Random stuff

Saw my first robin of the year today. Bouncing around next to the I94 onramp over by Ypsi.

The guy who built our trailer used bizarre wheels; 4.75" spacing. 4.5 and 5 are the standards. So I had to pay an extra $8 each for the rims. Somewhere around $300 all told. But it'll be new rims and proper trailer-rated radials. The trailer came with rusty rims and bald, half-gone passenger tires (and this was a new trailer - albeit built by "a guy in a shop with a welder"). I never checked if they were including disposal fees; that might cost me another $20 or so.

I spent another $40 over at Harbor Freight to buy an angle grinder, spare grinding wheels and a knotted-wire wheel for rust removal, then $120 at Lowes for a new liner; proper, treated plywood this time instead of the cheap stuff, and a quart of gloss black rustoleum. That'll be a _fun_ Saturday.

I'd like to replace the lights with LEDs too. I looked at the truck stop and there wasn't anything I liked, and what they had was too expensive. Ditto Murrays and Meijers. I guess I'll look online. It's not critical but it makes me nervous to drive with the trailer back there and the lights are dim, pointed at the ground, and about a foot from the pavement. I'd like bright lights at least, and mounting higher would be a bonus (and would give me an excuse to do some welding).

Anyway, somewhere just short of $500 to rebuild a trailer I think we bought for about $750. But it'll be a much better trailer than it was when new.

[EDIT] apparently the trailer-rated tires will make it a lot easier to tow. Stiffer sidewalls so less swaying and bouncing.

Counterpoint

This is a few days later in the travels of the guy heading Canada to far-south America. The last page I pointed at, I mainly did so because of the unbelievable barren qualities. It was amazingly bad looking even from the point of view of his travels. This new page is just a week or so later and is much more like the sort of thing he's been going through. It's very beautiful, and a unique experience. He's been through an amazing range of people and lands, and almost any day I've read about stands on its own as worthwhile. People cycling across the US, on the other hand, seem to sometimes have days they could just as well do without.

I don't think you're any more likely to meet friendly people in Mexico/S.A., but it does seem like you're less likely to meet huge jerks or dangerous people there.

Zenni optical endorsement

I just got my first pair of glasses from Zenni Optical. Yes, this is the $8 prescription glasses place. I'm pleased. The prescription appears to be perfect. The frames are as sturdy as any I've ever had, and look nice. They delivered them in a week even though they said 3 weeks due to my "strong" prescription.

This is a pair of sunglasses. Since I started driving I was really missing having sunglasses so I figured it was a great way to try them out.

The final bill was actually $32. I bought slightly more expensive glasses at $12.95, then paid $5 for the 80% grey tint, $5 for an antireflective coating, and there was a $9 surcharge for a strong prescription.

Still, damn. I don't see any way in which these are inferior to the glasses I've been paying $600 for up to now. I know this will not be viable for a few people. J for instance is to the point where she needs multiple-grind RGP contacts plus glasses to get really proper vision and she's on who-knows-how-many office visits in the last few months trying to get her vision right. But I think most people could do just fine here, especially for backup glasses or sunglasses. When I get glasses, it's "walk in the door, put them on, blink, 'yeah, they're fine', walk out and don't come back in for 2 or 3 years."

Luckily my prescription hasn't changed significantly in 5 years (0.25 diopter in one eye, negligible, and all my glasses are now the new prescription). In the future I'm afraid I'll be going to the optometrist and telling them "go ahead and bill me for the checkup and prescription as if you're not going to be selling me glasses, because you won't be." That's only fair. I don't know if that makes a difference. I'm paying $50 for basically about 20 minutes of their time/equipment/rent. Seems like that should be enough, but even if they charged me $200, I'd still save significant cash by doing things this way.

They do have the equivalent of Flexon frames. Of course, no name brand but it says "memory titanium alloy" or something like that. They're outrageously priced at about $25.