New Camera!

A few weeks ago my camera died.  I have just replaced it with a new Canon SLR (I am quite excited about this new toy) but I still need a new SD card before it is fully operational.  Look forward to better picture quality coming soon.

Climbing Last Week

Last week Kel and I headed over to Vantage, Wa for some climbing.  Having never been there, I was very impressed with what it had to offer; great rock, easy access, and swimming in the Columbia River near by.  The original plan was to head to the North Cascades for some alpine but the weather did not cooperate.

Photos: Compliments of Kel being on top of having a camera.

Teacup Nordic Race (Overdue post)

So I made this video back in January.  This was shortly after I got my new Iphone so to entertain myself while Katie and Chelsea raced I made a video of the event entirely shot and edited on my phone.  I need to pick up some new classic skis so I can ski next time instead of just play on my phone...

My New Ride and Bed/Bins (Part 1)

Prior to selling the bus I purchased a '91 Toyota Previa Altrec.  Yes I bought a mini van....and no it is not funny...  This past week I spent a LARGE amount of time customizing the interior and as promised I am posting some pictures of this work.

The boxes are angle iron frame with square tubing supports, expanded metal sides for breathability/strength, and aluminum tops/lids for weight reduction and style. All bins are locking and keyed the same.

It has a modular design so that one has the option of a full bed, a single bed with a captains chair if I remove one of the small bins, or two captains chars with a storage bin in the back.  The build went smoothly with the exception of taking a lot of hours, and when I welded up the frame for the large bin it was about 2 inches too big to fit in the door...I hate it when that happens...so some modifications were needed to the bin design.  I ended up cutting it in half and having the whole back bin capable of splitting in two and bolting together to install in the van.

I also made a short video that I will be posting at a later date (when it isn't 12:30 at night before I leave on a climbing trip).  I am extremely happy with the way the bed/lockers turned out.  I also installed a roof rack so I can haul around way more stuff that I need in a rocket box.  As a side note, roof racks are a rip off.

                              

 While I was working on the bins Katie made some beautiful curtains (will show in later post) and a whole lot of jerky to take to Canada!

Costantini Jewelry

If you don't already know, Katie has started her own jewelry business and is making some beautiful stuff ("simple elegant designs").  She doesn't yet have a proper webpage, but until then you can see her stuff on her etsy site:     http://www.etsy.com/shop/KCostantini

Coffee Roaster

So back in October I made a coffee roaster for Katie's Birthday.  That one met its demise but I will spare you that story (not a design error...).  So a little while ago I made Katie a new Coffee Roaster using the same control box I had built for the previous one.  The picture below depicts the newest model.  It uses a simple hot air popcorn popper and parts from Radio Shack and Fred Meyers.

Here are the plans I loosely followed to make the roaster:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/28/how-to-make-a-popcorn-popper-coffee-roaster/
Basically the popper has the fan and heating element wired in series and to make a roaster you separate the two circuits so that you can control each individually.

Many people will just use a popcorn popper  to roast coffee (with the correct side venting not a mesh screen...screen = fire).  But with these simple modifications you can have a lot more control over the roasting process (variable fan and heat controls, thermometer to monitor roast process).  It is a simple design and anyone with little to no knowledge of electronics could put one together.  The drawing on the link is a little confusing so if you want to build one and have any questions send me a message. I have put together 3 of these

The thermometer is just a candy thermometer (reads to 550 F) inserted through a drilled hole to the correct height to read bean temperature

   

You can see that with this style of roaster you get a fairly even roast.  Katie has since refined her roasting process and can get an even more consistent roast.

  

 The smell of coffee beans that have been roasted the day before is incredible.

Sold the Bus

This afternoon I sold my beloved VW bus, or as all that new her well called her, "The Bus".  A guy like it so much that he bought it before he heard it run.  To commemorate The Bus I have added this album of pictures or as Katie refers to it, "bus porn."  (She is just jealous that I have more picture of the bus than her..... not intentional of course)

Yes the door did decide to fall off one morning

Good time but definitely time to move on...and now I have money to buy food and such!

Jasper, Banff

Katie and I just came back to Newport, Oregon (what I am doing in Newport to come later) after 10 days of ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies. If you haven't been to the Canadian Rockies before, GO THERE!  The scenery is incredible.  No picture does it justice, there is more ice and ice climbing than you know what to do with, there is actually some good rock climbing, and the skiing is great when the snow behaves...this place is awesome enough that no one minds how shitty the rock is and just climbs on it anyways.

All in all we had a great time climbing; I am remembering how to climb after a couple of poor seasons (MRSA infections, then living where no ice) and Katie got on her first ice leads.  The only excitement that we didn't plan for was Katie's adz to the face and 2 guys tried to rob the car one night when we were sleeping but all turned out well in both cases.  Lots of great climbing and planning on spending a better part of next winter up there.

Katie a little ways in front of Wilson Major on our way down

For scale:  The Major looks like a tiny curtain between the notch.

Before the final pitch of Louse Falls