Ruptured Seams

Mid-Range Bicycle Saddles

Admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:55:35 +0000

So what am I looking for in a bicycle saddle? I suspect it is going to be different to some people but the same as the majority of people. While I would like a saddle that is narrow and proportioned for the road cycling that I am going to be doing, I don’t really care whether I have saved every last ounce of weight by getting the titanium rails rather than the chromoly rails.

I’m not one of those people who simply have to have the best of everything. You know the ones, the guy who sits at the back of the pack and is the first to drop off, but at least he’s got the top of the range carbon braided rails that provides in with a 10g saving of weight. He can’t pedal for peanuts though.

As long as the saddle that I buy is comfortable, provides me with a reasonable level of support and flexes nicely so that I get the feeling of assistance that I need, I’m going to be happy. Fortunately, this is where the bulk of the saddle manufacturers focus their attention so I am well provided for. A good middle of the range saddle such as the WTB Valcon Pro is going to serve me very nicely without feeling the need of having to step up to the titanium rails of the SLT or the top of the range Carbon.

The more competitive of you might be looking for much more in their saddles but I’m just a weekend plodder and am quite happy not to sit and boast about the saddle I’m sitting on.

So what are some of the better mid-range bicycle saddles that are going to provide this mix of good quality and comfort? Good question and I will attempt to answer it by listing 10 saddles that I have seen and heard good things about.

1. Brooks B17 Standard
2. WTB Valcon Pro
3. Adamo Road
4. Ritchey Comp Biomax
5. Specialized Toupe
6. Fi’zi:k Arione CX K:ium
7. Selle Italia XR Flow
8. Serfas Acuna Performance
9. Velo Senso Sport
10. Velo Senso Miles

A Milk Glass Table Lamp

Admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:59:15 +0000

In my last post I discussed the fact that there are a lot of different types of table lamps available to use around the home with a few specific examples. These suggestions were rather general in their detail so I thought I would follow it up with a more specific example of a table lamp that is not only highly decorative but also very reasonably priced.

What this should indicate is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to be able to create a sense of elegance and light through the use of some well placed lamps.

In this case the lamp that we will be looking at is a glass table lamp that was sold recently on eBay. The lamp is described as a vintage milk glass table lamp and it features a painted flower design on the side of both the lamp shade and the base.

The description that the seller gave to describe the lamp was as follows:

“VINTAGE MILK GLASS TABLE LAMP
WITH ROSES PATTERN
14.5″ TALL
GREAT WORKING CONDITION – LIKE NEVER BEEN USED”

It is quite an attractive little lamp that would be suitable for a number of different parts of the home. The most impressive thing about the lamp, at least for the person who ended up buying it, was the price which was a low $12.99. This makes the lamp a great low-cost way of adding a little bit of period drama to a room, not to mention a handy source of illumination.

The Modern Table Lamp Selections

Admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:41:42 +0000

The simple fact that a lamp works in your home as a functional piece it doesn’t mean that it can’t also do a job as a decorative piece. A modern retro style is the sort of thing to aim which might mean that a couple of retro table lamps would set the entire room off. Selecting table lamps can become much more than simply placing accessories thanks to the choices they give you.

Some of the range of table lamp styles to choose from can be seen among the short summaries below.

Beginning with a standard Mission table lamp design that would bookend the sideboard. The process of searching throws up a almost overwhelming variety of lamp stands with a lot of detail work or lovely paintwork, or both, to choose from. You might alter your preference for matching table lamps to non-matching pieces enjoying the imbalance it creates not to mention giving you the chance to buy two pieces.

The option of stained glass where money is no object may mean that you may seriously consider a Tiffany lamp. A real statement is made with stained glass table lamps in the room but they can be somewhat overwhelming for a dining room that’s on the small side. The fact is, there are many different types of glass table lamps available that would provide you with a stunning feature as well as a point of difference in the room.

More types of table lamps that might catch your eye are small Atomic table lamps, some snappy gourd table lamps or, shooting at the more modern side of the retro look, a selection of space age influenced chrome lamps.

