.99 Hand Crank Flashlight

I got this cheap .99¢ hand crank flashlight.  It's not the kind that the handle is tucked away in it then you release it and then you crank it around in a circle.  This is the kind that you squeeze it and it turns these gears inside the flashlight.  It's even see through so you can see for yourself.



Well my bicycle light that runs off the generator that I've been relying on, the light bulb went out so I have to wait until Chip needs to go to Home Depot so I can buy more lights.  In the meantime I've been using this light that I got from the dollar store that uses 4 AA batteries.  Well, the batteries died after 2 uses and each use is about 1 hour before the sun comes up.

So I decided that since I have this hand crank light that I will take it with me on the bike trail but I was having to hold it in my mouth because I didn't know how else I was supposed to use it lol.  So the next day I used black electrical tape to tape it to the handlebars but the only problem is that I couldn't crank it to charge it and I couldn't turn the switch on and off very easily because of the tape.

So the day after that I decided that it needs to be mounted.  I mean like mounted mounted.  Not just taped or use that double stick tape or something.



Yeah, you can see that I got creative with it lol.  The screws I found in the tool shed were twice as long as this, in fact they were attached to some molly bolts but I had some nuts that fit them.  So I sized the screws up to the length I thought would be appropriate then I cut them with the hacksaw then I filed them at the ends so that the nuts could go on easily.  Then as you can see I used one of those garden hose repair kits, I discarded the piece that you stick into the hose and I just kept the piece that gets screwed onto the outside of the hose.  I had to drill the holes that the screws were in so that the holes were big enough for these screws that I used to fit inside, also the bottoms needed to be open.

I mounted this onto my handlebars where the dollar store light went and it worked great for 2 days.  Then today, the third day, I was on the bike trail then all of a sudden the light began to fade out until there was no more light.  So, while riding I began to crank it.  Nothing.  I cranked it and cranked it for a couple of minutes.  Nothing.  No light came out of it.

The sun started to come up so I gave up on it and figured I would have to probably take it apart because apparently I didn't put it back together properly when I screwed the holes into the casing to mount this.  Well, it was fine.  There was nothing wrong with the way I put it back together.  I don't understand why it's doing this to me now.  It was just a .99¢ light but that's totally not the point.  It's supposed to turn back on from cranking it.

Anyway, I'm gonna have to find another way lol.  Maybe I'll ask Chip if he can bring me to the Home Depot for the light bulb for the generator light since that is my other free alternative to having a light and not needing batteries.

14 Years old and 555lbs.

Should mom of 555-pound boy be charged with neglect?

That is an article on the SparkPeople website.

The mother claims that she works too much and doesn't always have any time to give her child the right foods.  She buys fast food for him all the time for his dinner and he has reached a very dangerous weight.  Can you imagine being 14 years old and weighing 555lbs?  I certain cannot.

Ok some may say that because he is 14 years old he is old enough to feed himself but come on, when I was that age if it were up to me I'd be eating candy bars and cake and ice cream for dinner every night.  You cannot let a 14 year old make that decision on his own unless you have already taught him from birth the right foods to eat.

When I was a kid my mother fed me the right kinds of foods and I was always very very thin.  Ok so I wasn't model thin but I had a small waistline.  Mainly because I was very active on my bike and running from bully's and also during P.E. class they always had us running around.  There were times that my family went to McDonald's to eat dinner and we went to other dining restaurants for dinner too, not just fast food.  My favorite place to go was Bob's Big Boy (which I'm happy they are coming back to Bakersfield YAY).  But I wasn't given that everyday so I knew that you weren't supposed to eat that crap on a daily basis.  Not just because it's not very good for you but because back then it was expensive.  The burgers were about $2.50 or so and you know, in the 70's and 80's money was always tight so it wasn't too often that we would go there.  It was cheaper for my mom to go to the store.

Personally I think that this kid should be taken away from the mother because they gave her lots of chances to help her son get down in weight by teaching them better eating habits and the mother refused to comply so they took him.

