Chicago: I just realized

Chicago: I just realized, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

that it's insane that we have over 2 more days of this.

En router

En router, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

This is the Indianapolis bus station. It's pretty great. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Boxer in spirit

First: Look how gross my handlebars were, under the tape.

I replaced this with conservative black cork. I am 30 now and figure I should start acting it. So, black handlebar tape.

Second: New brake pads.

Unfortunately, I got them at WalMart. Fortunately, they were only four dollars a pair and they feel great!

Third: I broke down and bought a really nice, expensive pump at Bicycle Sport. I've been longing for a decent pump all my life and I think I've finally found it.


Fourth: Bicycle Sport also gave us awesome bike boxes! At this moment I am 95% packed!


Sixth: I have not slept in ~40 hours. Good night.

Transcoder at heart

Transcoder at heart, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

I've spent a lot of time and energy over the last few days making a bunch of movies iPod compatible for our trip. I've got 26 done, with just a few more to go. The process is pretty straight forward, just tedious. It goes like this (on a Mac): Rip the DVD with MacTheRipper--> convert it to MPEG-4 (or h.264, if you've got the time)--> import it into iTunes. The tricky part is when you're converting foreign films, you can really easily copy the wrong audio track or forget to embed subtitles. I like directors commentary and all, but they kind of interfere with a first viewing.

So, with about 30 movies, 206.4 hours of audio books and 40GB of music, we should be well entertained on our, um, adventure.

DIY Bicycle Handlebar iPod Mount

iPod from the side, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

Early, early this morning I made this thing out of junk, well, kind of junk. I'll have to watch it closely for a while to make sure it's sturdy. Otherwise, my data could end up all over the road. Click through to see a semi-explanation of how I made it.

Weighing has begun...

Weighing has begun..., originally uploaded by itchytooth.

Locked Out

Locked Out, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

We just locked ourselves out, with all our gear. We were going to weigh everything and got a little too excited.

Camera phone test

Camera phone test, originally uploaded by itchytooth.

I ended up getting a Motorola Q, like Katie has. This is a test post from it, via Flickr's automated email blog feature. As you can see, the camera quality is pretty bad, but it will work, it was cheap and it was available - unike the Mogul, which was on backorder and, of course, the Jesus Phone.

P.S. The thing in the picture is a light-weight alcohol stove I made out of aluminum cans. It works!