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It's a balmy +10 °C (50 °F) today! Guess I shouldn't complain. Soon enough the temperature will drop to the -20, -30, -40, a typical Northern Ontario winter is pretty cold for most of December, January and February. Well, I did everything that our brilliant  Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan suggested - I drank some red wine, snuggled with someone special, added extra blankets to the bed, wore layers of clothing around the house (and socks to bed) - I was still cold!

One can only drink so many cups of tea and hot soup, too. I don't think that his less-than-brilliant suggestions to keep warm this winter will actually work. We're still above 0 °C and there's already a damp chill in the air and in the house. I don't normally discuss politicians much, but this numbskull needs a reality check.

This morning, I turned the furnace on and set the thermostat to 65 °F, reluctantly. I know that the temperature may seem pretty cold to some of you basking in the warmer climates, but it really is comfortable for now.

Great news on the Gladiator Trike. Should be doing our first test ride this weekend, as long as it doesn't rain. We might be renaming it, though. Have another possible name in mind, but will make it official once it's painted, which may be as early as next week.

Finalizing details about the decals today, too. There will be at least five designs. Should have them in the Atomic Zombie Store over the next few days. So much going on! Good thing there's alot to do otherwise I'd be sitting here freezing!

Raining today, feels like a typical fall day. Some good news, though - just launched the new Sparky Electric Mini Bike download tonight. It's a pretty sweet download. It's a beginner's guide to building high quality small electric vehicles from easily available parts using basic tools.

Armed with an electric motor, a pair of batteries, a handful of washing machine parts and some recycled bicycle parts, you can create a small yet powerful mini bike like Sparky that will outperform store bought electric scooters or pocket bikes - gas or electric.

Sparky is silent, has a top speed of over 30 mph (50 km/h), and can run for at least two hours on a single battery charge. No kidding!

+17 today - wow! Feels like early summer again. A nice change. Just got word from Terry at the Telus World of Science in Calgary that our SpinCycle is coming home soon. He says that the bike exhibit that ran from May until this month was a great success. Our congrats to Terry and the exhibit team for putting on this unique event, and we hope that everyone who tried the different types of bikes enjoyed them. Here are some pictures that Terry sent to us. I'd sure like that Thank you banner for my office. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

It's +10 right now, but last night it was just above 0. Fall is fast approaching now with temps pretty chilly at night. We've been adding extra blankets and trying to hold off on turning on the furnace. It's way too early for that. But, when the house temperature is hovering at 60 F, it's tempting to flip that switch. We had a hydro rate increase this past spring and there's probably going to be another hike next spring. Every time the furnace kicks in, it costs us more in hydro and natural gas, so we hope that we will have a late winter. One year, I didn't turn on the furnace until late November. I'm that stubborn!

Our not-so-swift Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan advised Ontarians recently to cope with rising energy prices by wearing layers of clothing indoors, using more blankets at night, turning down the thermostat, snuggling with that special someone and drinking wine. Not realistic for the elderly and anyone on a fixed income struggling to pay the bills and live with some dignity. I guess if you're single, you'd better get a big dog or long-haired cat to snuggle with to keep you warm on those cold winter nights. What a complete doofus! Behold the ignorance and stupidity of our governments. Who the heck elected these freaks? I can't find anyone who will admit to voting for them. Interesting. End of rant.

I even wore gloves last night while walking the dog. The crunch is on to get as many projects done and photographed before the snow falls. Add to that the outdoor work to be done in the yard and the house. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done. As I write this, Brad is furiously typing away the Sparky plans, although we haven't set a firm launch date yet, but it will be in the next week for sure. Still have our full-time jobs that keep us busy most days so you'll have to check back this weekend with a progress update.

And, yes, decals will be available in the next few weeks. Just sorting through quotes and designs. Also, another order of books is in the works and should arrive here shortly. That's about it for now. Alot of stuff is going on at the moment and we're working our butts off to get stuff to you as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience.

