Crossfit time!

For Christmas I got the wife a last-second (literally) groupon gift certificate and a few weeks later we saw a sweet deal for our local crossfit gym. It was basically pay for 2 classes and get 10 free or something like that. Since we've been meaning to get back into shape and she has a bum knee I got the goods. Have gone two times now (Thurs then Sat) and it is pretty tough. Either that or I am in really bad shape. Or a combination of those, probably. I haven't puked or anything but really had to dial back the proscribed exercise reps in order to complete in a timely fashion. Felt super sore on Friday and some but not as much on Sunday. Today I'm feeling pretty good and even rode the 'ol DR-Z into work. Going to try and keep it up because I already feel much better and can tell it is a super-solid workout. Plus, everyone there seems pretty chill. It isn't like going to some meathead gym and getting shamed for lifting so little. Maybe in a few more weeks I'll be keeping up with the rest of the people there but for now I'm just going to push myself to do as much as I can and forget about them.

Also, of greater interested to the technical community as opposed to the athletic community, I just switched over to IntenseDebate as the commenting platform for this blog. Going to give it a test run and see what it does. Please comment so I can see how this shit works.

Kid Cabniks

Last weekend the wife headed out of town for a group birthday celebration with some friends in San Diego. Since the kids, mostly Sass, had been begging for a 'cabnik' to hang over their beds I figured that would give us a nice weekend project. We ended up only needing two trips to the Depot for parts and supplies. I found this blog that laid out the basic idea of the thing then I let the kids pick out their own shelf configurations. Sass went with the standard config and Matty decided he only wanted 2 cubbies but i managed to talk him into 4 so that he can store more cars in it. Not going to bore anyone with the details of the build, but I cut everything up on the table saw and then the kids helped assemble and sand. Neither wanted to paint but it fits in pretty well with their unfinished wood beds. The only shortcut I took was in mounting the doors. Probably should have chiseled out a notch so they fit flush, but by that time the kids patience and mine were pretty much used up. They look fine and the kids don't really care so overall I'm pleased we knocked it out in one weekend. The kids love them.

Sass' Cabnik

Matty's cabnik

Once they were on the wall the kids decorated with stickers and put some of their prized possessions in them.

Done and Done.

Back in the saddle

Wow, apparently it has been a while since I posted. Trying to get back into this as part of a holistic self-improvement program. Got a lot of stuff I want to figure out and learn about and this seems like a fair place to put it. If it is of interest to you, excellent. If not, there are plenty of other shitty blogs and sites on the infinite interwebs for you to check out.

Here is a sampler of (hopefully) upcoming topics:

• Responsive Design
• Home Improvement Projects
• Restoration of the Ol' Suzuki GS450E
• Hop-ups of the New Suzuki DR-Z400S

Enjoy!

- w

Starter switch, cont.

Stopped in to Radio Shack today during lunch and they have a pretty good selection of automative switches that I can choose from for replacing the kill switch and starter switch. I figured that by this point they would have abandoned the home electronics enthusiast completely in deference to the phone sales dept. Everything pretty much around $3. I dismantled the switch assembly and took this picture of the switches and wiring.

Seems pretty straightforward so I think it should be no problem to swap out the switches and solder new ones on. I also remembered that when I removed the starter motor it required taking off the cam chain tensioner and the gasket ripped. Add that to the list of items I'm going to need to track down.

Starter switch

Got a short opportunity to work on the bike this weekend but didn't make much progress. The starter switch is really corroded so it looks like a new one is required. I got a quote for an OEM from inside Suzuki for $45 which is pretty much what I'm seeing on ebay, etc. so I'm thinking Radio Shack may be a better option. I saw a cool mod from some guy who did this as part of a bobber project but lost the link. He had it mounted under the seat so you could barely see it. I also found a nice troubleshooting post for the starter circuit here, that I'll be trying out as soon as baseball season is over. Hopefully not for another month... go Giants!