Monday, December 10, 2007

I didn't work today, but I feel especially accomplished!! I was finally able to get my Sprint account setup the way I wanted. I'm sure this doesn't sound like a big task, but it took about 10 customer service calls where I probably spoke with 15 different people. I won't go into all the details but I basically have my new phone working on my old phone number with a very nice plan. The power of persistence and patience is amazing!

So much has happened this past week it's hard to know where to start. I'll work to keep giving the short version.

Last tuesday I did a tracking session at a new (to me) studio at Sony Tree. I hadn't done a tracking date in a month so I was a little rusty but the guys on the session were a lot of fun and made the day really enjoyable. The studio just got a new (to them) console installed and there are still some bugs to work out. We were able to work around it all, but it would of been a pain if we were working there for more than 1 day. I really do enjoy tracking though. I wasn't the engineer on this session but tracking is still so rewarding to me. You get a great sense of accomplishment that you don't always get from mixing. At the end of the day you can look and see the fruits of your hard work. With mixing you're always second guessing yourself and the clients has little changes, and many times continues to have little changes until they learn to let go. Tracking is a more final process. You come in, setup, record music, and then you're done. You've helped create something that didn't exist at the beginning of the day.

On thurs afternoon Thad and I headed down to MOAB to hang and I started building my "dream bike" aka the crosscheck, or aka "the spot filler". I admit I was underprepared, but I also didn't know what to expect. Brian (at MOAB) and I worked through some different builds and then hit some internet trouble. Thankfully about 1/2 an hour later Thad was able to rescue us and fix their laptop. I'm happy with most of the build. Now that I've had a few days to ponder it more there are a few changes I'd like to make and I still haven't decided on a wheelset. I'm thinking of sticking with a pretty standard 105 group but can't pick wheels. I know so little about road components that it's hard to know what things cost. Even without wheels, I'm pretty close to the top of my budget so I'm trying to get some affordable, durable, non-tank wheels. So far the ideas are 105 hub/Delgado CX rim, XT hub/Delgado rim, or something cheap like the Mavis Aksium. I'm not sure what a 105/xt with delgado wheel will cost so I need to get back to MOAB and work some more and ask some more questions. I'd like to order this by the end of the week if I can... then my spot won't be void for much longer.

Beth and I traveled to Decatur, GA this weekend for a craft show. It went well and we were able to have dinner at a place we both love there called the Brick Store Pub. They have great fish and chips and amazing beer. They have some great microbrews from across the US. They had the Great Divide Hibernation ale again so I was in heaven! There are few beers that I enjoy as much as this one. I mean its a hoppy, dark, strong ale with a 8.2% alcohol content, what's not to love.

Grant posted a great update to DSG 2.0 on NMB and has really got me pumped. I keep forgetting about DSG and that I have a team set up. I wasn't able to go last year because of my wedding so I am super psyched for this year. Our team needs to get our butts in gear and get registered!


Here are the photos from our weekend adventure. (sorry there aren't many this time)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

For road wheels it would be tough to beat a set of 32 hole Mavic Open Pros with a good hub. MOAB built me a fine set on Chris King hubs and they are about as close to bomb proof as you can get. Ultegra or Durarace Hubs will get you there at a decent price and this build is lighter than most (mine are in the sub 1,600 gram range and I believe that the Shimano hubs are actually a smidge lighter than the Kings and less expensive of course). Many roadies swear by this combo for training wheel sets. Give MOAB Mark a yell and he'll get you hooked up.

cornfed said...

I'm not sure I'd follow gRant's advice, I've ridden behind his lumber wagon rattle trap of death. I mean, sure if you want traffic in the tri-county area to be able to hear you rolling down the road, by all means get some grAnt wheels, but I prefer my wheels to roll a bit more silently than his chaka kahn set.

Anonymous said...

Ouch! For the record my wheel noise issues were in no way attributed to the parts selection or build of said wheelset. Nope. The noise was my way of warning Cornfed that I was BRINGING IT! As the title holder of several mail box sprinting championships, I like to do my best to keep things sporting. The way I figure it, if I'm silent and deadly, the other rider's don't stand a chance.

I guess it all depends on whether you prefer to hear the click of the hammer being cocked before you meet your maker?

gRant

cornfed said...

Bringing it??? What's "it"? If by 'it' you mean the chuck wagon, yeah we could hear it. Sounded like a damn San Francisco Trolly car clanging, banging, and ranging...

Unknown said...

hey let's get back to me here... wheel ideas, stems that are cheap but look nicer than the salsa, what color King HS, red or silver?

there are pressing issues here, :o) do I need to moderate my blog? Watch out, I'll ban you!

cornfed said...

Silver King, Silver King, it's Christmas time at the Chewieez.

Ring a ding, Red Chris King
It's Christmas time for the Chewieez.

Depends on the hubs. Red hubs, red headset. Silver is always fast. Red/Silver mix would be slick too.

I like Ivory's red king wheels with red spokes and a single black pair. The anti mavic look.

Ok, go for Red. Over.

Anonymous said...

Greg,

I've got a brand new X4 Thomson 110mm X 10 Degree Stem that I'll make ya a smoking deal on if your interested. I did both the Red and the silver. I'm running red CK hubs on the wheeels of fury. I'm running silver king hubs and Thomson stem, seat post, and silver CK headset on the Niner of Doom.

Cornfed is a bonifide rabble-rouser. Hes got skillzzzz.

Unknown said...

I don't have your email Grant, but I'm interested in your Thomson. I'm assuming it's black.

I rode Hensley's crosscheck tonight and I believe he had a 105 or 110 stem and the fit felt great.

Let me know the details and we can meet up for the sale...maybe over a pint of Yazoo.

Anonymous said...

Thursday at the tap room?

Greg said...

sounds good Grant. I'll try to be there!

 
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