Free Gas!

With gas prices at an all time high, I was surprised by a sign I saw while on my way home from a hike. I had stopped to pick up a few items at a shop when I spotted it:


Wow! Free gas!

What?

Free gas! About 12 miles south of my house- $0.00 per gallon!

Free?

Yes! Frrreeeeeee!

Hurray!

I couldn't believe it either and took the photo above to prove it. I'll have to go there more often!

Here is a photo of the whole storefront:

Look closely at the photo...



Yeah, it's a bike shop- Bountiful Bicycles. I recently re-invested in a bicycle and needed to get a few things. I thought that the sign on the storefront was pretty creative and funny. I used to have a road bike in high school that I rode to work quite a bit between Kaysville and Centerville, and thanks to ebay, I found a decent, used bike in Colorado to replace my aged and crippled Specialized Hard Rock (that is now 18 years old). Now I need to get a second set of rims in order to exchange quickly between mtn tires and road tires, or slicks.

Here is the new ride:

I was surprised that I won the ebay auction. I thought I'd have to increase my bid by $100 or so, but didn't have to. I also am learning to use clipless (eggbeater) pedals for the first time. They're easier than I thought they'd be, although not as easy as toeclips. So far, it's harder to get INTO the pedal than releasing it.

I figure that I'll have to bike well over 4,500 miles for this purchase to pay for itself. With the ride to work and back being a 24-mile round trip, that'll be nearly 200 trips to work. At least it will give me about an hour of cardiovascular exercise each day I ride. Also cheaper than a Toyota Prius and faster than walking!

Diesel Mechanic

(written Saturday afternoon, June 20)

Today I feel more like a man. Why? I discovered the deeper meaning of a weighty, masculine word. There are a handful out there: lumber, football, etc.

Well, today it was "diesel."

No, not that one...

..not this one either...

...this one:

Main Entry: die·sel

Pronunciation: \ˈdē-zəl, -səl\

Function: noun

Etymology: Rudolf Diesel

Date: 1894

1 : diesel engine
2 : a vehicle driven by a diesel engine
3 : diesel fuel

I have been able to borrow my dad's old CASE 680 "Construction King" backhoe to do occasional work. Despite "construction" being part of its name, the yellow beast does a great job at demolition. Now, I am speaking of planned demolition, like when we tore out the old milk-house or pulled the silo over. It also does a great job of smashing things unintentionally- like when one of my brothers managed to mash the rain gutter into the side of the house. I was inside at the time and it felt like the whole house was going to come down. He is not alone- I did thump one of the post that holds up the deck a few weeks ago with the hoe (yes, it left mark).


Besides being a great help when I was in the demolition stages, it has come in handy recently to dig out the area where I am installing a retaining wall and to also bring in the retaining wall blocks. I've made a few temporary roads, haul gravel, rocks, and dirt- of course.

In the course of these events it has broken down at least three or four times. We've blown just about half of its hydraulic hoses, improved some of the electrical wiring, and most recently I had to replace the starter. Thus this blog entry.


It was my first ever "starter-ectomy" (I hadn't even done this on a car) and the old 60's backhoe didn't give it up willingly. Three bolts held it in. One was right out in front, one in back, and the last one underneath. I am embarrassed to admit that I mistakenly worked for at least 20-30 minutes trying to remove another bolt that was located just next to the REAL bolt (the third one) that I should have been removing. This impostor was so tight, and the space so small for my socket and wrench, that I could lot get any leverage. Of course it was when I finally got that darn bolt to budge and was removing it when I noticed that it played no role in holding the starter. Oh well- the fact that I got it loose made me feel good. Of course the real bolt came out lickety-split and I used a lever to heft the huge, greasy starter out. Finally! After over an hour victory was mine! I am guessing it weighed 60-70 pounds. This is a photo of me AFTER I cleaned myself up (I was black up to my elbows) and was preparing to drive to the rebuild shop in SLC.

