Ah this project is reminiscent of the glory days of Apple technology when the iPods would come with their own felt-type case. No need to get anything else! But, now that we’ve all realized the relative market for “protection” they come with cases no more. After you get or make a belt out of a recycled inner tube, why not cut and stitch together your very own iPod Nano case? Here’s how.

Seems like every year there is the same article about how to beat the cold on a bike. Nothing new here, but perhaps a refresher is in order. From Bicycling:

* When riding in snow (or sand) it’s a good idea to let some air out of the tires. This increases the surface area and helps tires to float rather than sink. You can find how much psi to lower to here.
* Be sure to lubricate and clean your chain more often. Here are more details on winterizing your bike.
It takes longer to stop with wet brake pads. Judge your stopping distance and prepare accordingly.
* One of my favorite cycling apparel items is my balaclava. On a 10-degree morning it keeps my face from hurting and my lungs from freezing up. Some people think it looks geeky. I prefer to think of my balaclava as intriguing, or mysterious. I’ve had friends and a coworker ask if that was me riding in to work in the snow. They thought they recognized my bike but they weren’t sure because they couldn’t see my face. (See? Mysterious.)
* A good pair of thermal tights is such a comfort. I had my first experience wearing them this winter. I was amazed at how something as thin as tights could keep me so warm. On blustery days with a wind chill factor of -2 degrees I wear wind pants over the tights and life is good.
* Keep your digits from freezing. My favorite style of gloves are the lobster or split-finger type. They can take a little getting used to, but they keep your hands warmer than full-finger gloves and are better for finger dexterity than mittens. Here’s a head to toe checklist.

Stay warm! link

Um, ok, I don’t know how to say this exactly, but you’re gonna want to check these photos out. And if they make you want to honk your horn, here’s a way to rig a car horn on a bicycle.

Don’t ask because I don’t know.

Nothing better than adding dorkery to the dorkdom: our cat is named Shimano so if we got another, what would a good wine-related name be for a cat? Viognier (vee-ohn-yay)?

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A good article from the Wall Street Journal food and drink section on what to look for on the wine label. The advice? Be sure the wine isn’t too old, doesn’t have too much alcohol, and stay away from what they call “critter labels.” Read it here…

Browsing the posts at Chow.com resulted in this great find: an amusement park/spa in Japan where you can bathe yourself in Green Tea, Sake, Wine, or Coffee.

All of the pools are decorated with giant utensils (teapot, wine bottle, coffee and sake barrels) that “serve” your bathing liquid to you. If anyone happens to have been to this spa, please comment on this post! I am so curious about the effects of bathing in coffee. Cost is around 3,500 yen, or 40 bucks at the time of this writing.

Definitely a translated site, the description for the Green Tea bath reads: “a unique spa containing real green.” Just how I like my tea.

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A little late to the game, as always, that’s me. Anywho, here it is.

Happy Inauguration Day!

Right after you’re done ordering me the t-shirt that warns I’ll drink all wine in sight, you can grab this one too.

“In Lock Rings We Trust”

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Neal Fegan makes some killer looking bicycles, or more properly, velocipedes. Unfortunately, his site is a blob of flash un-link-able-ness, so you’ll have to sit through the time-wasting and pointless introduction. And there aren’t too many examples posted yet. But if the few creations he has are any indication of what is to come, this is a bicycle artist worth keeping your eye on.

And, my Mom cleans his Mom’s teeth, ha ha!

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