Bobike mini saga

I haven't posted in a long time, but my I thought what I learned about baby seats for bikes recently would be useful to other folks.

Problem:
Bobike mini does not fit all bikes, like my Electra. You need several inches of clearance on the stem.

Details:
I wanted a bike seat for my little girl that attached to the front of the bike so I can keep an eye on here.

The iBerts are pretty popular out here, but I didn't think it was worth ~$100. I found the Bobike Mini on Amazon and it was more reasonable and looked more accommodating for the baby. I have an Electra single speed cruiser and I wasn't sure if the seat would work with my bike.

I'm not a bike expert, so I emailed two photos of the stem at different angles to the company that sells the seat on Amazon asking if it would work. I got a generic response that in retrospect I can see they did not look at my pictures:

It can be fitted onto nearly all bicycles including the majority of racing, towing, and mountain bikes. Also, you do need to measure the bike stem where it will be mounted. The stem needs to be between 20-28mm.

I order it and paid extra to get it by the weekend. Once I saw the mount I realized it wouldn't fit. Not being a bike expert, I removed the handlebars to see if the steering tube was somehow adjustable to get more height. It wasn't. I called around a few shops and consulted a friend that with more bike expertise and discovered that short of getting a new fork and headset, this would not work on my bike.


Solution:
Measure your handlebar stem and make sure you have several inches of clearance for the mount. If not and you do not have an adjustable quill stem.

Africa Lounge SeaTac

More fried than I was expecting. Sauce on the side. Good spice flavor.
Goes well with this Mac & Jack IPA.

Diablo el pollo y el arroz de fuego

Diablo el pollo y el arroz de fuego

Cook one cup of jasmine rice
Preheat the oven to 350
In an oven safe pan, add coating of olive oil and two frozen Tyson chicken breasts from Costco
Cover breasts with more oil
Cover breasts with Louisiana hot sauce (Roster is the best)
Cover breasts with granulated garlic powder from Costco
Bake for 15 minutes
Remove pan and flip breasts
Cover breasts with more oil
Cover breasts with Louisiana hot sauce (Roster is the best)
Cover breasts with granulated garlic powder from Costco
Bake for 15 minutes
Remove pan from oven, then remove and slice breasts
Add back to the pan and spread out as much as possible
Lower oven to 300
After 5 minutes, flip again
Leave in the oven until chicken is thoroughly cooked

Spread rice over plate/bowl, add chick and spoon in liberal amounts of sauce.

Best enjoyed with a cold IPA.

PVC Bike Rack II

This is the latest rack. Again, you can unscrew it easily so just the tee mounts are on the bike. It was a little harder to work around the frame on the Electra. I tried to paint it to match, but was a little off on picking the right blue for the top tub mount.

PVC Surf Rack for Bike

Note the two mounts near handlebars on the top tube and on the seat tube.


Here is a closeup of the seat tube mount
H

Here is a shot after they are screwed in:

And this is what it looks like with a board mounted


Yeah, the front arm is longer and I might trim it, but it holds a 3" thick board so snug that I might leave it as is.

wing review: my home

It took about 30 minutes to get my order, but they came out hot and juicy with a good amount of crispness. The staff was attentive, but not helpful. I had to help myself to the beer, but it was nice and cold. Sauce was very hot and burned my lips. They were only served with carrots. Ranch was a little too thick. I would get these again, but call in my order to speed it up.

I was able to talk to the chef and get the recipe:

Preheat oven to 400
Sprinkle cornmeal and garlic powder (Granulated California Garlic from Costco) on cookie tray
Cornmeal coat is very light and meant to help stop skin from sticking to tray
Spread 1.5 lbs of wings on cookie tray
Top with extra virgin olive oil top with garlic powder
Bake for 12 minutes
Flip and add more garlic powder
Bake for 15 more minutes
Add an ounce of "The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce" to bowl
Add ounce plus of Red Roster sauce to bowl
Add a few dashes of white vinegar
Add wings to bowl and cover with two more ounce of sauce
Top with another bowl and shake vigorously until all wings are coated
Serve with ranch dress, carrots and celery



I was watching Code Talkers while I ate. I was really surprised that the used old stock footage for the Navy gun scenes...