It's +3 this morning, expected to be about +20 later this afternoon. In fact, looks like it will be pretty warm for the rest of the week, if the forecast is actually right. Time to get the yard cleaned up and work on painting the house before the snow comes in about a month or two. We finally finished our bathroom last week which is why we've been pretty quiet for the past couple of weeks. Thank goodness that's done, just a couple of minor things to finish up, but what a difference compared to how it looked over a year ago.

Went to the dump yesterday and found some good bike parts, frames and tires. Will have to go every couple of days to keep our stockpile of parts healthy for the winter. The scrap pile was huge yesterday, too bad the crushing machine got there before we did since there were many bikes in a twisted mess that we couldn't save.

We took Sparky for a run over the weekend and shot some video and pictures. I'm impressed with how fast and quiet it is. The quiet factor was one of the most common comments from folks watching us buzz around a park for a few hours. People don't seem to mind the speed (as long as you don't ride recklessly) and small size because Sparky is such a quiet little beast, compared to most noisy mini gas powered bikes and scooters that I've seen buzzing around here.

Later this week, Brad will begin the writing process for Sparky and tons of information you'll need to know about electric vehicles - motors, batteries, battery charging, controllers, etc. This project will be a well-rounded introduction to electric vehicles that will be the basis for other electric projects coming soon.

The frame of our trike is pretty much done, and tires are on, just working out the steering design. Hope to have that project done in the next month so we can ride it for a bit before the snow falls. My welding lessons will be under way soon, once we start on another project. This way, I'll actually have something to work on. I have alot of practicing to do first trying to strike the arc properly and make a decent bead. Once the yard is cleaned up, that's on my To Do list. Besides, I'll have all winter to hone my skills. I already have four projects in mind that I want to build over the winter, including a rugged electric scooter suitable for our rough streets around here. I'd like to leave the gas guzzler at home as much as possible

The garden has been pretty good this summer, just had the last of our sweet corn yesterday and still harvesting peas, beans, carrots, Swiss chard, beets, tomatoes and zucchini. We will probably have five or six pumpkins next month, too, enough for some pies. Mmmm...pumpkin pie. Can't wait! You know that fall is coming when the pumpkin pie cravings start. Now I'm hungry, time for lunch.

Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines web stats for August 2006

It's +4 this morning. What a change from last week! Well, it seems that fall is definitely on its way. It's been pretty cool some evenings. The garden is showing signs of slight frost; the tomatoes aren't very happy about that. Harvested all of the sweet corn since the cobs have stopped growing and got about three dozen cobs. Guess we'll be eating them most of this week.

Sparky the electric mini bike is primed, painted and assembled. Looking good! http://www.atomiczombie.com/forum/support/sparky5.jpg  Final wiring will be done tonight and maybe a real test ride, too. Wasn't ready for last weekend's street fair in our neighborhood, oh well, sure enjoyed the Kettle Corn snacks and street entertainment.

I really don't have much else to chat about today, yet. It's only the morning so anything can happen. Busy with our jobs during the day and some evenings and weekends which cuts into our planning and building, but have to pay the bills! Enough whining, back to the grind. Will write more later. Need another coffee.

Update 11 pm - Sparky is alive and well! That little beast was tearing up and down the street later today and showing off its awesome power, control and overall handling. You can see the teaser video here http://www.atomiczombie.com/videos-video.htm . Brad took Sparky out for a run for over an hour, then one of our friends came over and tried it out. He's over 6 feet tall and laughed the entire time he rode Sparky, just like a big kid trying out a new toy. Will have more videos and the download next week. I'll be taking the little dude for a spin tomorrow. Sweeeet!

It's only +23 this morning, hope it won't be too hot this afternoon. The heat and humidity just wouldn't let up last week so the long wheel based recumbent bike project is on hold for now, as time is ticking away to get Sparky the electric mini bike done by the end of this month. Time to switch gears and focus on that project for now, then get back to the long wheel based project at a later date.

Brad really enjoyed having Juergen working with him last week. Too bad they didn't have another day to finish most of it. It will get done, though. They would have had almost the entire thing done the next day, enough for a test ride with the electric motor installed.

