n_maher

Based on the research that I was able to do it is essentially a known forum bug. I can't find a way to shut them off or to even assign a generic (very small) image to each of them to kill the void caused by the lack of image. If someone else finds a link that explains how it can be changed/fixed shoot it my way and I'll see what I can do.

Success.

Empanadas.

Not today, but yesterday, played in a work golf event and used the laser to make some fun accessories.

Lily asked for biscotti. So Lily gets biscotti. Mid-bake, before slicing and second bake. I'm told the sample was good. I'll do QC tomorrow morning.

Not really buildling anything today but repairing. One of my COVID projects, the DIY Bluetooth Executive Speaker from Partsexpress, had stopped charging. I figured it was probably because I'd let it sit too long and the battery pack had dropped below the minimum charge level or it had a bad cell (it's a 3-cell pack). So it had sat, for like a year, languishing in the closet. I was just about to order new cells when I figured I should at least try getting in their, testing the cells and seeing if I could jump-start the cells back to the point where they'd charge again. In the end the hardest part was finding a charger that wouldn't over-charge the 3.7V cells. So a few cycles of charging the individual cells and I'd bumped each of them over 2V, got them back in the battery holder and plugged the speaker back into the charger. Bloop bloop bloop, it came back to life. I'm going to park it on the charger overnight (it's been 6 hours already without issue) and hopefully the cells will hold a charge and be back to life. One cell removed All cells back in and charging, yay!

Great day.

@TMoney - Try playing with tire pressures a little bit and nice job on the metric. Fueling and hydration are a battle and it's hard to come up with rules because weather plays a big factor. But one thing I started doing 5+ years ago that has helped a bit, drink every 10 minutes. If you can't remember the last drink you took, drink. I got the Allied out for a series of road tests this weekend with the hope that it'll be good to go for the century this coming weekend. Had a minor tragedy yesterday with a failed/ruin crank arm but managed to find some local used parts that'll get me through and the revisit of a shakedown ride this afternoon went off without a hitch.

I ordered the monthly special today which had one pound of BBK and Mysore in it.

The Juiciest Homemade Birria Queso Tacos | Chef Joshua We...I may struggle to pronounce it correctly, but this is an easy winner as one of the juiciest tacos you will ever have in your life.This is essentially the recipe that I used. Notable differences, I used 4 Roma tomatoes instead of tomato paste. I generally don't like tomato paste. I added a tsp of cumin, coriander, and oregano and I did a slightly different, but essentially the same, mix of Mexican peppers. Finally, I did a mix of queso fresco, manchego, and standard mexican shredded cheese that seemed to pair very well with the whole thing.

Lily wanted to come home for lunch today so I asked her if she was up for trying new tacos. She said yes so I tried my hand at Birria Tacos. I blended a couple recipes to come up with something. The day started with browning beef. Then cooking the veggies and rehydrating the peppers. Then everything was set to braise for 3 hours or so until it was time for assembly. They were tasty and will be made again.

For @MexicanDragon - Allied is now ready to roll as it should have been from the factory.

Just wanted to post a last note of thanks here. Never expected, always appreciated support led to me exceeding my fundraising goal. I've got the two bikes prepped and mostly ready. I just need to do a shakedown ride or two on the Allied which I picked up from the mechanic yesterday. Thanks again, d-_-b, #NFLO.

@Voltron - no doubt Al. If she was hundreds/thousands of miles away I'd be a bigger mess. That's for sure. But I'm very much trying to give her the space that she needs to grow so it'll likely be a while before we visit. @recstar24 - these things all hit us differently, but I literally feel your pain on the 'what am i good for' side of things. Do yourself a favor, spend deliberate time with her these next two years before things change even more. You will not regret spending more. @Dusty Chalk - the only thing we can't buy in life is more time. I feel that more each passing year. I do my best not to dwell on it since it is the inevitable but I'm also a softie and can't help myself at times.

A couple more donations rolled in over the past few days so I'm over the $2k hump and running down the last 20%. I needed to run into the office today so I decided to treat it like a shakedown ride for the Cervelo that my friend Paul (flying in from MN) will ride again this year. It was a good double-session despite somehow having a headwind both ways. And the bike is at least looking good.

Sucky.

This one will be hard to write, not because anything bad happened, only because change is hard. TL/DR - Nate is sad because Lily is in college. Longer, rambling version. Today we helped Lily move into college. She decided that she wanted to go to UNH in the spring time, so that's where we headed today. On top of the usual angst/sadness associated with dropping your first kid off at school it was a bit of an emotionally-charged day because that's where I went to school, met Maura, and lived for a few years even after graduation while Maura pursued her graduate degree. And in a simple twist of fate, the dorm that we lived in while Maura was a hall director is where Lily ended up as a Freshman. So it was a day of wildly swinging emotions. I'm confident that she'll do great there. The program that she's in (Occupational Therapy) is as good or better than any other in New England and it's very much right up her alley. So we know where she'll be for the next 5 years - it's a 4+1 masters program. What I can't figure out is why it very much feels like I have a broken heart? I mean I get it in lots of ways. As I explained to Andrew on the way home (he and I left first to get him to soccer practice), for every day in the last 18+ years I've known exactly where and when I'd see Lily next. Now, not so much. I expect it'll be at least a few weeks, if not longer before we see her. That's probably most of the pain I feel. But there's also a piece of me that feels a little, well, lost without her in the house. So we'll see how these next several weeks go with only one kid to day-to-day worry about. I'm not sure Andrew wants the additional attention coming his way. 😂

Wuhoo! We're 75% of the way there on fundraising with a little over two weeks to go.

10-12 week lead time. Geez.

Likely the last long training ride was accomplished today. I didn't start out intending to ride this far, but it happened and felt good.

Thanks Renato, really appreciate the support.

working through glitches and continuing to make good progress, I’ve now passed the 50% line on my fundraising goal and certainly appreciate all the support received so far!

We are off and running on the fund raising and 1/3 of the way there already, thanks d-_-b !

Logged some hot miles this afternoon riding to York, ME. Feels like temp was 93F and it felt every bit of that. Thank god for a little tail wind.