Stolen and Recoverd: blue Electra RS bike

(photo taken before black Carver longboard installed)


I had my blue Electra Rally Sport stolen 1/15/2009 near the 4490 block of Fanuel (near Garnet). This happened sometime between 7 PM and 10 PM.

It's a single speed blue Electra Rally Sport with a partial Carver surf rack (black, paint chipping) .

I had a cable lock that they simply cut and left at the scene. I have the serial number and this has been reported stolen to the San Diego Police Department and Electra.

Update 1/28/2009:
Whoa! So after a tipster alerted me to an ad on Craigslist I was eventual able to recover the bike.

Apparently the guy had bought the bike from a "young couple" at a swap meet. He had purchased several bikes and paid $50 for mine. He reported that the surf rack was not on when he bought it though.

Getting back to the tipster, she emailed me late Sunday night. By the time I got to the email, I couldn't find the ad. After a bit of back and forth, she was able to send me a screen capture of the ad from her browser cache! I in turn posted another ad on Craigs listing his info.

Actually, to be fair, I did contract him asking about the bike. We emailed a few times and then I called. When I called, he reported that he had "just sold it 15 minutes ago and offered another bike instead. I thought all was lost at this point. So then I posted the "Stolen" ad, this time with a search in Google with his phone number, a copy of his ad and a specifics about my call and the conveyed my feeling of his sketchyness.

I got a few supportive email for me, one supportive of the seller and one from somebody who assumed I had the wrong bike because of a missing fin in my picture (it had rusted off and I took the photo to send to Electra when requesting a new one). I replied to all emails, but didn't have much hope.

Then later today, I was shocked to get an email from the guy. He knew he had sold my bike because of my description (specifically the rusted off kick stand). Apparently he was able to contact the guy he had resold my bike to and get it back. We emailed for a bit and then talked. He insisted I talked to the guy he sold it to (a Marine no less). I confirmed that this guy got his money back. After work, I picked up the bike.

The surf rack is missing, which was a bummer, but I now know how to make one! Somewhere along the line someone hastily painted over the rust and cleaned her up a bit... I tried to remove the over spray, but that didn't work. I now have a u lock and plan to ride her to work tomorrow.

Now I have two bikes...

Wing Review: Hennessey's Tavern

What is it with the overpriced wings around this area of Mission?

So the menu claimed you get a 1 lbs of wings for ~$10. Turns out that a pound is 8 wings. The size was all over the map. I had one drum that was huge and juicy and another that was so small it was like jerky.

The flavor was good and it had a little burn to it. The came with lots of celery and the ranch just the right consistency to coat the wings. I would get these again, but maybe bring a scale to verify the weight.


Hennessey's Tavern
4650 Mission Blvd San Diego
(858) 483-8847

Wing Review: Ocean Pizzeria‎

This will be my last wing review this year and the results are not good.



Runny ranch
No veggies
Dry and tough like they were cooked in the microwave
No flavoring until side sauce is applied
Sauce was buttery and not tangy or spicy

There pizza is marginally better when it's fresh. Their sandwiches are a better bet.

Ocean Pizzeria‎
4150 Mission Blvd San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 581-9490
oceanspizzeria.com

Wing Review: Dirty Birds

I have stopped in once before for a beer while waiting to pick up some food from the Thai shop. The place wasn't crowded then either. I noticed then that there prices were high, but the bartender assured me they were the best.

So the Friday night the wife and I were trying to decided were to go eat. I mentioned that I wanted to give Dirty Birds a shot, but recalled their prices were high. After getting seated and looking at the menu, I said "Ok, let me see if I got this right... for $7 you get six wings? They better be some god damn good wings."

They weren't.

Here are my notes:
Runny ranch
Dry spiced Lemon Pepper was bland
Pricey

The bartender was very attentive and the beer was served in an iced mug. The wings took a while considering we were only two of seven people in the bar. I usually would try the buffalo style, but Alison was sharing so we compromised on Lemon Pepper. Although they were bigger in size, they reminded me of the wings at Boll Weevil. I wouldn't get these again, but will come back and try the buffalo when they have their half priced wings.