Sparky will be ridable this week for sure, even if it means using a dozen fans to keep the garage cool. It's going to be a pretty sweet little electric bike. The download will be available in the next couple of weeks. Right after Sparky, we will be doing a download on bike hacking, welding, grinding and painting techniques geared toward newbies and intermediate builders (maybe). Still finalizing the details of this one, but will keep you posted when it's ready for download in September. Or, we just might decide to finish the trike. Decisions, decisions! With the cool fall weather fast approaching, maybe we should get the trike done as soon as possible.

Had our first taste of sweet corn and zucchini from the garden - delicious! You sure notice a difference between fresh picked and store bought veggies. Wish we could grow vegetables all year round, but winter will be upon us in four months. Maybe I'll grow some herbs inside this winter and see how that goes.

At least this year the garage will be heated and I will be building some of my own projects so the winter won't seem to be so long and boring. Hope to start my welding lessons this week. Guess I'd better re-read the sections on bike hacking and welding in Bicycle Builder's Bonanza again. That will be my goal for this week. But first, I have to finish The Godfather Returns, only a few chapters to go. Maybe I'll read one chapter at lunchtime.

It's too hot to spend much time in the garage today, so some progress was made on the electric bike, but not finished yet. Stay tuned.

Of course, the weather has suddenly become hotter at +29 and the humidity at 69% is ridiculous, which has slowed the building process a bit.

But, the Dynamic Duo are still working on the long wheel based recumbent bike. That 450 Watt hub motor is pretty sweet. The build is coming along pretty good, though, considering that they started it late yesterday afternoon.

Will they make their deadline tomorrow? Will the garage ever cool off? Stay tuned!

	Thanks again to Toronto artist Janet "Bike Girl" Attard for sending us a couple of shirts with her custom bike stencils on them, inspired by Atomic Zombie bike designs. Hmmm...looks like somebody has the Bicycle Builder's Bonanza book! You can see more of Janet's work at www.stencilarchive.org .

This is a special week, Atomic Zombie fans! Juergen Weichert of the Human Powered Vehicle Operators of Ottawa is in town and he and Brad are building a long wheel based recumbent bike this week - from scratch.

It will seat two riders and include a power assist electric motor. The pressure is on as Juergen is heading back home later this week! He brought one of the motors with him and they installed it on the DeltaWolf trike yesterday. We took turns zipping around the neighborhood.

I gotta get me one of those babies! No more struggling up insanely steep hills. So easy to install, quiet, lightweight, compact and very cool.

So, the design process began late yesterday afternoon and they built most the frame until late last night. This afternoon, work began finalizing the seat design, angles and welding the frame parts together.

After chowing down on some pizza, they're back at it again tonight, welding, grinding and hacking away.

It's going to be a tight deadline to meet, but they are determined to finish the bike, paint and all, tomorrow. Stay tuned!

We are seriously going to have some Atomic Zombie decals made in the next few weeks, black decal with chrome lettering, that will easily affix to bikes, vehicles, whatever you want. They will be laminated to protect against the weather, too. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Brad is just organizing his workbench now, the ultimate garage cleaning and organizing extravaganza is finally over. Yep, he's ready to rock, build, grind, weld, paint and go wild.

Speaking of welding, guess who just bought herself a new welder's helmet today? Yep, I'm taking the plunge folks, I'm getting into the bike building thing, too. Just in time since the weather seems to be cooling off a bit.

So, yours truly will be learning along side Mr. AZ himself. I'll be blogging along the way. I really hope that more women get into this.

I have some designs in my head for various bikes, trailers and accessories, now I can actually try to build them myself. I've always wanted to learn how to build stuff, even though I sucked at high school shop class. I did want to learn more about using a lathe, but the class was only half the school year and the most I did was make a letter opener and notepad holder out of wood. Not appealing to me.

I might be able to start this weekend, but only if I get some house painting done first. I'm quite excited about this. Maybe some couples don't work well together, but I don't foresee any problems. We're a team in everything that we do. Woo hoo!

Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines web stats for July 2006

August 9

Wild geek weekend, cool bottles and updates

In true Evil Genius form, Brad even brought some circuit boards from a Commodore 64, a soldering iron and a pair of tweezers, spending an entire afternoon removing all components carefully. Some people have a strange way of relaxing, but it kept him amused for most of an entire day and he didn't even bring the laptop this time!

We stayed up late reading and drawing by the campfire – it was so quiet and relaxing. The campground was packed, but we never did go to the beach. I’ll bet it was pretty busy all weekend since it was quiet in the campground during the day. The noisiest time was the morning that we were leaving. I’ll never understand why some people allow their kids to run around screaming at the top of their lungs in the early morning hours. I guess it was easier for mom and dad to let the kids run all over the campground at 8 am while they packed up. Yelling, arguing, squealing kids at 8 am is just plain rude. Some people have no respect. We’ve been lucky this year, no bad camping experiences to report.

We picked wild raspberries and Saskatoon berries all weekend. I can’t remember the last time I’ve picked so many berries in only an hour. Never saw any bears or deer, just some chipmunks, woodpeckers, toads. We released our mice friends near our campsite and never saw them again. We left some food and one of the empty plastic containers that they used as a sleeping area for the past couple of weeks near a log just in case they came back to the site at some point.

I’m deep into a book that I’ve been trying to read for almost two years – The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner. I’ve seen all of the Godfather movies but this is the first book I’ve read based on Mario Puzo’s characters. Once I got through the first chapter, I was hooked. In three days, I’ve read through ¾ of the book and it’s hard to put it down. Very cool book.

Other cool things today include a couple of Swiss made Sigg bottles I ordered from Northern Spirit International of Winnipeg, MB. These bottles are lightweight, durable, made of aluminum, leak proof and hygienic. No more buying bottled water! These bottles are the best. I just ordered these online from Northern Spirit late last week and they arrived today. Now that’s customer service. They have an awesome selection of bottles and accessories, so check ‘em out.

Dogsitting my niece – Roxy – while her humans are away. She’s still a pup, but growing by leaps and bounds – literally. DJ is enjoying the company and they played outside yesterday for over six hours. They were pretty tuckered out last night, and she’s having a siesta right now beside me as I type this. She’s quite a character.

Brad is on the final home stretch of his garage cleaning and organizing. It’s been a huge job, but once it’s done, he will be much more efficient and comfortable in his new digs. Another albatross will be overcome! After tonight, he can concentrate on finishing Sparky the electric mini bike and our trike. We have so much planned over the next couple of years, if only we didn’t have to sleep!

Oh, and we’ve planning to have some Atomic Zombie decals made soon. Anyone interested? Will post more here and in the forum once we’ve decided on colors and designs.

August 2

Eat chocolate and help to make a difference

Also, if you don't already know, Atomic Zombie can be found on MySpace , TagWorld , MSNSpaces , YouTube , Webshots and Yahoo!

We're everywhere, baby!

August 1

Geography 101, cool art, successful cruise

We received some artwork by Janet Attard (aka "Bike Girl") of Toronto who specializes in bicycle stencils. She sent us a large print and several page-sized prints that we will get framed and hang in Brad's office.

Janet also sent us a very lovely note about her work, current and upcoming exhibits, and that some of her most recent work is inspired by Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines bike designs such as Skywalker tallbike, KoolKat recumbent, unicycle, Skyscraper tallbike, sideways bike! What an honour that someone has been inspired by our own designs, and a Bicycle Builder's Bonanza enthusiast, too. It's very cool how many awesome people we meet thanks to the stuff that we love to do.

You can see samples of Janet's art at www.stencilarchive.org Some day we'll get to Toronto and check out your studio, Janet. Love your work!

The Hamilton Beach Freak Bike Militia organizers report that their inaugural cruise and races on July 15 was a great success, with 30 riders from Hamilton, Toronto, London, Quebec and Michigan. They are also planning a ride before Halloween, in addition to their monthly rides. Atomic Zombie was proud to sponsor this event.