“I need to childproof this place.” is a comment often made over a soundtrack of screaming. “This isn’t enough.” is a thought that usually follows a few days after the initial childproofing efforts, also over the same soundtrack.

But over time, as table corners get wash clothes duct taped over them, electrical sockets get custom cozies plugged into them, and brick fireplaces get surrounded by old boxes, you come to realize that the safer you make the house for your child, the more dangerous it becomes for anyone else.

You spend so much time thinking “how can I keep him out of this” that you don’t think “How will I still be able to get into this?” Anyone with child proofed drawers and cabinets knows the wonderful feeling of stubbed fingers and nearly-torn-off fingernails.

We have two baby gates covering the two entrances to the kitchen. One of the doorways is so wide we actually had to get a giant dog gate to cover it. It’s so tall that Teresa can straddle it if she’s on her tip-toes. I can stand over it while still on my heels, but traveling over it swiftly brings any chance of Noah having siblings into grave danger. The other is only tall about to be annoying. Tall enough that it takes effort to pass over it. Tall enough that if you don’t put forth that effort, you get a stubbed toe or a bruised knee. It’s horribly annoying, but only slightly less annoying than putting all the pots and pans back in the cabinets after Noah has made his way through them all.

So last night, while carving our pumpkin, Teresa went into the kitchen to throw something away, caught her knee, and went tumbling into a ball, only to then be beaten by the falling gate. Noah, much like a dog, began to scream and cry. He was so worried about Teresa’s well being that she actually told me to get him out of the high chair before I made sure she was OK. Once in his mother’s arms he was fine again, but I must say, his screams really made a clumsy fall into a horrific family accident.

So there’s no moral to this story or anything. But I guess what you can take away from it is this: Children will effect every part of your life. Even the health of your fingertips when you take a fork from the silverware drawer.

Good thing there’s also some sweet satisfaction in some instances of childproofing.

Filed under: rambling by tonybullard
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Filed under: family, friends, social, spirituality by tonybullard
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Behold, this will be the unraveling of sanity.

Filed under: family, video by tonybullard
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I know weather is relative to one’s location and all, but today is an amazingly beautiful day. Things can get stressful, and days can get busy, but on a day like today, where you can feel the sun on one side of your face, and the cool breeze on the other…those are the days you HAVE to take 5 minutes and lay in the grass. Close your eyes, listen to your surroundings, and just drink it all in.

No matter where you are in life, this is just one of the things that make it wonderful.

Filed under: health, rambling, spirituality by tonybullard
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I’ve spoken before about talents that I have that most people would find less than valuable.

I’ve realized over time that I have another one. Maybe not a talent so much. Perhaps more of a super power. Anyways, it would appear I have a 90% chance of pulling out the correct number of items from a stack. In my work I’m pulling envelopes, labels, tape sleeves, various paper goods stored in stacks. I’ll need 7 labels (3 sheets) 7 tape sleeves, 7 envelopes. Most of the time, I’ll reach in, and I’ll pull out 7. It’s kind of uncanny. Sometimes I even try to intentionally pull out too many, but it’ll still be right. I’m not saying I should be on Heroes or anything, but hey, it’s up there with some of those new characters.

My “friend” Martin tells me he has the unique ability to quickly draw the appropriate size Tupperware container for leftovers every time. This is a talent I have learned is very valuable when your stove is as hard to clean as mine is. I envy him.

So, in a first, I ask that you, the reader, voice your “useless” talents. That’s right, I’m putting it out on the line here. The number of comments left here will determine my sense of self worth for at least 4 days. So, what can you do?

Filed under: rambling by tonybullard
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So I’ve spent the last couple nights cleaning. At the very least, every part had a sort of hard dust layer on it, just years of being in existence. I’d have to say that the guy who owned this before at the very least went several years without cleaning it.

Most of the issue came from the chain. I think it was lubed with crude oil. Thick black something, that it slung all over the back of the bike. Cleaning it off was no easy task. I took some pictures, but looking at them, it’s hard to see much of a difference. I’m going to blame that on the camera, cause she already looks a thousand times better than she did.

I had played around with the idea of repainting the frame, but I’ve decided I’m going to get her rolling again, and if I really like her, I’ll repaint the frame some time later. She could really use it. She’s got scratches all over her. Some places it looks like the chain ground against the frame for miles. But she’s still solid, and that’s all that really matters.

I overhauled the headset, which was remarkably easy. I had gotten the impression that it’s a place you don’t really want to go, but I found it to be super simple. Maybe it’s just Rose. So that was cleaned up and lubed up nicely, and while I’m no expert, the fork turns side to side nicely, so I imagine I did everything right.

