May 21, 2008 at 2:30 pm · Filed under Chris' Posts
Every year as the snow melts and the weather starts to heat up, we begin to move out of our stuffy homes into the great outdoors. When this happens we desire “new things” to help us enjoy our surroundings. This year we have some really fun things.
First, in preparation for having a large group of guys over for dinner we knew we needed a grill. After using a charcoal grill for a year at our apartment, I decided that gas was the only way to go. I did my regular rounds of research online and set out to Fort Dodge. After looking at Wal-Mart and Sears we settled on a black Kenmore with 3 burners. I’ve used it maybe 4 or 5 times and I’m very pleased. It has nice porcelain grates and a very sturdy construction. Plus a 5 year burner warranty and I was sold.
Next, we knew that we needed a place to sit as we ate our perfectly cooked meat and admired the grill. After more online research I found that Wal-Mart was definitely the cheapest and had enough quality to make the purchase worthwhile. So we bought an 8 piece set with a large table, 4 chairs, a small table and 2 folding chairs. This gave us the most seating capacity for the money.
Finally, Nicole has long wanted a motorcycle. I have always been interested but never taken the time to learn. So, as summer started and with gas getting really expensive, I decided now was a fine time to get one. I have been looking around on dealer websites, ebay, and on craigslist.com. After reading reviews and articles about good bikes to learn on I had settled on a few favorites. Then on my way home from work, I noticed an older motorcycle for sale. I stopped by and learned that it was an 1982 Nighthawk 450. This was right in the size I was looking for, and being that it was older, I wouldn’t have to worry about scratching it up if I tipped it over. So, after talking to some friends with motorcycles about it and getting their thoughts, Nicole and I talked…and we bought it!! I have been practicing in my yard and have already passed the written test to get my license. I will take the riding test next Wednesday and then I’ll be off and running. Nicole is going to take her time and get really comfortable before she takes her test.
Click these links for pictures:
Grill and Stuff - Including some of the flowers Nicole has decorated our house with!
Motorcycle
May 5, 2008 at 2:23 pm · Filed under Chris' Posts
So lately I’ve been on a breaking streak. Last weekend, I was DJ’ing a wedding for a friend and was testing out the slide show the night before. After getting everything lined up right and looking good I started to put stuff away. I turned off the projector, changed the monitor settings on the laptop and then started to put the laptop in the case. That’s when I heard a loud noise, which was the projector being pulled from the table it was on. After the crash the projector made a noise I can only describe at VERY bad! When I picked up the projector small pieces of mirror fell out…not good. I was felt both angry and stupid at the same time.
So then on Saturday, I decided to be a good son-in-law and clear trees at the Stellmaker’s new property. My brothers, Brian and Matt, helped me out. Just to make things interesting the trees we needed to cutting down were right next to the foundation of their new house. Thus, it is very important not to drop these trees on the cement for fear of cracking it. To help ensure that this didn’t happen, I brought the four-wheeler and winched the trees to pull them in the right direction. For 4 trees that method worked great. One tree was even over the foundation and was able to be pulled in a safe direction. So, when I tree was hanging over the neighbors shed I didn’t think it was going to be a problem. We hooked the winch cable up and I cut a wedge out of the front of the tree. We then tensioned the winch and I started to final cut. That’s when it all started going wrong. As I finished the cut, the tree jumped off the stump and stuck in the mud. At the same time, the top of the tree swung sideways (away from me) and got hung up against the closest tree.
To say the least, there was some yelling and words exchanged and we took stock of the situation. I believe the entire problem was that we didn’t connect the winch high enough on the tree, so we didn’t have enough leverage to pull it straight over. After repeated attempts to pull the tree and break the branches(including an attempt to pull the four wheeler with the truck), we decided to try to cut more off the bottom of the tree, shortening it and hopefully freeing it from the tangle. After two times of me cutting the tree and then running like crazy. (this was scary) We decided to give it a running pull and hopefully be done with this tree. Matt and I sat on the back of the four wheeler and Brian drove it. As the winch reached tension we all heard a loud metallic crack. I soon noticed that only 3 of the four wheels were now spinning. We had cracked the U-joint of the front left drive train. Even with this problem we still had a tree up in the air. So, I began to slowly set the tree down and hoped that it would miss the shed. It slowly moved toward the shed and several branches lay on top of it, but no major damage was incurred.
So all that to say I like it much better being the guy who fixes other peoples little mishaps then being the one who has the problem to begin with. Hope you enjoyed my tail of whoa. Please let me know what you think.
P.S. Pictures soon.
