Two New Videos!

I have two new and completely unrelated videos up on my Youtube Channel.  The first was done just to amuse myself and friends.  I live in Georgia in the United States.  During this time of year, the pollen from the pine trees gets pretty bad.  How bad?  Check out the video for a little demonstration.

The second video is a remake of my very popular "Counting To Thirty" video that has close to a million views.  That video was made several years ago and, as a result, it looks kinda' bad by today's standards.  I have also learned a little about how to make a good video.  For example, in the original, the audio for each number is a separate track.  I have learned that by making the audio one track throughout, it sounds MUCH better!

Hope you enjoy, and, as always, feel free to comment here or on Youtube, subscribe and give the videos a thumbs up!  Thanks!

New Video! Creepy Barbecue Pit at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia!

If you've been following me on here or on Youtube for any time, you've figured out that I have a pretty wide range of video types that I share.  This one is pretty simple and goes along with my ghost videos, I suppose.  Take a look-see and tell me what you think.

This video did give me the idea to make some videos about the parks here in Gwinnett County (where Stone Mountain Park is.)  Several years ago, voters passed a SPLOST for parks development, and it keeps getting re-upped when the SPLOST expires.  So, we actually have quite a few very nice parks.  I'll be making and uploading those over the next few months as things warm up and the blooming explosions begin.

I'm also planning on making a video quasi-documenting that enormous "Century Ride" I rambled on about in my earlier post.

Feel free to share suggestions for videos in the comments.

You're Crazy If You're Really Going to Ride 100 Miles in One Day?!?!

That's what I think some friends might be thinking when I tell them about my plans to ride the entire lengths of the Silver Comet Trail and the Chief Ladiga Trails in one day.  My friend Eric is going with me (I actually think this was his idea,) so I won't be alone.  Neither of us have ridden 100 miles in one day before, but we did manage 45 miles in 5 hrs 26 minutes last October.  We're both trying to train for the trip, but with work and kids, it's a challenge to get the time.  Eric's family is also planning a move in a couple of months, so spending several hours riding a bike isn't going to win him any love at home.  

So, for now, we're doing the training thing and researching.  I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need as far as gear and supplies go.  I purchased a rack & panniers for the bike.  I bought riding gloves a few months ago and finally got some shorts with pads in the butt.  I thought I'd hate them, but they do make a considerable difference.  I may replace my saddle, but don't think that's really necessary.  Mine is old, worn and cracked, but still quite comfy, so I'll probably keep the one I have.  The fact that I think most saddles are insanely overpriced is a big part of my reluctance to replace the one I have.

We both already have decent bikes.  Mine is a 2012 Windsor Wellington 2.0, and his is a Diamondback Interval from the late 90s.  Both are in pretty good shape. I'd dare say the bikes are in better shape than we are.  

A few years ago Eric was, according to his own self-description, huge.  While reading on the Internet, he stumbled across someone's rather moving account of running and finishing a marathon.  This struck a chord with him, and he told his wife that he wanted to do that.  While most wives of "huge" men might laugh, his gracious wife simply encouraged and supported him.  Awesome!  Now, he runs marathons on a regular basis along with any other race he can track down.  So, he's in pretty darn good cardiovascular condition.  He's probably in better shape than I am even though he still outweighs me by about 40 lbs.  I KNOW he can outrun me by a very long shot.  We're well matched on bikes, though.

I never really stopped riding bikes from when I was a kid.  When I bought my first car, I quickly realized that riding my bike to work was much cheaper, and I loved riding about as much as I loved driving (that's saying something about a 16 year old!)  I went back and forth between mountain bikes and road bikes, but have been exclusively on road bikes since my mid 20s.  I did take a break from riding when my 2nd son was born.  There was simply not enough time to devote to riding, anymore.  So, my vintage Schwinn all steel downtube shifter racer sat for about three years.

In 2011, I "blew out" my left knee.  By that, I mean I tore all but one of the tendons in my knee, bruised the bones, and shredded my cartilage.  I got a little fatter, the muscles in my legs disappeared, and I generally felt horrible.  It took a full year to completely heel from the accident and surgery.

Being inspired by watching Eric very visibly drop huge amounts of weight in a pretty short amount of time got my ever-widening butt back on my bike as soon as my knee was healed.  Last July, I discovered rust HOLES in the frame of my bike, a bike I dearly loved, so I replaced it with the Windsor (you can read more about that in an earlier post.)  It's a slightly heavier bike, but with completely modern components, and it actually fits me (something I couldn't say of the Schwinn.

Since January of last year, I've dropped over 30lbs.  I'm down to around 185 or so, the lowest I've weighed since about 2001. So, I'm in pretty decent shape for a 38 year old dude.  I put in 38 miles on the bike last week, and am hoping to repeat that feat and then some this week.  I found a wonderful trail in Suwanee that is probably very similar to the Silver Comet, so I'll be putting in as much time there as possible before our "Century Ride."


