(no subject)
Hi.
Good God, it's been a while. Just fell out of the LJ-checking habit I guess. Still, good to see that a lot of my old friends are still on here...
I guess one of the most recent things I've done has been going to
...where, apart from drinking beer and eating cake, I managed to catch sets from Abney Park, Berlin Black (50% SBA by volume!), Last July (featuring nevla), some short guy* from Alien Sex Fiend and many others.
I also got newly inspired by the Steampunk thing after talking to Tom from Pennsylvania (he also makes the laser-cut leather corsets if that rings any bells). It struck me that steampunks making somewhat fanciful creations out of brass and leather are not so very far from medieval re-enactors making painstakingly-verified historically accurate creations out of wool, linen, spring steel and, erm, leather, with the added bonus of not having to have primary sources (sorry Claire!).
So I went away with all sorts of silly ideas, most of which I freely admit I will never execute, but some ideas are better than none. And it says much about the benefits of getting away to whitby that my main ethical dilemma for the week was whether Sturmey-Archer hub gears are strictly Steampunk ;-)
Oh yeah, also managed to get out on a run with the now worryingly-fast speedygoth and had an all-too-brief chat with ant_girl - must catch up again soon!
*nothing against short guys in particular, some of my best friends etc etc, but all I could see over the crowd was his top hat. Really should have picked a venue with a stage ;-)
Also,
Which links nicely into my long-running attempts to get my commuting bike ready for winter. This has involved, firstly, ditching the derailleur gears in favour of a 7-speed Nexus hub gear (gears in a box, out of the rain; also the chain doesn't flap about) and secondly, rigging up some industrial-strength winter lights:
The lights were relatively easy. Setting up the hub gear has been an epic in its own right and went something like this:
*First buy your hub, spokes and rim from eBay, then build up into a wheel;
*Realise certain crucial bits are missing;
*Source said bits one-by-one online, local bike shop not having a scooby;
*Strip hub to make sure it is properly greased, photographing every step to aid reassembly;
*Accidentally undo crucial springy bit which, not having meant to undo, you didn't photograph beforehand;
*Search for detailed assembly drawings online, local bike shop not having a scooby;
*Give up and buy identical but busted hub from bike jumble
*Disassemble very carefully until you find the bit you buggered up last time.
*Reassemble crucial springy bit with frequent reference to busted hub and select Chaucerian language
*Try and work out how everything else went back on, since two months have passed since you took it apart ;-)
Still, just last Sunday it all went back on and I have been riding it to work all week, touch wood... and apologies for how long that probably took you to read but that there is six months of my life ;-)
Also, Hartington Hall was a brilliant weekend and a great chance to meet up with some people I haven't seen for too long... but as that has been better described elsewhere I shall simply wish longrat and aunty_cis a belated happy $)th birthday!
Edit: picture added, text moved under cut
Good God, it's been a while. Just fell out of the LJ-checking habit I guess. Still, good to see that a lot of my old friends are still on here...
I guess one of the most recent things I've done has been going to
...where, apart from drinking beer and eating cake, I managed to catch sets from Abney Park, Berlin Black (50% SBA by volume!), Last July (featuring nevla), some short guy* from Alien Sex Fiend and many others.
I also got newly inspired by the Steampunk thing after talking to Tom from Pennsylvania (he also makes the laser-cut leather corsets if that rings any bells). It struck me that steampunks making somewhat fanciful creations out of brass and leather are not so very far from medieval re-enactors making painstakingly-verified historically accurate creations out of wool, linen, spring steel and, erm, leather, with the added bonus of not having to have primary sources (sorry Claire!).
So I went away with all sorts of silly ideas, most of which I freely admit I will never execute, but some ideas are better than none. And it says much about the benefits of getting away to whitby that my main ethical dilemma for the week was whether Sturmey-Archer hub gears are strictly Steampunk ;-)
Oh yeah, also managed to get out on a run with the now worryingly-fast speedygoth and had an all-too-brief chat with ant_girl - must catch up again soon!
*nothing against short guys in particular, some of my best friends etc etc, but all I could see over the crowd was his top hat. Really should have picked a venue with a stage ;-)
Also,
Which links nicely into my long-running attempts to get my commuting bike ready for winter. This has involved, firstly, ditching the derailleur gears in favour of a 7-speed Nexus hub gear (gears in a box, out of the rain; also the chain doesn't flap about) and secondly, rigging up some industrial-strength winter lights:
The lights were relatively easy. Setting up the hub gear has been an epic in its own right and went something like this:
*First buy your hub, spokes and rim from eBay, then build up into a wheel;
*Realise certain crucial bits are missing;
*Source said bits one-by-one online, local bike shop not having a scooby;
*Strip hub to make sure it is properly greased, photographing every step to aid reassembly;
*Accidentally undo crucial springy bit which, not having meant to undo, you didn't photograph beforehand;
*Search for detailed assembly drawings online, local bike shop not having a scooby;
*Give up and buy identical but busted hub from bike jumble
*Disassemble very carefully until you find the bit you buggered up last time.
*Reassemble crucial springy bit with frequent reference to busted hub and select Chaucerian language
*Try and work out how everything else went back on, since two months have passed since you took it apart ;-)
Still, just last Sunday it all went back on and I have been riding it to work all week, touch wood... and apologies for how long that probably took you to read but that there is six months of my life ;-)
Also, Hartington Hall was a brilliant weekend and a great chance to meet up with some people I haven't seen for too long... but as that has been better described elsewhere I shall simply wish longrat and aunty_cis a belated happy $)th birthday!
Edit: picture added, text moved under cut