Mon 5 Jan 2009
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on Getting ready to work on the next Battletop trophy
Yup. I think I finally have all the parts I need. This photo actually has quite a few projects in it, including the machinery for the pumpkin laser vortex… but that’s another story. And yes, that is a Barbie hair dryer. This trophy will be for the 2009 Ultimate Battletop Championship: Wisconsin, and it’s gonna be awesome. You can see it in person if you come to MadFest.
Mon 22 Dec 2008
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on It is COLD in Wisconsin
Lenore, Vader and I are in Wisconsin visiting family, and this morning when I woke up the digital thermometer read -0 dgrees. When Lenore got up it had warmed up all the way to 0 degrees. I’ll take any improvement I can get.
Wed 10 Dec 2008
Posted by mark under Model A Ford
Comments Off on Today Was A Good Day
I spent the day today working on my Model A Ford at Keith Waltower’s garage down in West Newton PA. I’m in the middle of a complete brake job, checking and fixing every single piece that is involved in braking. I had a wonderful moment today when all of a sudden I realized how fortunate I was to be able to spend the day surrounded by so many amazing classic cars while working on my own, PLUS having an expert within earshot to ask about anything I needed to know. Not to mention having access to any tool I might need. What a great way to spend a day.
Sat 6 Dec 2008
Posted by mark under Model A Ford
Comments Off on Lenore and I led a tour with the Model A Club
Hayward/Thomas Model A Covered Bridge Tour, October 12 2008
We couldn’t have asked for a better day for a drive. The morning started off a little cool, but the sun warmed us up nicely by midday. The fall colors had just come out, and we had plenty of opportunities to see them on the many tiny, winding roads we took to get to the covered bridges and the trolley museum.
Things started off at the McDonalds on Washington Ave. in Bridgeville. On our earlier scouting runs Lenore and I had discovered that all the covered bridges that we knew of were identical, so for the tour we decided to just see a selection of them. Since the bridges tend to be on very small roads, and not near towns, the tour group got to drive on some very narrow, winding roads through some gorgeous rural areas. Several people wondered how Lenore and I were able to find these tiny, out-of-the-way roads after having only lived in the state for a year… it was all thanks to the internet. Much of the planning was done with the help of the Google Maps website, followed by several scouting trips. You can see our route here.
We drove right through the first covered bridge without stopping, and went on to the stone “S†bridge at the intersection of Hwy 40 and Hwy 221. It’s an all stone bridge, completed in 1818, that was actually built for wagon and stage traffic headed toward the expanding West. It was fun to see something designed for a time so long before our cars were around.
Next it was off to our last two bridges, in the vicinity of East Finley. This was when we had the first break-down of the trip… and unfortunately it was my car that broke down. On the upside, it was a quickly fixed sticky clutch pedal, and I got to see a “roadside seminar†up close and personal.
Keith Waltower gets us back on the road. It was very funny that the men couldn’t wait to look under the hood, but most of the ladies stayed in the cars. Lenore took this fantastic photo.
Tue 18 Nov 2008
Posted by mark under Model A Ford, Model A Ford Maintenance
Comments Off on Which Oil To Use In A Model A Ford
This weekend the 3-River Region Model A Ford Restorers Club had a garage seminar about motor oil. It was great.
The question of which oil to use in my Model A was a difficult one for me from the beginning. It seemed like there was a lot of conflicting information out there, and I didn’t know what to believe. This may not be the final word on the subject, but I feel like I now have the answers.
Our guest speaker for the seminar was Ken Pyle from PPC Lubricants. He gave us some history on oil in general (I didn’t know that oil native to the Pennsylvania area was the best natural lubricant, and that crude oil from different regions was not all the same), and then we got into the info that we really needed for our cars. (more…)
Fri 7 Nov 2008
Posted by mark under Model A Ford
Comments Off on My First Driving Tour with the Model A Ford Club
One of the great things about the 3 Rivers Region Model A Ford Restorers Club is that it is a driving club. Twice a month in the summer people organize Sunday driving tours where we drive up to about 150 miles and go to a museum or some other attraction. I recently went on a tour with the club for the first time. It was awesome.
All lined up and ready to go
We met at a McDonalds south of Pittsburgh, and there were 13 cars: 10 antiques, and 3 modern ones. As we pulled out and got on the road I had an enormous grin on my face. It was just so cool to be driving in the middle of a pack of Model A’s. I was a little giddy.
Elizabeth Bridge
We lost a few cars on the way to our first stop… twice. Normally the group stays in touch with CB radios, but there were a number of new people on this tour, and the leader’s CB wasn’t working. Eventually we got everyone together and took a group tour of Nemacolin Castle. (more…)
Thu 6 Nov 2008
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on Article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Yup, I’m in the news again. Thankfully, once again it’s for juggling, and the photo is not a mug shot.
Article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the Not Quite Pittsburgh Juggling Festival this weekend. I’ll be in the gym hanging out and juggling, as well as closing the show on Saturday night. Maybe I’ll see you there. (QuakerValley Middle School in Sewickley. Show starts at 6:30 pm Saturday.)
Tue 4 Nov 2008
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on Don’t Forget to Vote Today!
If you live in the USA make sure you vote today. A lot of great Americans fought and died so that we had the right to vote, and this election is the most important one in most of our lifetimes.
If you’re not sure who to vote for, I’d recommend Barack Obama.
Mon 27 Oct 2008
Long thought to be extinct, and to live only in its natural habitat of Southern Australia and the island of Tasmania, a fine specimen of Tasmanian Tiger (aka Thylacine) was spotted and photographed in Pittsburgh! Amazingly it was also in my front yard… during our pumpkin carving party… and it’s wearing a collar… and looks suspiciously like someone just panited our dog.
Real Tasmanian Tigers are incredibly cool animals. For more info check out the Thylacine Museum.
Mon 20 Oct 2008
Posted by mark under General
Comments Off on Here comes Halloween… and Pumpkin Carving!
I just redid my pumpkin carving page. If you’re carving a pumpkin and would like some tips, I bet I have a couple that will help you out. The best jack o lantern ever: isn’t that what we all want? This year I think I’m going to do another one with its face on fire, as well as one with a laser vortex coming out of it’s mouth.
Fire-face, from 2006