Not much to report today

[rebeccmeister]

I woke up early, my mind running through a checklist of things I want to do. I planted some seeds in all of the larger pots that I own. It's about a month too late to be planting fall crops, really, but I mostly planted herbs and greens, which should keep going through the winter anyway. I also finally printed out a few documents at home (I haven't figured out how to get the lab printer to talk nicely to my computer).

I brought Old Faithful's rear wheel back into campus to get help with removing the freewheel; yesterday, I rode over to one of the local bike shops to pick up four replacement spokes to replace the two broken spokes I'd discovered. Upon closer inspection last night, I found two more broken spokes on the drive side of the wheel, and determined that I wouldn't be able to put in replacements without removal of the freewheel. [On older bikes, the freewheel mechanism is combined with the rear cogs, and the whole thing requires a special spline tool to remove it. On newer bikes, the ratchet is usually attached directly to the hub, and gears are added as a "cassette."] The particular tool required for freewheel removal depends on the whims of the manufacturer, and I haven't yet reached a point where I've started to buy my own spline tools for such purposes. So, back to the bike shop I went. I bought four additional spokes as well. I don't have a whole lot of hope for this wheel, but I might as well use it for wheelbuilding practice, and if I happen to get it working well enough that scrottie can ride Old Faithful while he visits, well, that would be good. Otherwise, I'm basically down to one bike, and the number makes me nervous. If I only have one bike, and it breaks or gets stolen, it's much harder to travel around and replace it. When I have some cash to spare, a spare wheel will be at the top of the list.

I also got to talk a bit with another new lab member last night, who seems to have experienced a similar financial situation upon arriving here; it took all of her current savings to pay for the move, and there was a lag between her arrival plus the bills that came due and her first paycheck. In case you've ever had any illusions about it, this is your reminder that the majority of academics live hand-to-mouth, and never really make all that much money - this is especially true of graduate students and postdocs.

Tonight I will work some more on the wheel, bake bread, and try to motivate myself to cook some of the vegetables I purchased over the weekend. I'm really hoping I'll be able to stay at this house. I've been eyeing the Bryan Composting Facility; they'll deliver compost if a person orders at least a ton, such that the total cost for a ton would be $88. I need to figure out how large of a mountain that would create. If it's a manageable mountain, I could use it and the miscellaneous materials in the back yard to build a sizeable raised garden bed.

Comments

[scrottie.livejournal.com]

I decided to Google (Image Search) "ton of compost" and the second or third picture that came up was on this page:

http://wagonween.blogspot.com/2007/09/14-ton-of-compost-on-cargo-trike.html

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

YES! I can't remember what I tried to Google Image search, but my search was futile in comparison with your excellent find. That suggests that (a) cargo bikes are still awesome, and (b) maybe I *could* get away with a two-ton order...

I also just figured out that the composting facility is en route to Lake Bryan. So my Saturday expedition may involve going out to check out the route to the lake, and then picking up some compost (probably not as much as that bike is carrying, though).