A type of table lamp that is versatile and will suit many situations and rooms is the range of brass table lamps. The brass may be given a high gloss shine that will brighten any room, particularly when the lamp’s light is shining.

The tone of a room can be influenced by the type of table lamps that are placed inside. The tone of the room can also be affected by the sort of lamp shade that sits on top of whatever lamp base you choose. Choosing a suitable retro table lamp is a part of the process that must be taken seriously.

There are many ways to decorate the room and there are also some options when lighting the room.

Long Distance Kissing Could Be Possible

Admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:18:16 +0000

Hoo boy I just heard today about the newest invention that is being developed in Japan. It’s the cyber kiss or the Internet kiss or whatever you would like to term it. The developers have come up with a device that will simulate a kiss and you can share the experience with someone over the long distance such as the Internet.

The way it works is that you take the controls in your mouth with a protuberance that looks something like a straw and, using your tongue, move it around. At the other end the straw in your partners device also moves around in their mouth. This, according to the people creating them and developing the concept is the same thing as a kiss.

Sheesh, I don’t know, call me old fashioned but it doesn’t sound like the pleasurable experience that I’m used to getting when I have my kisses.Naturally enough the people who have come up with this concept appear to be the type of people who need this kind of machine to get some action – scientist nerds.

Decorate With A Headboard

Admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:01:42 +0000

So you’ve just bought your first king size bed and are feeling pretty chuffed about it. But when you get it into the bedroom and put it up against the wall you feel as though there is something missing. The answer could be that it would do better if it were framed with a king size headboard.

There are many different types of king size headboards for sale and they can be used either as decorative pieces or as functional. Decorative headboards are usually sat flat against the wall and they provide a framework for the bed in front of them. They serve their purpose by focussing the eye towards the bed.

A functional headboard provides some other kind of service apart from merely the decorative features. Such a headboard might be a bookcase headboard or a headboard containing some kind of storage. These functional headboards can be handy for placing a reading lamp or your book if you are a reader in bed. Alternatively it might be the spot where you keep your glasses so they are within reach when you get up.

There are a great many different types of headboards and the king size headboards will be commanding in the room due to their size. It’s worth visiting a number of furniture stores or browsing online to be sure you buy one that won’t overpower your bedroom.

Misting Systems Are Still Largely Undiscovered

Admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:12:03 +0000

Sometimes it’s surprising to find that there are still some simple solutions to problems that have still yet to be picked up by the mainstream consumer. You would think that if there were a cheap and simple solution to a problem that the majority of homeowners would have picked up on it when it is well into its development life cycle.

In this particular case I am talking about misting systems to keep you cool when outdoors. These systems basically use water pipes with misting nozzles attached to them to produce a water mist that essentially vaporises as it makes contact with the air. This means that although it is a water mist it is a dry mist that cools the ambient air around it dropping the temperature for those in the immediate vicinity.

This kind of cooling system is cheap to run, costing only the price of running the water supply for those systems that operate through the water pressure generated by turning on a tap. Water usage is very low, down around a gallon per hour for each misting nozzle in use depending on the size of the holes in the nozzles.

For an effective method of keeping a patio or veranda cool in the summer time, this system is simple and very effective. The same type of system has been in use for some time now at restaurants that seat their patrons outdoors and it works very well. Misting systems are also used extensively on industrial sites for such things as dust control to humidity control.

It’s strange that the system has not been taken up on a large scale by domestic users.

Getting The Word Out

Admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:05:06 +0000

There seems to be a growing trend in advertisers to get their leaflets into your face by using plastic door hanger bags. These are those clear plastic bags that are hung over your doorknob filled with all kinds of special offers and deals.

It’s a pretty good idea, I’ve got to admit. When you get home from work the tendency is to want to drag yourself in no matter what is thrown in your way. A plastic bag hanging on the doorknob gets taken off and carried inside for convenience sake. Ads are now in the house.

Until someone comes up with a better idea I can really see this particular way of getting the word out there becoming really effective, particularly in high rise apartment buildings where there are a lot of doorknobs in a relatively small space.

The great thing about these bags seems to be that they protect whatever is stored inside from the elements and from being blown around the place. I know that often, when loose sheets of paper are stuffed into my mailbox, by the time I get home they are lying in the garden You won’t get this kind of a hassle with the bags protecting them from the wind.