It took them over a week to find the right parts to rebuild it, and it took me about 30 minutes to put it back in. The backhoe starts much easier now- and without starter fluid. I now have a great respect for diesel mechanics and know why they make about $40/hour. Let's just pray the backhoe lasts another month or two. I don't know how much of a man I am to handle much more than a starter.

Food Friday: Mark's Homemade Bread

Yes- I know- this was actually posted on a Sunday, but I have been inspired by Bamamoma's "Food Friday" recipes and thought I'd share a few of my own (or those I've stolen). I don't know if I can commit to sharing a recipe every Friday, but we'll see. I'm starting out with a basic recipe, a little beyond cold cereal and homemade toast. I'll save them for when I have no ideas.

With this first recipe I am also putting my life in peril. I think it is a top-secret family recipe. If Mark Lambert finds out I have published this on the web, all of his family members may be after me (and if you include all of the grandkids, that's a lot!). So, if I die an unusual death in the coming months, you'll know whodunnit. Mark didn't have a precise recipe, but this is pretty close and has been modified a little by me. This one makes 4 or so loaves.

(I borrowed this photo from http://mac-aroni-n-cheese.blogspot.com/2008/01/yummy.html)

1 Quart very warm water
1/2 C sugar or honey
2-3 T yeast (depending on how fast you want it to rise)

Totally dissolve sugar or honey into the warm water and then sprinkle in yeast. Let sit to let yeast begin to kind of dissolve and react (usually 5-10 minutes, though I don't know if it really matters how long). While you're waiting, grease your bread or pizza pans with oil or butter.

1/2 C oil (canola or vegetable)
1 T salt
8-11 C flour (white or 1/2 wheat)
Butter or oil for greasing pans

Once the yeast floats up to the top of the water, add in the oil and mix in the salt until dissolved. Now mix in 5-6 cups of flour with a large, sturdy, wooden or plastic spoon. You may then let it rise at this point for 20-30 minutes (Mark did, I usually don't). I add almost all the flour (about 7-8 cups), stirring it in until the dough starts becoming a big ball, and then let it rise 30-40 minutes until double in size. The warmer your kitchen, the faster the rise.

Once double in size, I then sprinkle in the last 2-4 cups of flour to the dough as I knead it by hand until it just begins to lose its stickiness. I then work the flour in until it's tacky, but not sticky. I then pinch off enough dough and roll it underneath itself in my hands, forming it to shape the pan as I go, and also to get a nice, smooth top. Pinch the bottom of the loaf closed and drop it in the greased pan, tucking it in around the edges to get a nice fit. Let the loaves rise until the dough begins to touch the top of the pan's sides. Bake at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes until the top is a medium golden brown. Remove from oven and pans and let dry on a rack or rotate on a wood surface. Eat immediately or you can let it cool and "dry" for at least 2-3 hours. Be sure it's reasonably dry before you bag it. Keeps for about 3-4 days (maximum) outside of fridge.

This makes a great pizza crust too! Just stretch and pound it out flat on a floured surface until quite thin, and then let rise until double or tripled in size on a greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Pre-cook for about 10-12 minutes, add sauce and toppings, and then cook for another 10-15 minutes until pizza is ready. I'll often cook a few crusts for 10-12 minutes and then throw them in the freezer (in plastic) for later. It makes great breadsticks, rolls, bread bowls, etc. I also modified it into a focaccia recipe as well that maybe I can share later.

I'm going to have to make some this week. Writing about it is making me hungry.

Grrrilling!

I always check the news every morning or afternoon on-line. First, I was happy to read that the U of U was able to recover the thousands of medical records kept on data tapes that had been stolen (mine included) with the help of the local police department. Second, I ran into a cool article on grilling in the Deseret News. I purchased a smoker grill last year and have used it 4-5 times to grill. I am still a novice, but I am getting better. This February and March we grilled shiskabobs. Here is a delicious photo the second time we made them:

Here is the title and link to the article in the Deseret News:

You go, grill! 10 tips for a better barbecue

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700239608,00.html

Here's a photo of another grilling event. I have to admit that I am getting a little better at it each time and enjoy using real wood charcoal and also hickory or mesquite wood chunks for flavor. The gentleman in the photo is locally renowned Chef Fei, also known as the "Grilling Master."


