2004 Lexus LS430 For Sale **SOLD**

2004 Lexus LS430 4.3 V8 6AT Cypress Pearl with ash leather and walnut inlays. Equipped with the luxury pack (Navigation with Bluetooth and backup camera, Mark Levinson 6 CD audio, parking sensors, climate controlled (heated/cooled) front seats, heated rear seats, and premium perforated leather seating surfaces) and "Smart Access" keyless entry and start system. Standard features include power rear sunshade, adaptive xenon headlamps, rain sensing wipers, auto dimming mirrors, memory system, power everything, and much more. Never smoked in, includes 3 keys plus original window sticker, manuals, tool kit, first aid kit, etc. VIN JTHBN36F840160865 47,445 miles $22750, 208-866-4009

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeykun/sets/72157623653945117/

Silverhawk Aviation Academy

Robinson R44's, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

I went on a discovery flight with Silverhawk Aviation Academy in Caldwell, Idaho. It involved a 30 minute ground lesson and a 30 minute flight in a Robinson R22 helicopter with an instructor. It was my first time in a helicopter. After the ground lesson, preflight and startup the instructor did a hovering turn over the interstate next to the airport and put the R22 into cruise flight. I was then given instruction to use the anti-torque pedals to keep the helicopter trimmed correctly. I did pretty well, small inputs is all it took. The instructor then gave me control of the cyclic (the joy stick looking control). I did alright-- wasn't real smooth but I was tense and nervous, which didn't help much. We flew a 4-5 mile pattern from the airport and the controls were handed back to the expert. Back at the Caldwell industrial airport, Scott put the helicopter into a steady hover over the taxiway. He then gave me control of the pedals and instructed me to turn left 90 degrees. I finessed the helicopter slowly to the left using small pressure inputs and held it steady. He then had me turn right 180 degrees and I slowly walked it to the right. I was then given control of the cyclic and was told to keep a steady hover. This was the most difficult part. Our smooth steady hover turned to PIT (Pilot Induced Turbulence). The helicopter started yawing to the right so I put a small left input into the cyclic (or what I thought was small) and the heli nose tilted up and yawed to the left, so I tried to correct it with a forward right input... and process repeated itself. It felt like I was balancing the aircraft on a pole. It didn't help that I was tense and nervous and my inputs were probably more like butter churns. I tried 4 more times and our 30 minutes ran up so we headed back to the helipad.

What's next? hopefully a flying career. This is going to be a long and expensive process but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm ready for something new.

Surly Big Dummy for sale, $1800 **SOLD**

BD--Powder coated v-racks, wideloaders, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

18" frame, includes wideloaders, and footsies. Trying to free up some space in the garage and would like to see it go to someone who can use it more than I do. Bike is located in Boise, Idaho. Email joshmaus @ gmail.com

Backpacking food recipe

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A simple, delicious meal away from home. Put the spanish rice mix in a gallon size ziploc bag at home and when you're ready to prepare it, add 2 cups of boiling water, one package of chicken (shelf stable, no refrigeration necessary), mix the ingredients by gently shaking the ziploc bag, seal it up and wait 12-15 minutes. If it's cold outside, insulate the bag while it's cooking. I used a fleece hat.

Serves 2 hungry people.

Borah 2009

IMG_0751, originally uploaded by BellatorisOpacus.

Last weekend was spent climbing Borah Peak, located in the central section of the Lost River Range. My friend Chris and I talked about climbing it a few years ago and we finally made it happen. We left rainy Boise Friday morning, stopped for lunch around noon, and visited Craters of the Moon National Monument along the way. I remember going there as a kid but it didn't make much of an impression on me then as it did this time around. I would like to do some more research on the area and plan a hike. I think it was around 6:30 when we reached the parking lot/campground at the Borah trailhead. We set up tents, had dinner, and loaded packs. The next morning we were on the trail by 6:00 am and making good time. My right hip started hurting after we reached the timberline and we ended up taking a break around 10400'. I ate a sandwich and put a sweatshirt on under my windbreaker because it was getting colder with the clouds rolling in. I stood up and tried to walk but the sharp pain in my hip wouldn't allow me to go any further. Chris and Kevin decided to press on and Justin and I hung out on the mountain for awhile. We hiked a little higher but with each step the pain got worse. I was frustrated with the situation, I wanted to make it to the top on my first attempt at climbing a big mountain but it wasn't going to happen. I think my pack was a bit too heavy and I wasn't used to it. We ended up dumping out some water bottles to lower the weight and Justin switched packs with me. 10446' was our highest and we started down the mountain.

If I would have had some Tylenol I could've popped 3-4, waited 45 minutes and kept going but I didn't have any. (note to self: take some next time)

It was a fun time and I am looking forward to climbing it again next year.