Accessing The Ceiling

Admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:43:31 +0000

So with the whole insulation rebate scheme and the need to get into the attic – or at least into the space between the ceiling and the roof – we have decided that it might be high time to do something about it. What this means is give ourselves the ability to get into the attic quickly and easily. Hence the need for an loft ladder and then get someone to come in a install insulation into the ceiling.

Once the insulation is in place our next step is to have an attic conversion done. This will be nothing too extravagant. Basically we just want to lay a floor over the top of the insulation and the joists and then seal up all around the roof, it’s surprising just how many little cracks and gaps there are up in the roof.

This will mean that we will be able to use the area as a big storage space. It will be easily accessible and it will have plenty of space to provide nice clean storage for the things that are currently cluttering up our wardrobes.

Learning Calligraphy

Admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:05:49 +0000

There’s really no great hardship in learning calligraphy. In fact everyone who writes can learn calligraphy. The hard part, the part that is going to take you a lot of hard work and a lot of practice is to learn to do calligraphy well. In fact it’s going to take you a particularly long time to do calligraphy well enough that someone is going to look at what you have produced and appreciate it enough to want you to create something for them.

Before thinking that calligraphy is an art that is beyond your reach you should be comforted to know that the only person’s opinion that really matters when it all gets boiled down is your own. If you enjoy forming calligraphic letters and you like what you see when you’ve finished then you’re a calligrapher.

Learning to use a calligraphy pen and to form the letters of the basic calligraphy styles is a process that you can begin immediately as long as you have the tools necessary to start. Buying a basic calligraphy set is really all that you need to get you going. There are many books that take you through the process of forming the letters in a straightforward manner, there are numerous resources online that will help you out and there are calligraphy groups and guilds where you can workshop and share ideas.

All of these resources combine fabulously to give you a complete support base for those times when you feel that it’s all getting a bit too difficult. If you feel you need inspiration or you don’t think you’re progressing like you should you can turn to any of the other calligraphers out there who have had these exact same experiences and thoughts and can help you through.

Calligraphy is an extremely satisfying pursuit, an art form that turns our letters into things of beauty. You will come to appreciate the simple designs that can magically be turned into creative works of art that people will admire.

Calligraphy Terms and Meanings

Admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:45:06 +0000

In order to learn calligraphy it is advisable to learn the language that a calligrapher uses to describe to pen strokes made when forming letters. Failing to learn the basic calligraphy terms will slow the learning process down needlessly. If you know what the correct ductus is when forming your majuscules, your Batarde will improve much quicker.

When talking about the order in which a letter is formed we are talking about the letter’s ductus. When you learn calligraphy from a written text you will find the ductus of each letter in the form of arrows to show you the direction and the order in which to write them. To the left is an example of a Foundational Hand letter ‘R’ with the ductus displayed.

You will see in many forms of calligraphic alphabets that there are extra bits to the letters at the start of the letter or at the top. These extra designs are known as serifs. The serif at the top and bottom of a vertical stroke effectively form the top and base of a pillar. It gives the letter a simple elegance and presence. Displayed to the right is a majuscule ‘I’ displaying a serif at the top and at the bottom of the letter. We are all familiar with our computers and will be aware that there is a font known as Sans Serif. This simply means a typeface without any serifs.

There are two parts of a letter that are almost self explanatory, but we will explain them anyway. They are the ascender and the descender. These are the parts of a miniscule letter that rises above the body of the letter or descends below respectively. Example letters that contain ascenders and descenders are “b” and “p”. The body of the letter is known as the x height and x height letters take up the distance between the base line and the waist line.

Two more calligraphy terms that have already been used in explaining other terms have been miniscule and majuscule. These are just fancy names for upper case and lower case letters.

We shall end the introduction to calligraphy terms here. These terms should give you the basic terminology to get started on your quest to learn calligraphy. From here the terminology will continue to grow as your experience increases. Understand that there are many, many parts to calligraphy lettering and an accepted order in which they are placed on the paper.

Above all, enjoy your calligraphy experience.