DanBailey.net cyclist, writer, font designer, geek

Things, Stuff, and Other Things

Once again, no real clear-cut plan exists for a blog post. I'm feeling somewhat guilty for not having updated lately. So here, again, is a list of bullet points about what's goin' on (I hear Marvin Gaye every time I type that). Some of this is heavy, some light, and I'm guessing that most of it is transient stuff that I won't remember a year from now.

• First and foremost, I've been trying to pay more attention to the happy things in life and less attention to the negative crap. No, this isn't some loonball attempt to follow the wishful-thinking bullshit espoused by The Secret. It's more of an attempt to just be more happy and to see the good in the rest of the world. It's been hard to do, though. I'm very influenced by the moods of the people I'm closest to, and as a result, I have the occasional bad day.

• Framebuilding is going well. I've been honing my brazing skills and am starting to feel pretty comfortable with them. I've also finished a few joints with hand-filing and power tools, which has served to illuminate the need for a quality filling of the joint after it's been tinned. My next session is in two weeks and we're going to go over TIG welding -- and as part of that, I'll be using 3" square tubing to build a welding stand, which will become part of my arsenal of tools. Once built, I'll need to get it powder-coated and buy a few small fixtures (repairs stand clamp, casters, bolts, etc.) to get the thing put together. I've also blueprinted the 29'er frame and the cyclocross frames using BikeCAD.

• I also recently applied for a part-time, work-at-home gig that would have me working as the Online Editor for Cyclocross Magazine. My skill set (English degree, deep experience in interactive, and a love of cyclocross) seemed to be a good match. I did get a pleasant response from them this weekend, and have written back. Just waiting to hear more at this point. Very excited about the potential position.

• Trying to get my shit together on the 2010 training program. I really need to hit that this week.

• Calvin is getting really weird lately. The little guy has taken to standing in the corner of the living room and meowing at the top of his lungs for no particular reason that I can ascertain. We need to get the whole quartet of beasts into the vet for check-ups soon -- I think we talked about doing that in January. I'll keep an eye on him until then.

• Really vexed about what to do with a novel I've been writing. Stephen King has a horror novel coming out with a major plot element that's somewhat similar to what I'd been thinking about -- and I nearly just deleted the file. I realized not long after the shock wore off that we both might have gotten the idea from The Simpsons Movie. The problem is, I'm not sure I want to continue with the process of wrangling the book into a shape that could be considered "readable"...or if I should move on to the next idea.

• Wedding planning is coming along nicely. Locales for ceremony and reception are found and reserved. DJ found and reserved. Photographer found and waiting on contract from them. Future wife's wedding shoes have arrived (and I got to watch her "squee" over them last night, which was fun). Saturday, while she's trying on dresses, I'm going to go start looking at tuxedos and try and nail down gifts for my groomsmen -- I don't want Kate having all the fun. Also have to have a difficult discussion with one of my groomsmen, which is going to be filed under "ugh"...

• Need to install Ruby on Rails on my Mac tonight. Need to build a simple application that's going to be part of the Ferocious Cycles website. It's going to be a nifty little bit of code that will make for some happy customers.

• Need to make some time with my family in the near future. Haven't seen mom in awhile and I've got the Scrabble itch something fierce. Should swing by dad and stepmom's place, too. And maybe drive out to Detroit for a weekend to visit my bro and my sis-in-law, the latter of whom is undergoing chemo.

So that's where I'm at, Internet. How are you?