Happy Grilling!

Oh yeah- and I read an article recently that recommends not eating burned (carbonized) food. It apparently isn't very safe to eat. Wish I'd known that before our second grilling attempt...

Oil prices going up? No problem... just procrastinate that oil change!

Here are some thoughts and recent finds on car care, or more specifically, oil changes. A while back I rambled on about gasoline prices. And due to a complaint that my posts were sometimes long, here's a two-point summary of what the rest of this post says (so you don't have to read it all):

1. Oil changes can be done at 4,000 or 5,000 miles instead of 3,000 (unless you've really been driving in rough, dirty conditions). I usually change mine at about 4,000 miles, sometimes later. Also, your oil filter also doesn't NEED to be changed at every oil change, but considering they are between $3 and $6, it is not really a big deal to change it, and most places do (make sure they do). A study found that oil change places like Jiffy Lube were not doing a lot of what they said they were. I change my own oil and just don't like the idea of having that clean oil I just put in my car running through a used filter.

2. A few eco-friendly, oil-free transportation options and some fun links. The solar car is quite interesting. I'm telling ya- we'll all be driving something like this in about 20 years.

Here are the details:
I can remember reading in the auto manual of the first car I owned (a light blue "Calvin & Hobbes-ish " Nissan Stanza Wagon- an awesome car- I could fit 4 mountain bikes upright in the back of it if I took off their front tires). The manual recommended oil changes at least every 7,500 miles. I was a little surprised. This morning I came across an article at KSL.com on oil changes- that we don't have to do it every 3,000 miles. It states that "Toyota recommends getting a change between 5,000 and 7,500 miles, or every six months, and under certain circumstances, the closer to 5,000 miles the better."


The KSL article reminded me of a study on oil brands that I read in Consumer Reports (CR) several years ago (I couldn't find it on-line). The Consumer Reports team was researching the quality of different brands of oil and testing how they protected the engines of several taxi cabs with newly-rebuilt engines. They chose to do their testing with taxis because of the sheer number of miles they put in each day, the fact that they are running most of the day, and that they are used in what is considered the most wearing type of driving- city driving (lots of stops, starts, constant accelerating/decelerating). Anyway, the rebuilt engine parts were measured before they were put back together and then after a significant period of wear, were taken out and measured again. As I remember, a different brand of oil, including synthetic oil varieties, were used on different group of cars. And each group using a specific oil type had cars that had its oil changed at either 3,000 or 6,000 miles. They hoped to determine whether it made any difference. Well, to make a long story short, they drove and drove all of the taxis for what I think was 60,000 miles. At this point they took all of the engines apart and found no measurable difference in the engine wear of all the cars and the oil types they tested. They concluded that for 60,000 miles of wear, changing your oil at 3,000 miles or 6,000 miles didn't really make a difference. The only difference in the oil brands were that some started breaking down on a molecular level earlier than others, but all still seemed to protect fine.

The only significant difference that a synthetic oil makes is that it "bonds" better to the engine parts due to its finer molecular structure. It also can increase your mileage by 1-2 miles per gallon. This works, both myself and a friend have tried it, though it does cost between $3 and $5 per quart of synthetic oil as compared to $1 or $2 a quart for regular oil.

Here are a few useful and fun links:

John's Tool Box:
A simple FAQ's page from a Consumer Reports Auto Mechanic
This is a great 1-web-page summary on basic car care. I'd recommend browsing through it. It has information on all of his recommendations on basic car maintenance. Yes Ladies, this one is for you!

On another note, the city of Seattle is seeing "greener" taxis nowdays. I understand that Vancouver, Canada has had hybrid taxis for a few years now. NYC has some hybrid Ford Escape hybrids as well.

But who needs gasoline and oil? Here you can read and view footage about a solar-powered taxi on its trip around the world...


and also a prototype of a wind-powered car:

Of course you can just ride your bike- but don't forget to put a little oil on the chain.