random outbursts from my inner five-year-old about craftsmanship, books, family, bikes, wilderness, cookies, bees, building furniture, my dogs, travel, adventure, life, & all the rest…
Below are the things that I really want and that are present for me today:
To unclutter my life: less superfluous stuff
For my hip to be 100% and to never have to use crutches again
A wish for Brodie to be well and 100% cancer free More time with my children and family.
Sunshine!!
Summer BBQs and cold rosé in the back yard.
For the basement (mostly the bathroom) to be done.
Hand-written letters – on actual paper – from my kids, friends and family.
A warm, sunny beach vacation
For the US Political system not to be dysfunctional and a little/lot less crazy
In about 4 weeks I will celebrate the 14th anniversary of my 29th year. I want cake (moist yellow cake with chocolate butter-cream frosting), snuggling, two fingers of a great scotch after lunch, lots of tiny cups of coffee all day, a nice glass of wine with a steak for dinner, laughter, and a few well thought out gifts. I will not be working that day and I plan to pamper myself with a haircut and a strait-razor shave.
Below is my birthday wish list for my wife, family and children. Gifts that Keep giving:
Stuff: Forging class at the Pratt starting in October
Letters from my kids – written on actual paper.
A 3-Day Rally School Course A bottle of Pre-Shave Oil from The Art of Shaving – Lavender A couple of thoughtful cards
The iWatch 2. Simple black – the cheapest one German Wheat Beer is always welcome
Zombie shooting targets
An Ash Pack Basket (Sling-style harness)
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions) 2ga. Dark Jade plugs
The AKcooltools Stainless/bronze Clamptite and the lg roll of stainless .041 wire
24 Provence lavender plants for my front yard
Tiffany blue silk tie and matching pocket square
These new bad-ass cufflinks
A Global Sashimi knife
Classic Cartoon DVDs (Wanrner Bros., Tex Avery, Bugs, Tom&Jerry, Loony Toons, Road Runner, etc…)
Christopher Ward Quartz Trident with black rubber strap
Booze:
A fine Anejo Tequila
Hakushu 12 Whisky
A bottle of Fronsac or Canon-Fronsac (Château Lafond, Château La Vieille Cure, La Dalphine…)
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Porto (Cálem 2011 Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s)
Glenfiddich 21
Below are the things that I really want and that are present for me today:
For my interior painting to be 100% done in our house.
For my Garage to be 100% built and finished. More time with my children and family.
Summer BBQs and cold rosé in the yard.
I want to stick to my diet and workout schedule and not fall off the wagon and back into the cookie/café Mocha/lethargic/big-belly/back-hurting abyss.
For the Attic and basement (mostly the bathroom) to be done.
Letters – written on actual paper – from my kids, friends and family.
8″ joiner/planer, 15″ Bandsaw, New Dust collection system for garage
Christopher Ward Quartz Trident with black rubber strap
For the US Political system not to be dysfunctional and a little/lot less crazy
Below are the things that I really want and that are present for me today:
More time with my children and family.
I want to stick to my diet and workout schedule and not fall off the wagon and back into the cookie/café Mocha/lethargic/big-belly/back-hurting abyss.
For the house remodel to be done
For my Garage build to be 100% and my new lift and tools installed and waiting for me.
Growler or two from West Seattle Brewing Co.
Letters – written on actual paper – from my kids.
A longboard skateboard
I could stand a new Kindle
A handsome tweed vest – or two
Brown Redwing Engineer’s boots
Huge antique pattern lathe found in a barn or a PM4224 with all the add-ons.
A pair of 1/2 round and a pair of Snipe Bill molding planes
A 1.75 – 3Hp SawStop Table Saw
One fine compound sliding miter saw
>8″ joiner/planer
A Grizzly G0752 Benchtop Lathe and G0801 Vertical Mill
I have a big ol’ crush in Lister single-cylinder diesel engines. These stationary work horses were made from 1926 to about 1985 and were used for pumping water, power generation, inboard flat-water boat engines, and all manner of other uses. They came in 1.5-12 horsepower and would/will burn Diesel, paraffin, kerosene (as a mix), waste motor oil (WMO) fresh or waste veggie oil (WVO), bio Diesel, etc… They were and are so reliable that many of the originals are still running today after 90+ years of just regular maintenance.
After the parent company stopped making them, Indian firms started making clones for Asian and Southeast Asian use due to their inherent long life, simplicity, and ease of maintenance. These are called Listeriods, and they are fairly plentiful, but the quality swings widely.
Why do I want or need a Lister? Reasons. Why did I need a Millennium Falcon in the second grade? Why did I need all those Legos? I just did. Just like I just need a small Lister (or two) in my garage to tinker with and run various other machines that I just need as well.
I have been thwarted in my attempt while living in the US due to EPA regulations making importation verboten. There are some, both original and clones, around, but they command top dollar as they are VERY popular with the off-grid/prepper folks. I like “The Grid” just fine. I am not building a bunker, planning for any sort of societal collapse or EMP weapon defense, I just need a Lister.
