[Toshi]

and yet more pics from tonight:

red square perspectives

(12mm, 10 sec shutter via remote release, f/13, iso 100, perspective screwed-around-with in photoshop except on the last image in the gallery)

 

[narlus]

i like that wheel photo. what do you mean by "the 12-24"?

 

[Toshi]

i like that wheel photo. what do you mean by "the 12-24"?

the 12-24 is the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX lens. it's comes in canon, nikon, and sigma mount flavors. i replaced a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX fisheye with it since it's rectilinear (maps straight lines to straight lines).

 

[narlus]

uh, ok.

nods quietly and shuffles out of the room.

 

[Toshi]

just finished reading the merchant's war, by frederek pohl. was not very well written or deep, but had many intriguing concepts. it's worth a read, especially at only 200-and-change fast moving pages.

 

[Toshi]

what do you all think of me slapping this fork on the front of the evil? note the disc mount. $70 new from kona.

 

[prophet6]

toshi:

I've got a planet x knifen on the front of my evil right now... and all I can say is that my wrists get sore every time I look at the thing. Dunno... maybe I'm just getting old?



p6

 

[Toshi]

yeah, i also rocked the knifen/kniffen (i've seen it both ways equal amounts ) for a while on my evil. but now that it's single speed and outfitted with arrow launches it's not going to see anything that you wouldn't ride with a bmx bike...

 

[prophet6]

like i said, i'm getting older and thus a fair bit more wussy.

I'm also not very good at reading the limitations of the bikes I'm on. Example: riding dirt jumps on a fix gear, single track on a road racing bike, and 9ft hucks on a xc racing bike. It gets ugly. Knowing me, I'd launch an ill-fated stair gap on a rigid bike.



p6

 

[Toshi]

i read bukowski's "notes of a dirty old man" over the past two days after reading about it in this thread. was colorful, funny, and gave another look on the beat crowd of kerouac (whose writing i devoured a few years ago), burroughs, etc. quality of the entire volume is inconsistent, but that's to be expected given that it's a collection of his weekly columns.

 

[Barbaton]

Greetings from the snowy southwest. It's 15 degrees and snowing here in Santa Fe. I think my biking season is officially over.

I went to Wolf Creek, Colorado Monday and Tues and the skiing was fabulous. Lots of clueless Texan/Oklahaman/Arkansans, though. It was amusing listening to everyone bitch about the little (very little) bit of "ice" on the mountain, know to NE skiers as good snow. I told them it isn't ice unless it's green and you can see through it. :eviltongu Local shop here in SF has a lot of AT/Randonnee stuff and I'm thinking about demoeing some K2 Shuksans if the local resort gets enough snow this week. Anyone have any opinions?

Dialuply yours,

Barbaton

 

[Toshi]

hello all

two new pics from today (gallery here)

 

[Toshi]

check it! new special edition iPods! heh

http://www.liebography.com/ipod.htm

 

[Toshi]

i'm thinking of replacing/trying to replace the headphone jack on my well worn ipod. i hope someone has done this before, and that the part (or a suitable part at least) itself is readily available.

 

[Toshi]

just finished "temperament" by stuart isacoff. was actually a very interesting read, and compelled me to stay up as late (edit: as this post) to finish it. i highly recommend it to those with a musical bent and/or musical training.

of course, i may be a biased audience to it, because i've found temperment (the extra 'a' bugs me) to be a natural obsession of mine... ask anyone who has played under me in a section about this, and you'll probably get some grimaces. ink:

also:

 

[Toshi]

a peek into the secret life of christmas ornaments:

ISO 3200 btw. f/4, 1/125 with a sigma 180 macro <-- frame 2/4 of a burst since shooting at that low of a shutter speed/focal length ratio is not generally a good idea

 

[Toshi]

can anyone (keith) tell me what the lettering means on the black, er, resistor? or whatever it is. also, what is the significance of the green resistor, is that a standard resistance? thx

pic is of my dismantled, old cateye stadium 3 battery. will link to gallery once i get back as with the other ugly temp galleries. my ultimate goal is to replace all the cells and wire it back up. pic was 1/40, f/11, iso 400, 28/1.8. the 28/1.8 is sharp after all, once you stop it down past f/8...

"KL1XON 4-S 4MM75A-06 M9J 1"

in other news, my 50/1.4 bit the dust today. it won't focus closer than 1m, either via its motor or by hand.

 

[WTGPhoben]

can anyone (keith) tell me what the lettering means on the black, er, resistor? or whatever it is. also, what is the significance of the green resistor, is that a standard resistance? thx

pic is of my dismantled, old cateye stadium 3 battery. will link to gallery once i get back as with the other ugly temp galleries. my ultimate goal is to replace all the cells and wire it back up. pic was 1/40, f/11, iso 400, 28/1.8. the 28/1.8 is sharp after all, once you stop it down past f/8...