Shaw mountain summit

360 degrees
Originally uploaded by Monkeykun

A few weekends ago we hiked to the top of Shaw mountain east of Boise. The trail begins near Harris Ranch off of Warm Springs Avenue and it's a good 2 hour hike to the top. I snapped a few photos at the summit and we ate lunch.

More hikes to come.

Borah Peak links

12borah, originally uploaded by Aubrey Sun.

Here are some links from others who have completed the Borah climb:


http://stormgasm.com/8-12-08/8-12-08-1.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aubandjen/sets/72157606934511446
http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/Borah/BorahPeak.htm

Borah Peak

High Point, originally uploaded by James Neeley.

Summer 2009 Must do:

Finish projects around house.
Climb Borah Peak.

Fun video...

Remind Me from Röyksopp on Vimeo.

Chicken coop!

Weekend #2, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

http://boiseurbanchickens.blogspot.com/

LA Times Big Dummy review

LA Times cargo bike review, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

Deadbeat blogger...

Yikes! Lots of things have happened since my last blog entry. I need to get my ass in gear and take some pictures of the house and the finished projects.

Updates coming soon!

Bike Hugger Snapdeck

Galen asked me to pimp his snapdeck with a Bike Hugger green theme to match his future Surly Big Dummy. Here is the process from start to finish:

Pizza!

pizza, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

House

Soon to be a homeowner [or a mortgage payer, after 30 years a homeowner]... hopefully things go well during the next few weeks. I am excited about having a garage for my bikes and eventually a garden in the backyard.

Outback Oven

Saturday morning I tried out the Outback Oven for the first time:













It was fairly simple to set up and bake with. The tricky part is dialing in the stove so things don't burn.

I want to bake a pizza next!

Snow Peak Giga Power

Awesome stove! I will write a review about it soon.

Big Dummy price increase

from the Surly blog:

The good news is that we managed to squeeze in another run of Big Dummy frames. That's one whole production run more than we had originally planned. It is much easier to type about adding another production run of frames than to actually implement such a thing. We did it because of demand, because you people have embraced the Big Dummy and other bikes of its ilk instead of simply buying a somewhat more fuel efficient car. There are not enough thank yous to express how gratifying that is. So more BD frames are coming in a few weeks, and then late this summer we should get even more. The bad news is that steel prices and transportation costs have increased significantly of late, which means our costs are going up and so are yours. While the price increases will be felt across the line, there are a lot of people waiting on Big Dummy frames who may have paid a deposit already. If you are waiting on a Big Dummy, or if you are a shop that has quoted a price to a customer for a Big Dummy (or Long Haul Trucker for that matter), check in with whoever you need to and update your agreement. MSRP for a Big Dummy frame and fork is now $1050. It was $895. We've actually factored into this number another impending and definitely happening price increase so that we won't have to do this again anytime soon. So that's that. Again, this will affect the prices of everything we sell, but it should be of particular importance to those of you who have been waiting and budgeting and maybe even paid some money down at your local bike shop in anticipation of your beautiful new whatever... Big Dummy, Long Haul Trucker, what have you. Sorry to get all business but sometimes cold got to be.

I tried to find the receipt for my Dummy frame but I can't find it. If I remember correctly, I was able to get my frame for under $800...

Great success!

Slacker June

I haven't tended to the blog consistently this month but I will try to get back at it and make it interesting again.

Big Dummy transport service

Big Dummy transport, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

I left my Raleigh Rx1.0 at work over the weekend and needed to get it home tonight so I secured it to the side of Dummy and made it home without any problems. I ended up using a grande zip tie around the down tube and front rim of the Raleigh to keep the chain ring from chewing up the left Wideloader if I made any sharp turns. I think if I transported other bikes more often I would invest in a Traybien.

Urban canoe adventure

Last weekend we ventured to Veterans Memorial State Park in Boise with the Sevylor Colorado. Inflating the canoe and installing the seats took about 15 minutes to complete. I ended up storing the pump and canoe storage bag in the mesh cargo bag and secured it in the stern with plenty of room for additional items. My digital camera stored nicely in the seatback storage bag but I think I will bring my waterproof container for it and other important items next time. The canoe is easy to paddle and it tracks quite well (a few online reviews complain that the Colorado tracks poorly). The lake wasn't real big so we spent a little over an hour paddling from one end to the other looking at the ducks and trying to see fish in the murky water.











The canoe is a bit awkward to carry long distances in the storage bag so I think next time I will bring a pack frame to carry it on. Better PFD's (life jackets) are on their way too. Other than that, I'm very happy with it. I'm looking forward to exploring Wallowa lake in Oregon soon!

Cargo

Morning commute, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

Sevylor Colorado

Sevylor Colorado, originally uploaded by Monkeykun.

Ready to paddle!