This woman needs to get a better job where she is able to pay more attention to her son so she can walk with him and maybe get him a gym membership.  Go there with him every day to make sure he does what he is supposed to and not just sitting down listening to his iPod outside in the front of the gym.  She needs to take responsibility for HER actions in getting her kid fat.  If you don't then your child needs to be in a better home environment.

Well, that's just my opinion, 1 opinion out of probably billions.

Weight Loss Frustration

First let me say that I'm keeping my cool about it and not letting it stress me out that much.  Stress is a leading cause of weight gain because ... cortisol... whatever.  Anyway, I'm just getting frustrated lol.

At first I was always right on that little red line on the weight chart and losing the weight so fast.  I mean, I've lost 24lbs.  Well, last year in November 2008 I was riding the bike and I was 244lbs and then I got down to 227 and had the accident then had to stop but then I gained 10lbs and was up to 237.  So when I started exercising in April I started losing weight again.  So you are damned right I'm counting the 244lb starting weight even though I'm only counting the 237lb starting weight with SparkPeople because that is how much I weighed in April when I started riding my bike again.

Anyway, what is the most frustrating is Chip.  I thought that he would come home from work and I'd make him something to eat or he might make it himself or something but then he started bringing taco bell or burger king home with him for our dinner.  Instead of just coming home and letting me make him something he brings fast food home for the both of us.

I know what you are going to say, take responsibility for your actions and refuse to eat that BS food and just go eat your salad and shut the hell up.  Right?  You are absolutely right.  I have on excuse.

Well, I've added 3 miles to my bike route everyday.  I've also added the amount of days I'm riding.  Instead of riding 2 days then taking a day or 2 off I'm riding 3 days then taking 1 day off then ride 3 days then take 1 day off.  Some weeks like this week I will have 2 days off in 1 week but then there might be some weeks that I might have 1 day off because riding 3 days then 1 off then 3 days that's 7 days total.  And then to top it off with the extra 3 miles makes it even better.

So all I have to say is that with all the cardio I'm doing with my 19 miles a day total and the slim fast for lunch and the bowl of Raisin Bran for breakfast and I will try to say no to fast food and restaurant dining and just eat a salad for dinner.  Then I will be able to lose the weight again.

This isn't a marathon, I mean, it takes a long time to lose weight and I don't want to rush it.  At the same time I do lol.  I just want to be skinny by Thanksgiving you know?  I want to walk in the front door of Chips brothers house and have everyone go wow omg you are so skinny.  My goal right now is to be at 150lbs by February 2010 so if by Thanksgiving I'm 170 then that's fine, I'll still be skinnier than I am now.  And I keep adding more miles to my bike ride every few weeks, I'm sure by Thanksgiving I will be riding 30 miles per day 7 days a week never taking a day off to rest and the weight will be melting off lol.

Malt-O-Meal Hot Cereal

I can remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old and my mother used to make me Malt-O-Meal for breakfast.  That was the best hot cereal ever.  Yes I like Oatmeal but this is better.  I don't care too much for cream of wheat though.

I remember that my mom always bought the Chocolate Malt-O-Meal and if she bought the original, I would put some chocolate syrup in it to make it chocolaty hehe.

Did you know that Malt-O-Meal hot cereal is nutritious?  I knew it was good for you but I didn't know to what extend until I read this:

Link is gone, sorry.  But take my word for it lol.  Visit the website and do some digging (link below)

Wow, I'm going to buy this more often and eat it before my bike rides instead of regular cold cereal.  Although this means I'm either going to get a late start or I will have to get up earlier.  Then again you can nuke it lol.

I don't know why but the stores in California, or at least in Bakersfield, don't sell the chocolate flavored Malt-O-Meal anymore.  When I was 4 or 5 as I mentioned before we lived here in Bakersfield and that's where my mom bought it so I'm not sure why they don't sell it here now.  They do mention that flavor on their website.  I want CHOCLATE Malt-O-Meal!  Adding chocolate syrup adds more calories to it lol.  Oh well, I guess Maple and Brown Sugar will have to do.

Image copied from their website www.malt-o-meal.com.  Make sure you go to your local grocery store and buy some today.  It's the best hot cereal ever made IMHO.