Here's a pic of my "rig" with the panniers, rack, top tube bag, handlebar bottle holder etc...

Wish us luck!

Not Exactly a Home Repair Video...

It's been a while since I've put anything up, hasn't it?  Forgive me!  Winter is rather busy for me.  Work gets insanely hectic, we have tons of obligations at church (which we love,) and then there's the usual holiday crunch.  Work has finally slowed down to the point that I can breathe, so I have begun to get back to my normal pace.  With that came a slight remodeling of our master bathroom.  It's still not finished, but I did manage to replace the shower.

It's funny.  We didn't start with a plan to remodel it, but to only replace a dripping shower faucet.  At first, I attempted to just replace the worn out washer in the faucet, but in doing so found the manifold of the faucet was actually cracked.  So, I had to replace that...   The shower is an enormous single piece fiberglass unit, so replacing the manifold BEHIND it was a huge task.  At first, I attempted multiple times to do so through a hole cut into the fiberglass.  I'd bought a decorative piece to cover the hole when I'd finished.  Alas, I simply couldn't do the plumbing through that hole...  the only solution would be to remove the single piece shower and replace it.  If I was going to do that, I may as well do the whole bathroom!

I had it in mind to do a "home repair" video like I've done in the past, but just didn't have the patience.  So, I put together a slightly different kind of video...  It's only a minute long, so I hope you enjoy!

Two New Bike Vids Up!

With little in the way of inspiration for new Educational vids, I put up a couple of videos on bicycle repair.

When I bought the new bike a few months ago, it came equipped with what are called "Presta Valves" on the tires.  They are the only thing about the bike that I don't like.  So, after a little research, I figured out how to convert my wheels to accept normal or "Schrader" valves.

Here's that video:

One of the things I don't like about the Presta valves is that it is difficult to put Slime tube sealant in them.  It's not impossible, but it sure isn't easy.  With that in mind, I thought I'd demonstrate how to actually do that.  Here's THAT video:

And, if you're wondering what Slime is... it's pretty awesome stuff.  Check it out:

You see, I know this stuff works.

I've posted before how & why I started making these seemingly boring videos.  I've also talked about the successes I've had.  Today, I received more evidence that these silly little videos I make actually do work.

At 7am, we had our first parent/teacher conference with my 1st grader's teacher.  She had nothing but nice things to say (of course,) but we prodded her for more info.  He's doing well, but HOW well?

Mind you, they school year just started less than two months ago. He's still early in his 1st grade year.  But, she showed us on a chart where he is with reading (almost 3rd grade level.) She showed us where he is with writing (late 2nd grade level.)  She showed us where he is with math, science, critical thinking and a few other "key performance areas."  Without exception, he's way ahead of his class.  They haven't started the formal "gifted" classes, yet, but says he's a shoe-in for them.

Hearing her bragging on him was one thing, but it wasn't until I saw examples of his classmate's school work on the wall that I started to understand just how far ahead he has gotten.  On the wall outside the classroom were the results of a "research project" they had to do (yeah, first graders are doing research, now!)  It was a very simple project with a picture of some type of weather (rain, sleet, sunshine, hurricanes etc,) with a few sentences describing it below.

Most of the kids' work were the type of thing where you try to decipher what the kid was trying to write. "Hrrcans are yuje stroms."  Some of the letters are backwards, some are perfect, and some are impossible to figure out what they're supposed to be.  Our son, the little genius, had perfectly written sentences that clearly described what sleet is.  The punctuation was perfect, zero spelling errors, and the sentences actually flowed quite nicely.

Seeing this, I actually felt a tinge of guilt in that I realize just what a disparity there was between the bottom of the class and the top.  Inadvertently, we'd made that challenge a bit worse for the teacher.  I'm not saying my son is a super-student, but just that he's clearly at the top of the class.  There was at least one other kid who seemed to be around the same level our kid is.  But, if I were to choose between having my kid at the top or the bottom, I'd have to say I'm quite pleased he is where he is.

Plus, it must be said that the videos aren't ALL he ever had for preparation. We did plenty of other school work with him over the last few years, too.  Now, he loves school, enjoys his homework, and seems to be off to a roaring start for his education.

Here they are, again... check 'em out!  My Educational Videos

100!

No, I don't have any new videos up.  Boo!  Hiss!  I know I know.

That being said, I'm pretty stoked that my Youtube channel now has 100 subscribers!  That's pretty awesome!  If you're a subscriber, THANKS!

Here's the link...

Roopull's Giggling Brains

I have created a 2nd Youtube Channel for my non-educational videos.  There's not much on it, yet, but I plan on fixing that ASAP.  I suppose I'm learning a bit about "brand management," and me ranting in my car probably doesn't fit well with "Giggling Brains."

There's a comment window below.  If there's a type of video you'd like to see, let me know!