Backpacker's Pantry--Lasagna (a review)

After our camping companions introduced us to the wonders of freeze dried camping food a few weekends ago, we decided to give it a try...


Here I am using my MSR Dragonfly stove to boil a little over 2 cups of water in the largest pot of Snow Peak's 3 piece titanium cook set. This set is ultra compact (maybe too compact) and light weight.


The pots stack up nicely, the handles fold in, and they go inside a mesh bag. Very clever.


Backpacker's Pantry meatless Lasagna ready to cook.


Stir boiling water into mix, cover and wait 13 minutes.


I was worried the skillet would be too small for making grilled cheese sandwiches, luckily we had a mini loaf of sour dough bread.


13 minutes later, gourmet food in the wilderness (or on the back deck).


I really enjoyed the lasagna-- it tasted homemade and familiar which is probably why I liked it so much. The Snow Peak cook set will take more practice to get used to but I think they'll work out well.

Freeze dried camping food is the way to go!

Sevylor Colorado

Sevylor Colorado features:

Bruneau Dunes State Park

This past weekend we went camping with Kevin, Anne and their daughter Toren at Bruneau Dunes state park, located 63 miles from Boise. Bruneau contains the largest single-structured sand dune in North America and geologists believe they started forming 15,000 years ago. It is also home to Idaho's largest astronomical observatory. It was a great time and the landscape was awesome!

We spent early Saturday hiking, climbing, and exploring the smaller dunes for a few hours. Later in the afternoon we took our first canoe trip around one of the small lakes. I really enjoyed the canoe part of the trip and hope to do it again soon (I've been looking at inflatable canoes). Around 7pm the weather turned ugly bringing rain and strong gusts of wind through the campsite. Fortunately our tent was staked down and made it through without any problems. The storm blew over and we hiked to the observatory to watch a short orientation program about comets. After the slideshow and Q&A session, we lined up for a chance to see Saturn through the large telescope. I wasn't really interested at first but after the line shortened up I decided to climb the ladder and take a peek. Looking at Saturn through a telescope was probably one of the coolest experiences I've ever had, it was amazing!

Chainsaw Massacre

Wednesday night I finished mowing the back yard and decided to do something about the tree branch that has been pushing down on the back fence for awhile now (see Rain below, just right of the well in the background, mid photo). I did some searching and found a couple gas powered chainsaws in the shed. Surprisingly they both started and ran fine, so I decided to start cutting! The first saw, the smaller of the two, wasn't the sharpest so I ditched it after about a minute of no progress and went for the bigger saw. It did the trick and the branch crashed over the fence into the horse pasture. I didn't realize how big it was until it was on the ground, I was committed - no turning back now. I spent the next 2 hours cutting it into more manageable pieces and throwing them over the fence into the back yard. I would've finished sooner but the local horses kept getting in the way and I was almost attacked by a jackass (or donkey, I'm not sure what the hell it was).

Last night I was out stacking and trimming the branches with a cordless chainsaw when the blade slipped, caught my left thumb and split it wide open. I wrapped it in a wet bandanna and Justin drove us to my parents house to have my dad look at it and advise me if it needed stitches or not (he's an urgent care physician at an area hospital--fortunately he had the night off). Of course it needed to be sutured, so off to the hospital we went. I ended up getting 4 stitches and a thumb that doesn't bend so well.

I think my chainsaw days are over with.

"Depth of Discomfort: High Gas Prices"

NBC Nightly News asked viewers to email their stories of sacrifices made over the Memorial day weekend due to high fuel prices, here are a few of the responses:

Jenna from Nebraska says: "It's a sad time in America when people who work hard and should be (and used to be) considered "Middle Class" are now living paycheck to paycheck and could lose everything if much more hits the pocketbook. What do we tell our children about why we have to stay home this summer? I guess it's a good time to become green and start growing our own produce, baking our own bread, and limiting the meat."


Katie from Sacramento says: "We will be spending a lot less. We usually do rib eye steaks and racks of ribs with lots of sides - macaroni salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, etc. This year it will be homemade hamburgers with french fries and soda instead of beer. The ground beef was bought on clearance a few weeks ago and frozen - I'll thaw it for weekend use."


Laura from California says: "Instead of our usual ribs, we are having hamburgers. As bleak as it sounds, next year we may have a cup of soup."


Yolen Jeunky, 45, collects dried mud cookies to sell in Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince on Nov. 29, 2007. Rising prices and food shortages threaten the nation's fragile stability, and the mud cookies are one of very few options the poorest people have to stave off hunger.

Rain

Mowing the lawn has been cancelled!

Ultimate Sport Mechanic repair stand

I picked up an Ultimate brand Sport Mechanic repair stand at REI for $119 a couple weeks ago when they were on sale. It's a solid unit and seems to handle the Dummy quite well.