New Bike Seat & Wood Burning Stuff

New Bike Seat:

I just bought my new bike seat finally.  It's an Ergo bicycle seat which means it has no "horn".  It's just the butt part.  The one I bought is the "Classic" Vinyl Bicycle Seat with the black sheepskin cover.  The sheepskin is supposed to add more cush for the tush.  It was a bit pricey at $67 after the shipping cost but it's worth it to me to have a bicycle seat that doesn't make me numb in places that make me blush to mention.  Also my left leg has had some pain shooting down from the crotch area and that's not good so this is going to be great to have.

Update: I just got an email from the bicycle seat website that I bought the seat from and the guy who is in charge of it all sent me an email saying it will take him 4 to 5 days before he can send it out because there was a tragic death in the family.  Poor guy.  I can wait.  4 to 5 days would be Monday or Tuesday when he can send them out.  That's fine, I wasn't really expecting it to be sent out until then anyway because of the 4th of July weekend.  I can be patient.  I was hoping it would've been shipped out today though so I could get it by Monday but that's fine.

Wood Burning Stuff:

I've been wanting to go to Michael's to buy some wood burning stuff but their wood burning section is too small.  So instead I went to the Walnut Hollow website.  They have a special discount for the 4th of July, all you do is type in Made in the USA when you checkout.  It didn't work for me, probably because all the things I bought are already discounted.  Here are the things I bought.

• 4 Irregular Country Rounds 9.5" to 8.5" wide @ $1.25 each


• 2 Irregular Country Rounds 10.5" to 9.5" wide @ $2.25 each


• Alphabet HotStamp™ Set @ $6.50


• Number and Punctuation Hotstamp™ Set @ $5.00


• Hotstamps™ Everyday Series 1 @ .50¢


• Hotstamps™ Word Series 1 @ .50¢


• Woodburning Basic Techniques @ .99¢


• Creative Woodburning® Book 1 @ $5.29

I don't normally brag every time I buy something... ok yeah I do but I just wanted to brag about these things lol.  All the wood burning stuff from Walnut Hollow came out to about $38.58 after the $10 UPS shipping.  Which is not a bad price to pay for shipping considering the alphabet set and the numbers set at Michael's costs $28 each.  And all that wood that I bought they don't sell the irregulars at Michael's but they are expensive there.  I would guess that I'd have to pay about $15 or $20 each for those.  So I think I got a really good deal on everything.  The hotstamps everyday series and word series, I probably will never use those or maybe use them once but who freakin' cares, .50 cents dude!  The books were not in the "Great Deals" section which I like to call bargain bin but that's ok.  $5.29 for a book is great and the other one that is 99 cents is a thin book.  No biggy.

I can't wait to get all that stuff especially the seat.  Oh boy do I need that seat because I've already added 3 miles to my ride thanks to that homeless guy at the rest stop.  But you know, thanks to him for creeping me out and pushing me to go further lol.

Wood Burned Box

I just added a video to YouTube, it's just a 1 minute video but it's of the box that I just finished making for Chips cousin Vedra.  Her birthday is this Saturday, July 4th.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_3cqj-0WWA

I wish I had thought of doing this earlier in the month because then I would've had time to do it properly.  I put this wood protector stuff on it, I don't know what it's called but it protects the wood from the sun and from water.  Anyway, you are supposed to put that stuff on then let it dry then sand it then put more on and then sand it again and I think you are supposed to do that several times.  But I didn't have the right sandpaper to do that and it's just a box lol.

So what I did was I found the pattern online, it's like a border for making a card or sign or whatever.  But I stretched it out so it was the same size as the top then for the front and back I cut out the bottom of the border image and printed it the right size for the front and back.  Then I did the same thing with the sides and I just blended them in with the roses so it looked normal lol.  Then I used this water based paint to paint the roses and the leaves.  Chip wanted pink so I mixed the red and white to make pink.  I was trying to be clever with the green color for the stem that the leaves were on so they weren't as dark of a green lol.

I'm still a beginner with 0 skill in shading so until I can learn that there is no shading in any of my projects.  I'm going to buy a book online this Friday along with some supplies so I can learn.

Anyway, I hope you like it.