"KL1XON 4-S 4MM75A-06 M9J 1"
QUOTE]

Looks like a thermal switch
http://www.master-instruments.com.au/browse/Model/ER475A_06.html
Klixon is the company name, (looks like a subsidiary of Texas Instruments)
the '75' in the number seems to indicate the temperature at which it switches

 

[Toshi]

Looks like a thermal switch
http://www.master-instruments.com.au/browse/Model/ER475A_06.html
Klixon is the company name, (looks like a subsidiary of Texas Instruments)
the '75' in the number seems to indicate the temperature at which it switches

awesome. www.componentconcepts.com is the u.s. distributor, just in case anyone else cares or comes across this thread in some bizarre search. here's t.i.'s own product page http://www.ti.com/snc/products/controls/battery-mm.htm .

google friendly keywords: cateye stadium 3 battery pack replacement, T.I. Klixon Thermostat 75 degree, 4MM75A-06, part number ER475A-06, to make up for component concept's totally unindex{able|ed} flash site

http://s91590527.onlinehome.us/4MM75A-06.jpg

 

[Toshi]

more google fodder/me typing out loud:

the cateye stadium 3 battery pack is made up of 10 NiMH cells. these cells are an unusual size, called 4/3A, measuring 67mm x 17mm. googling for "4/3A NiMH" turns up a host of places where one can purchase such cells, for ~$7 per cell. with this in mind it's a little more excusable for cateye to charge $175 + shipping for a replacement pack, since it also includes the fancy looking electronics (presumably for recharging?) seen below.

update: one can purchase 4000 mAh 4/3A NiMH cells for $5.50 each, or 3600 mAh ones for $3.60 each.

 

[Toshi]

my 50/1.4 is broken (and i'm sending it off to Canon Irvine for service -- this is the letter to be included with the package):

Toshi Clark
[my contact info here, not that it's some big secret but still...]

December 27, 2004

Canon U.S.A., Inc.
California Factory Service Center
15955 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92618-3731


To whom it may concern:

Enclosed please find a Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. The problem it is exhibiting is that it will not focus at a distance closer than approximately 1 m (whereas it should be able to focus as close as 0.45 m). It will not focus closer than this distance either by hand, via the focus ring, or when mounted up to the camera, via the lens’ own USM motor. The Canon technician that I spoke with on the telephone speculated that this problem is due to a loose focus ring.

The lens is more than a year old, so is not under warranty coverage. I am not including any accessories other than its two caps, as this problem can be demonstrated off of the camera as well as on it.

Please respond with an estimate via email. Thank you in advance for your consideration.


Sincerely,

Toshi Clark

 

[Toshi]

Sorry to hear bro...I'm sure (hope) they will take care of you.

yeah, just when my big sis (+ her boyfriend) roll into town, too. oh well. canon did a good job of fixing my 28/1.8 a year or so ago, so i trust they'll send it back working like a charm.

 

[WTGPhoben]

yeah, just when my big sis (+ her boyfriend) roll into town, too. oh well. canon did a good job of fixing my 28/1.8 a year or so ago, so i trust they'll send it back working like a charm.

how much did the 28 cost to fix? (looking for comparison, as I had mine fixed recently)

 

[Toshi]

how much did the 28 cost to fix? (looking for comparison, as I had mine fixed recently)

mine was actually expensive: $180ish? i think. but that was because they had to replace the "frame" or some such. it was quite broken... i could wiggle the front half of the lens independently of the back

 

[Toshi]

new pics from today. grey light, but cool bird posing:

 

[Toshi]

http://www.layeredchaos.com/CSi/FQ400-Topgear.wmv

405 hp from a stock Evo. the US never gets the cool models...

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

http://www.layeredchaos.com/CSi/FQ400-Topgear.wmv

405 hp from a stock Evo. the US never gets the cool models...

Take your US version to my buddy, he can help. Probably for a lot less

www.Pruvenperformance.com

 

[Toshi]

i only wish that i had an evo! i doubt he can do much with my 3.3L pathfinder...

 

[Acadian]

http://www.layeredchaos.com/CSi/FQ400-Topgear.wmv

405 hp from a stock Evo. the US never gets the cool models...

still an EVO tho

 

[Toshi]

i unleashed my inner redneck today and went 4 wheelin' in the dunes:

 

[WheelieMan]

http://www.layeredchaos.com/CSi/FQ400-Topgear.wmv

405 hp from a stock Evo. the US never gets the cool models...

Wow, that was really cool, thanks for the link! I'm glad they addressed the turbo lag though, nothing beats a naturally aspirated engine!