Dirty Birds
www.dirtybirdspb.com

4656 Mission Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 274-2473

Wing Review: Rock Bottom LJ

I felt like I was walking into a TGIFs or something when we hit this place Saturday night for some late night happy hour special. At first I thought I was on the set for a scene from Office Space. We had just come from the Nutcracker and I was ready for some beer and wings to wake me up! You could smell the wings when you entered the bar area.

The order came out quickly and they were hot. The portion was small though. They weren't as tangy as they smelled. They had way too much paprika for my liking. Paprika is a good supporting spice, but doesn't handle the leading role well for wings. They were dripping with sauce and the veggies were fresh and crisp. Bottom line, I would try something else next time instead of the wings.

No on Prop D ads on YouTube

See the ads for those opposed to Prop D. They want no Permanent Alcohol Ban and want to keep Our Beaches Free. This is for San Diego, up until a temporary ban was put in place, this was one of the last areas in California where you could drink on the beach legally.

read more | digg story

recession/depression soup

recession/depression soup

Soup solved two problems for me by helping me lose weight and save money. That wasn't the intent at first. I had to eat soup after I got my wisdom teeth out. I noticed it filled me up and I lost a few pounds.

The disadvantage though was all soups have really high salt content. And what's the deal with the nutrition label on canned soup being for two servings? Do people really only eat half a can? So I started making my own soup that's healthier. The wedding gift that we got that I use the most is the crock pot. We actually got two, one is solar... It's just not that sunny in San Diego. I haven't used it yet. Plus I would have to put it on the roof.

Costco leftovers also lend themselves well to soup. I usually make the soup a day or two after the Costco run. This will make about 8 good size servings (two weeks of workday meals for me). It's more like a spicy chili than a soup if you get technical...

1. Set the crock pot to low heat for four hours.
2. Add olive oil and work it around to lightly cover the bottom
   
3. Add two cups of brown rice
   
4. Add a handful of whole grape tomatoes (what wasn't used for salads the week before)
5. Add a handful of sliced grape tomatoes (what wasn't used for salads the week before)
6. Add 1/2 packet of chili powder (packets are ~1 and last at least two batches)
7. Add couple of teaspoons of cumin
   
8. Add couple of teaspoons of garlic powder (not salt)
9. Add pepper as you like
10. Add sliced and whole mushrooms (what wasn't used for salads the week before)
11. Add dried shiitake mushrooms (big bag at Costco ~$10 and will last 10+ batches
    
12. Add water to cover everything and mix
13. Let this cook for two hours stirring occasionally
    
14. Cut broccoli to small pieces and add (what wasn't used for salads the week before)
15. Let this cook for one hour, stir as needed
    
16. Add two good size frozen chicken breast (Costco!)
    or Add 8 turkey meatballs (costco)
17. Once the chicken is pretty much cooked, remove and slice or shred and return to pot
18. Cook until chicken is done (not pink)
19. Examine the rice, most seem to cook around the 3:30 to 4 hour point. Extend cooking time as needed for rice to puff
20. Remove and package

I use plastic containers and freeze about half and the other half in the fridge for this weeks lunch

Wing Review: Wings n' things

We went downtown last night. The original goal was to meet up for a little boat party at the Hyatt. Long story short, there's more than one Hyatt near a marina in San Diego. Since Alison was meeting up with friends for a girls night and I was to drop her off, we went to have a drink at the Top of the Hyatt. As usually, we went to the wrong bank of elevators the first time, but we eventually made it up there. We had a great view of the midway.

I dropped her off at Sushi Deli on Broadway and was craving BBQ, so I headed over to Phil's BBQ. It was about 8 pm on a Saturday night, but I got a spot with out a problem. My hopes were high until I rounded the corner and saw the line. I've never eaten here before, just have had the food when someone else has picked it up. I'm not patient enough to wait in line, so I hoped back in the car and went to my backup plan: Wing's n' Things.