So with all the components clean, I put everything back on. I still need to replaces all the cabling, and buy new brake levers, so the lines will wait til later. For now, I still need to get the crank set off, so I can overhaul the bottom bracket. Unfortunately I’m getting that “one use tool” issue again, and I need a “crank puller.” I’m thinking about just bringing it into the shop and asking them if I can borrow theirs for 5 minutes. Probably won’t fly, but maybe they’ll give me a break and do it for me if I buy some brake pads off them. Then again, I need tools to overhaul the bottom bracket, so maybe I should put it all off till I get a chance to go to Sopo Bikes again. I’ll need to go there to true the wheels anyways, so it’s not like she’ll be rolling before then.

There’s so many things to do I literally have a list so I don’t forget them. Oi. But I’ll still say that a bike is, overall, a pretty simple tool considering it’s usability. So that’s it for now. I imagine the next time I’ll post about Rose she’ll be rolling. Here’s hoping anyways.

Filed under: rambling by tonybullard
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One of the fun things about riding mass transit is that you occasionally get to interact with the mentally unstable. I remember when I had first moved here, my friend brought his girlfriend up and spent the weekend here. We decided it’d be neat to take the train into the city and see the sights. Not 15 minutes into the train ride, a woman walked onto the train talking about how she had Bill Clinton’s baby, and the priest wouldn’t give her back the thousands of dollars he took. “Welcome to Atlanta” I whispered to John.

For months now, near the Sandy Springs station, there has been an interesting ad in one of the tunnels. There is a series of lit posters, that when the train passes, it plays like a small animation. You see some swooshes, and then a Speed Racer logo with a theater release date. It’s kinda neat, but also fairly surprising upon first sighting.

A couple days ago I was sitting on the train, and I watched it go by, and noticed the guy sitting at the window look back into the cabin with a “that was weird” expression on his face. I smiled and nodded my head, with a slight chuckle, as to say, “Yeah, pretty crazy huh?”

The guy had a quick look of shock on his face, and suddenly turned his face back toward the window.

So then I wondered if maybe he hadn’t seen the Speed Racer ad. Maybe he was just looking out the window, turned his head in, only to see a guy staring at him, smiling and nodding as if you say, “I’ll wear your skin as a hat.”

This makes me laugh. It makes me laugh like when you’re in class and you know you shouldn’t be laughing, but you can’t hold it in, and the pressure only makes you want to laugh more.

So let’s recap:
Complete stranger staring, nodding, smiling. Then he starts sputtering short snorts of laughter.

I’ve become the crazy guy on the train.

Filed under: social by tonybullard
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October 13th, 2008. A day that will live, in infamy. Not really, but that sounds dramatic, if not inappropriate.

So yesterday I bought a new bike. Well, an old bike, but it’s new to me. It’s actually older than I am, so I’m told. I’m having a hard time figuring out just what it is. It has “Galaxy” emblazoned on the seat tube, but the front head badge has been torn off, and I can’t find any other identifying marks on it. From what I can find, it’s either a Dawes Galaxy, which is a fairly nice bike, or it’s a “Galaxy” made by who knows. Judging by the fact the the gold accents around the fork and crossbar are simply stickers, I imagine it may be the latter.

But I don’t care where she comes from, I only care about what she can become. I thought about naming her, and literally the first thing that popped into my head was “Rose.” Maybe ’cause she’s red. Not even sure. I don’t know a lot of Roses. There was a very nice girl in high school, and there’s my friend’s daughter, but that’s it. But now there’s a new one in my life, and I’m far too affectionate of her.

So I spent last night tearing Rose to pieces. She’s very dirt. Especially around the chain, which is SUPER greased. So the frame around that chain is literally caked in dirt filled grease. Also, while nothing is rusted, in general all the parts could use a good bath. Since I want to go everything with great detail, I just decided to strip her down and start from the beginning. If for no other reason, this forces me to take every step slowly and paying attention to detail, and have a plan. I’m bad at getting too excited about things and not planning, figuring out things as I go, which makes for mistakes and misspent money.

So for now she’s naked except for the chain and crank set. I can’t get the chain off without a chain tool, which is just a preview of bike building. Lots of tools that have only one use, which you really need. Luckily though, I’ve got Sopo Bikes to help me out with that kind of stuff.

So for now she sits on my garage floor, lonely and in pieces. I plan on overhauling the headset, overhauling the bottom bracket, repairing the front brake lever (maybe replacing), putting in new brake and shifter cables, and replacing the crank set. But none of that will be done before a whole bunch of cleaning.

So I’ll be posting about this whole adventure, mostly just to keep record for myself. This is my first bike rebuild (hopefully not my last) and I want to catalog everything I learn along the way. So this stuff will probably be boring for most everyone, interesting for the technically inclined, and frustrating to those who actually know how to do this.

Go ride a bike.

Filed under: cycling by tonybullard
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