 

[Toshi]

new years resolutions:

1. play through all of the well tempered clavier, even if this means recording one voice at a time
2. flesh out at least the openings of the 24 fugue subject/counter-subjects that i sketched out last year in japan and subsequently ignored
3. don't be so cynical: about school, about people, about myself
4. shoot photos more regularly
5. do something every free afternoon or weekend, whether going out or shortening the giant reading list
6. exercise regularly. this means not shirking physical therapy! and go swimming in the mornings before class

 

[Toshi]

ahhhhhh i hate doing bike maintenance when it doesn't go right:

1) i pounded the star nut a bit too far down in the new/old fork (kona project 2 jump, for the evil), so when properly spaced out i can't get the bolt to catch... it's an easy fix with a longer bolt but that's an extra trip to some place that's not open right now

2) i pinched a tube remounting the tire on the new rim (that mtx). it's not an easy rim to mount tires to, very tall, but it was just careless x 2

3) having half of the tools sitting around the car in the garage, half in the room is also frustrating. x 3 . lots of useless walking around

oh well, it'll just have to wait until next year. time to go have fun

 

[Toshi]

how was new years (year's?) for you guys?

more here

 

[Barbaton]

how was new years (year's?) for you guys?

Not bad. Stayed in at the GF's dad's place in TX. Little sister had friends over. Pretty chill night. Did miss the ball drop cuz i went to open the bottle too late, though. :angry:

Now on my way back to NM for more snowy ski goodness. I think I'm gonna rent some Randonnee gear and skin up the top of our 12k peak with a friend of mine from HS and ski the back side. Should be fun.

 

[Toshi]

Now on my way back to NM for more snowy ski goodness. I think I'm gonna rent some Randonnee gear and skin up the top of our 12k peak with a friend of mine from HS and ski the back side. Should be fun.

you're going to climb to 12k? you're nuts . i'm headed out skiing tomorrow, too. i think i'll bring the 20D and the 12-24 in my transalp, since i rarely fall when skiing. of course, i haven't been up in a year so this "rule" may be entirely off...

other news: through a bit of shameless self-promotion i racked up a bunch of hits to my site. today's visitor counter is currently at 33, and it has a bit of lag to it.

i also did a bunch of wrenching on my bikes even tho i felt pretty good, albeit tired, after last night's festivities:

the evil now has the rigid, kona disc fork, that snazzy mtx-clad rear wheel, and the 31.8 control setup that the canfield sported this season. the oversize bar and stem are better suited for the evil, since the bulge in the bar doesn't let the controls be slid very far inwards. the slim clamps of the avid levers and lack of shifters on the evil lend themselves to the bulge well.

the canfield now has that horribly uncomfortable but pleasant looking terry firefly saddle. there's something funny about a monster t, michelin 2.8 front tire... and a slim xc racing saddle. . it was on the other end of the control swap, so now is sporting the woodman 50mm stem and non-oversize protaper setup formerly of the evil.

both it, my xc bike, and the evil were outfitted with large grips (ourys on 2, with the rogues on the canfield being the odd ones of the bunch) and with any luck the grip change plus this switch from 31.8 to 25.4 should alleviate my finger pain.

 

[WTGPhoben]

how was new years (year's?) for you guys?

not bad. kegstand->wandering about->pizza->sleep. Pretty typical New Year fare.

I haven't posted in a while so here's the rundown:

2wk 3days ago: crashed road bike on black ice. trashed rear rim. separated shoulder.

2wk 2days ago: went skiing anyway. 3 ace bandages holding shoulder together. No harm done.

1wk 4days ago: tried to ski. it rained.

1wk 1day ago: Performed controlled experiment with tires... drove around in a snowstorm with BFG traction TA 215s -> mounted snow tires (semperit ice-grip 195s) -> drove around in snow storm. Conclusion: snow tires are NOT a scam.

Ongoing project: rebuilding website.
New Years Resolution: finish the F***ing website and start taking pictures again.

 

[Toshi]

the above was posted on nov 14. now it's dec 6, and i just received a shipping label (via email, picked up/printed out electronically from ups.com, nifty) from kryptonite. so i should have a new lock soon.

i don't know if it made it by christmas (as i was 400 miles away, at home) but i just received my replacement kryptonite evolution lock. (they dropped 2000 from the name.)

 

[Barbaton]

So we had a snow storm here in NM last night so some HS friends and I hit the slopes. Georgeous day. I'm pooped. According to ye altimeter watch, we did 19 runs for a total of 24000 vertical feet. It's snowing again now so we might do again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll remember the camera so I can post some pics of what the southwest looks like from the top of the last 12000 ft peak in the rockies...

 

[Toshi]

whoa, 19 runs. that's intense.