+1 on Crawford's book. If anyone wants a preview, I often assign this reading in class: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. It was in the NY Times Sunday Magazine section when his book came out. I'm also enjoying Richard Sennett's book, "The Craftsman". Very interesting look at doing work well for the sake of the work. Probably resonate with a lot of people in this group. Of course, when I get too detached from Christopher's point, re-reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is always a good reset switch.
Back to the garage for some re-humanizing... John On Friday, June 12, 2015 at 3:58:38 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Funny. I am an impatient perfectionist, and this has obvious psychological > disadvantages. I want my bikes to be perfect; yet I hate the hassle of that > sort of plodding methodicalness that is an essential requirement of > technical perfection. Fixed gear setups help, but my satisfaction in > mechanical perfection is always tainted by irritation at the innumerable > obstacles posed by materiality. > > Hum. > > Today, work being slack, I undertook the rehabilitation of my next door > neighbor's ancient and replaced gas grill (I live a spit from our bosque, > and a charcoal grill, I fear, would lead to the conflagration of the > century). > > Ashes and cinders; grease and oil; hardening and caking. This $100 gas > grill had all of these in spades, and even though I decided against using > caustic solvents, levying the power of scrapers, bushes, and garden trowel, > I ended up with, literally, 2 gallons of carbonated, ex-organic fatty > substances removed from the works. I fashioned a new flame disperser* from > 2 sections of tin can**; replaced the side shelving with miscellaneous > lumber; confected a new hatch handle; bought a canister of propane; and lo > and behold, i am now ready to grill like any suburban peritus. > > Point being, that actually usable results that result from one's own > material and imaginative intervention are, not only very pleasing, but in > some way, of the very essence of pleasure. Aside: Matthew Crawford's *Shop > Class as Soul Craft* is a very worthwhile meditation on the things raised > by this thread. Crawford is a good, pre-Christian Aristotelian, btw. > > On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 2:20 PM, Mark Reimer <markn...@gmail.com > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> So true. It seems I'm constantly changing something on my bikes. Fenders >> on, fenders off. Three pairs of tires in a month. I wonder how the bike >> would handle if I swapped out X/Y/Z... >> >> I do the same thing with old motorcycles. Seems I'm constantly >> elbows-deep into them. Last night in the shop, my Dad walks in and asks >> what I'd estimate the ratio is of the time I spend wrenching on them to >> riding. Clearly he didn't understand :) >> >> >> >> On Friday, June 12, 2015 at 1:27:17 PM UTC-5, hsmitham wrote: >>> >>> Chris, >>> >>> Glad you found some time to work on your Hilsen, I bet you can't wait to >>> start building your freshly painted travel Hilsen! I can't wait to see that >>> build. Just a winning color my friend!! >>> >>> Currently, I'm redoing both cockpits on my Hilsen & Atlantis, just >>> finished wrapping the Albastache bars on the Hilsen after installing a 8cm >>> Dirt Drop Stem. I rode it for about two weeks to make sure this was the >>> right decision. Today I'll be cleaning the Drive train. The Atlantis got a >>> new 10cm Tallux stem for the win! Today it gets new bar end shifters and a >>> rear dynamo light. I'm hoping that these changes will last a really long >>> time and I can just focus on lots of riding. Other smaller projects on the >>> distant horizon to tinker/wrench on. >>> >>> Oh and I'm installing a Mark's rack on the Wife's Betty. >>> >>> When my wife looks in on me tinkering on the bikes in the garage she >>> smiles and declares "your pretty content" and she's right! Working on >>> bikes I get my Zen on. >>> >>> Doug, I was wondering what all that noise was coming from yer Atlantis? >>> Silent or smooth drive train is the bee's knees! 15K on your cassette well >>> done Sir. >>> >>> Tail Winds, >>> >>> ~Hugh >>> >>> On Friday, June 12, 2015 at 8:34:49 AM UTC-7, Chris Chen wrote: >>>> >>>> Life has been crazy for a while, and I haven't had the chance to work >>>> on the bikes in a few months. Just remembering to lube the chain requires >>>> forethought. Tonight I finally started "fixing" my Hilsen with new brakes, >>>> saddle, and cockpit. It felt so good. >>>> >>>> Here's hoping you find time in your life for a little soul maintenance >>>> >>>> cc >>>> >>>> -- >>>> "I want the kind of six pack you can't drink." -- Micah >>>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. > By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. > Other professional writing services. > http://www.resumespecialties.com/ > www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten > > ************************************* > *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a > circumference on the rim of which all conditions, distinctions, and > individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu > > *Kinei hos eromenon. It moves as the being-loved. *Aristotle > > *The Love that moves the Sun and all the other stars. *Dante > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