I haven't been here in years. I used to go more often when they had a shop in PB and even more often when I worked for Sharp near Convoy. The smell hit me as I walked in. I ordered 16 hot wings (I skipped the breadsticks) to go and sat down to wait patiently. That's when I noticed a sign in the next shopping area over "Wing Street". Oh, what have I missed? Then I saw it was a Pizza Hut, so I assumed I wasn't missing much.

I should have eaten then there for maximum freshness, but I wanted to head home first. Was I trying to tease Shelby? The smell filled the car and spilled out on to the streets as I motored home with the top down. First bite reminded me what a good traditional wing sauce tastes like nice and tangy. In the to-go container the are swimming in sauce, and this is a good thing. I can tell you I spent a little too much time in the sun yesterday as my chapped lips were quickly on fire. My nose started to run and my eyes teared up. Despite this, they weren't uncomfortably hot. No really, I mean it. I regret not getting a few bread sticks to soak up the extra sauce. Other than that, it was a great meal. Ranch was good and the celery carrots were cold, crunchy and fresh.


3445 MIDWAY DRIVE
SAN DIEGO, CA 92110
619-226-0185

Wings: Boll Weevil Restaurant

On a whim, we went to the new Boll Weevil Restaurant in Bird Rock. This spot used to be a swanky place that never seemed to have a crowd. It was funny to see how different it looked. We each had a couple of beers and split a burger and wings. I was surprised that the bill was nearly $40. This was mostly due to the pricey beers.

Out waitress warned us that the wings were spicy and a lot of people send them back because of this. We chalked that one up to the clientele, families with young kids. In fact, we skipped the main dinning room when we saw all the families. Nothing against families (I'm in one myself), but there was a nice big empty bar that was separated from the rest of the place by a wall. I bet a lot of people think the wings are like McD's nuggets.



Back to the wings, they came with fries and a buttery ranch dip. The fries were nice, crisp and hot. This was another place where there was no sauce applied after they were fried. They looked harmless, like nuggets, but they had a kick to them. They were really hot and tender, but tiny in size and not many were included. The fries had the job of filling you up.

With all the choices we do have around here, I don't think we would go back. The burger wasn't impressive, the ranch was too butter and there was no celery or carrots. Or server was nice, and got us to order before the kitchen closed (9:30!).

Odd thjings about Chrome...

I just started to use Chrome (0.2.149.30) for the first time today.  Some odd things that Google seemed to forget.

• It doesn't handle rss feeds well at all.  It just barfs the content onto the screen evven from Picasa
• No spell check like Firefox spell check doesn't always work (the 'Compose' tab of Blogger.com doesn't work, but the 'Edit HTML' does

who's that calling me?

If you get a call from 858 488-8283 it's the curch lady calling to try to get you to vote yes on 8.

Whether I'm for or against something, I still hate getting calls like this.  Of all things, these calls should be illegal!

Surf Rider paddle for clean water 2008 Ocean Beach, San Diego

Wing Review: Bird Rock Pizza (delivered)

It's risky to get wings delivered as they are often lukewarm and tough when they get here. I've gotten wings from these guys before and the are usually just ok. But this batch was different. They were tendor, better size and spicey. The sauce wasn't very thick or colorful, but it did have great flavor.

Their pizza was much better this time too with a better quality cheese. Maybe they got a new chief...



Bird Rock Pizza & Sports Grill‎Address:Removal requested ()
5737 La Jolla Blvd
La Jolla, CA 92037

Get Directions

(858) 456-2473

* approximate times

- birdrockpizza.com

Wing review: Firestone Grill, San Luis Obispo

These wings had no sauce and were fried like KFC chicken. However, they did have a nice spicy flavor to them. They were really tender and easily were removed from the bone. The only thing that came with the wings was the ranch. The portion was good, but we added some fries and I ate half of my wife's BBQ pork sandwich (the sauce was a little too sweet for me). The Firestone IPA was excellent. We sat and ordered from the bar. The staff was nice and attentive and the food came out quickly. I was surprised considering how crowded they were.

We got this tip after we had eaten, their tri tip is what they are known for.


Firestone Grill
1001 Higuera St Ste A
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3603
Phone: (805) 784-0474