seat. I have a flat head screw driver, a wire snips, and a plastic cup as my only tools. I get the carb apart and look for anything blocking anything. Of course I can't see a damn thing.

Lori comes out of the car and informs me she called a cab, I tell her I'm staying with the car, and she goes home. She comes back just as I got the carb back together. It still didn't start. I have her take the dogs home and tell her to get some food. I sit there for a moment defeated.

So I walk into the gas station and try to communicate with mexican lady behind the counter. She hands me a number for a tow truck, and I wait 45 more minutes for them to come. Cost of $60. Guess I picked a bad time to let my AAA membership lapse. As I'm sitting in the car waiting the fuel tanker for the gas station arrives and immediately starts yelling at me to move the car. Didn't even ask me nicely. I just ignore Pancho and wait for the flatbed tow truck.

So, having been in this situation many times before, I help them load it up and we go home and drop the Desoto off into it's spot by the house. One horrible night has ended. It's about 11 PM. I am defeated.

My guess it's ignition related. I haven't had time to dig in yet. But I have made my mind up that once it's running, I'm through with it. And I'm through with old cars in general. Yes, they are cool. And I do enjoy them. But they are not worth the aggrivation I have to deal with when they do break down. They are money pits, relationships stranglers, and nothing more than giant boulders when they don't run. At least with motorcycles I can push them out of the way. So, Desoto, it's been fun, but it's time to. No more.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Classy

I finally got our engagement photos, taken by Veronica Suh, up. You can check them all out here.
http://vorhese.com/gallery/album349









Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Beisbol

Lori and I went to the July 4th Giants VS Astros game so she could watch her other boyfriend Lincecum pitch. Hot dogs, chicken fingers, and garlic fries were consumed.







Monday, July 6, 2009

I'm almost in the 11's. UMF!
http://runtracker.runnersworld.com/ba/journal/archives/13179/20090706

Eminem I am not

I ran 8 miles yesterday. 8 mutha-f'n miles.
http://runtracker.runnersworld.com/ba/journal/archives/13179/20090705

I didn't lose a finger, either

Our electrical panel blows. it's so old that no electrical supply houses have ever seen the breakers before. You can't get them anywhere. So I once again don't have 220, nor a welder. I'm waiting to get our panel updated to something modern. So I did everything I could think of yesterday that didn't involve welding.

I got the old microphone cut and prepped for making into a tail light. I also got my sissy bar shape figured out, just need to bend the 1/2" round bar to shape.



I also made my own brake rod and cut up the brake pedal. I need to make a bracket to attach the pedal to. Sure would be nice to have my welder right now.


Exciting stuuf, right?

I have today off, which is great. I'm gonna go eat some Crunch Berries and watch The Hustler.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Did these for Caffeine.



Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Wednesday Roundup

Lori's making a delicious baked ziti with her patented turkey meatballs. My job is to turn the dish around in just a couple minutes. God I love her meat balls, meatbulbs as I call them.

Anyway, I had a really good day. Wells, as good as a day can be at work. For one thing I had a really good lunch run. My easy pace is quickening, I'm now up to 7 mile long runs on the weekend. The Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf, 6 mile run, is at the end of this month and I want to finish somewhere around 60 minutes.

The other awesome thing is my work had a health month for June. We got raffle tickets for every time we packed our lunch, had 10,000 steps per day, or worked out after work. I finished June with 80 raffle tickets.

And I won! Original prize was a mountain bike, but since I already own 4 bikes, I opted for the Nike Store gift certificate for 450 buck-a-ronies! I can finally get some of the running gear I drastically need, including jacket.

So that made my day.
I now have 220. Weldin' time!