I have found a couple here in France, but either the owner has been unwilling to sell or the logistics in getting it have proved difficult – hauling it 30 vertical feet up and 2km down a mountain path sort of daunting. I still haven’t given up. We know a British couple that have been here long term and the husband is a classic car/truck guy – he has a 1962 Unimog fire truck as a daily driver… I spoke to him this weekend about my need and he might know a guy who knows a guy sort of thing. I have my fingers crossed.
Enjoy a few videos of Listers in action below:
10/7/2015 Update
So, I found an engine here in France that was the right size and type, with an outstanding price tag – basically free. But, there is NO way I can bring it back to the US with me. We are bringing home Wine and other stuff that are customs red flags and they are going to go through our shipment container with a microscope. I think I might have a way to get an Indian import once we are back in Seattle, so I will deal with it there.
In about 4 weeks I will celebrate the 13th anniversary of my 29th birthday and the current plan is to spend the weekend in Rome and Venice or Florence. While there, I want cake (moist yellow cake with chocolate butter-cream frosting), snuggling, a nice glass or 6 of fine wine and lots of tiny cups of Coffee, laughter, and a few well thought out gifts. I will NOT work that day – just not going to happen – and I plan to pamper myself with a haircut and a strait-razor shave if it can be found.
Below is my birthday wish list – mostly for my wife, family and children, but feel free to peruse and suggest.
I already have a bunch of crap, so my first request is that people give to a worthy cause.
Stuff: A yearly subscription to Monocle MagazineMy wife is Awesome!! I have wanted this for YEARS!
Permission to buy a sweet fountain pen
Amber 2ga. Plugs
2ga. Dark Jade plugs
A handsome tweed vest a large Isle of Lewis Chess SetI got this set after-the-fact and my wife is now playing chess with me weekly! Win-Win
Brown Redwing Engineer’s boots A banjo muteFound for cheap in a local Toulouse shop
These new bad-ass cufflinks or theseMy wife had these made for me with a sweet message on the reverse. Love her. New House Shoes My mom is cooler the yours! She sent me these house-shoes and I have worn them almost every day since!
A Global Chef’s knife, bread knife, andceramic sharpenerAnother score from Mom.
Classic Cartoon DVDs (Bugs, Tom&Jerry, Loony Toons, Road Runner, etc…)
Tools:
A pair of 1/2 round molding planes
A Pair of Snipe Bill molding planes
A Grizzly G0602 Benchtop Lathe
in December of 2013 Stamps-With-Foot and I were in San Francisco and visited an awesome shop calledWindtip, which is in the shadow of the Trans-America Building. They are in a former Art Nouveau bank building (Originally the Bank of Italy) that the store has preserved – including the vault. As you might imagine, they have lots of fancy men’s shoes that made me tingle, But are more than a shoe store: “… a “one-stop shop” for the modern gentleman… the store features a custom clothing department, professional & casual clothing, cufflinks, pens, leather goods, barware, cigar accessories, a barbershop, and shoe shine stand. And that’s just the store. A private club for our best customers houses a bar & lounge, private parlor rooms, a boardroom, golf simulator, and a wine cave.” In short, a VERY cool place that any gent or his loving wife SHOULD check out if in the city.
Anyway, while there I fell for a black leather Moore & Giles document portfolio that I considered, if only for a flash of an instant, plopping down some hard earned cash for. Although perfect for my work life as a European-dwelling engi-nerd that prefers to more fast and light through airports, I came to my senses and walked away. I have longed for it ever since and have asked for one as a gift for every anniversary, Christmas, birthday, and a few random Tuesdays and Thursdays since that first meeting.
I checked the other day on it, more to torture myself than anything else, and the manufacturer has discontinued the product. Wingtip had bumped the price up and had it marked at $450! Crap… I started sketching it up so that I could get my cobbler (that sounds SO much more pretentious than it is…) to see about making it. I needed a detail and did a image web search this afternoon 15 minutes before I had a super important call for my J-O-B and BAM! There it was at Sierra Trading Post for CRAZY CHEAP! I have bought hiking clothes from them for years at deep discounts, but had no idea that they would have something like this. I double checked the item, looked if they had the black one in-stock, and called their customer service right then.
Yes they have it in black, yes they accepted my 4 year old 30% off coupon and just like that I got a $450 portfolio for $110.40 delivered free to my house in Seattle. Done and done. I was so excited that it made the work call after a pleasure and I have been dreading it for two days.
Someday, I will have a bespoke bike built – custom fit to my goofy measurements and with all the bells a whistles that I want/need/lust after. A bike that is equally suited for using as a city single-speed, a gravel road shredder, light single track, and a 9-speed road rider and tourer.
I want:
A lugged steel frame S&S couplers so I can fly with it
Disc breaks
Single front 32T or 44T chain ring
18T freewheel (I have an Ultegra 9-speed group and Deraulier in a box…)
Clearance for 33X700 tires
Bull horn bars Paul 2-finger levers
Flipping Rear dropouts (44 Bike)
Duel bottle cage
Rack and fender mounts (I have a set of wood FastBoy fenders that need a good home)
Brazed on bottle opener (A’la Rodriguez Cycles)
Brooks Swallow Tail saddle.
I really dig what Kristofer Henry in New Hampshire has going with 44 Bikes. If I could talk him into a lugged Huntsman, then we could do some serious business.
