Adjustable gate latch

The soil in Winnipeg is all clay so it shifts a lot between dry and wet times. That means nothing is ever straight and level for long. So, the gate latch needs to be adjusted frequently.
I finally added the quick release from a bike seat for tool-less adjustments. I have a bunch of them around because I don’t like to help out the thieves by leaving them on a bike.

Tabbouleh (Tabuli ) salad

  • Picture of my bowl of Tabouleh1/3 cup olive oil
  • 4 tbsp lemon or lime juice
  • 0-1/2 clove garlic
  • 0-1 dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup bulgur
  • ~1cup finely diced tomatos
  • 0-1 finely diced cucumber
  • 2+ cups finely chopped parsley
  • 1/4+ cup finely chopped mint leaves
  • 2+ finely chopped green onions
  • 1/2 tsp of salt (to remove water from tomato and cucumber)
  1.  wash the parsley and mint and dry it well (I spin it in a salad spinner)
  2. mix olive oil and lemon juice and optional cinnamon and garlic
  3. add bulgur and let sit for 15+ minutes (at least until bulgur is plumped up)
  4. chop up tomatoes, green onion and cucumber, mix with salt and let it sit for 5+ minutes
  5. chop up the mint and parsley
  6. drain tomatoes and cucumber and mix with mint, parsley
  7. add bulgur mix and stir

3d printed fence for a Stanley #78 Rabbet Plane

I picked up an old Stanley #78 rabbet and bull nose combination plane at a garage sale. It works OK as a bull nose and full-width plane, but it didn’t come with the fences needed to make consistent rabbets. I made the following 3D model in Fusion 360 and printed it, this is the final tweaked version. It also requires some nuts and bolts, and I had to re-cut one of the holes in the plane body because it used some crazy non-standard thread.

Stanley #78 fence and depth stop fence model.f3

 

Shakshuka

Shakshuka in a frying pan
  • 1+ onion, diced
  • 0+ red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2+ tbsp of prepared garlic
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
  • 6 large eggs
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 0+ fresh or prepared cilantro, chopped
  • 0+ fresh parsley, chopped
  • 0+ feta
  1. fry up onion and garlic until they start to brown
  2. add spices, pepper and tomatoes and simmer
  3. break up tomatos with a potato masher or similar so they are not too big but still have some texture
  4. make a  hole for each egg and crack the egg into the sauce
  5. cook with a lid for 5-8 minutes depending how you like your egg
  6. Add feta, cilantro and parsley

Greasemonkey script to automatically click the “more…” link on Goodreads

It bugs me when web sites make me click a “more…” link to see the last line of 6 lines of text. Apparently it bugs me enough to figure out the Greasemonkey script to automatically click the more button on Goodreads.

// ==UserScript== 
// @name Goodreads Cleaner
// @namespace http://scripts.tenbergen.ca
// @description click the "more" button on goodreads pages
// @include https://www.goodreads.com/*
// @require http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.3/jquery.min.js
// ==/UserScript==


console.log('Overdrive AutoExpander Greasemonkey script is being applied');
//--- find "...more" link; the contains() text is case-sensitive.
var TargetLink = $("a:contains('...more')")

if (TargetLink.length) {
console.log('clicking "more..." button')
TargetLink.click()
}
console.log('Overdrive AutoExpander Greasemonkey script is finished');

Handling the Kirby Cup

Kirby Cup with old handles
Kirby Cup with old handles

I was asked to replace the handles on the new Kirby Cup Rowing Trophy.  The trophy is vintage and has clearly had a previous life. It arrived with straight handles that didn’t really suit its curvy shape, and that were somewhat loose in any case.

I designed some new handles for it in Fusion and 3d printed them.

Kirby Cup with old handles
Kirby Cup with old handles

Block heater cord

In order to start after -30C nights most cars around here have block heaters. Usually the plugs hang out from a radiator slot or just from under the hood. So in that-30C you have to hold the male end and hold the female end while wrangling a -30C stiff cable, while wearing mittens if you have any sense. I wanted the cord to be a bit tidier on the car, and make it so that plugging in is a one-handed thing that can be done more easily with mitts on. So, I took an existing plug and build a Casing for electrical cord plug to mount on a flat surfacenew body for it. I have done 3d modelling before, but this was my first exposure to Autodesk’s Fusion 360. It is the nicest 3d modelling software I have used so far – very easy transition from other tools I have used and it just works. I feel like a total sell-out to use it instead of an open source product like FreeCAD, but it’s like I tried crack, there is no going back.
A friend 3d printed the model for me, we installed it on Friday. The temperature was only -11C and sunny, but with a bit of wind. It was not optimal for playing with small parts and bare hands, but we got it done. For now the setup works, but it will be interesting to see how well the body and the silicon glue pad I used to hold it on will hold up. Generally gluing things in -11C is not a good idea, but this pad did better than I expected.  New blog heater plug on my car

Kat’s Meow (savory granola)

Kat's Meow savory granola
Kat’s Meow savory granola

My friend Kat gave me some savory granola. I really liked it – the little jar she

gave me got nibbled to death without being added to anything. I usually eat it with plain  3%+ yoghurt, even though a bunch usually still gets nibbled right off the cookie sheet (careful, it’s hot). Kat gave me the recipe. I have since tweaked it some more, but I still call it Kat’s Meow.

Ingredients

  • Dry mix:
    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • 1 cup rye flakes
    • 1/2 cup buckwheat
    • 1 cup pecan pieces
    • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
    • 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
    • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (to taste)
    • 2-4 tbsp dried rosemary (to taste, but this is what really makes this stuff smell good!)
    • 1-2 tbsp dried thyme (to taste)
  • Wet mix
    • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 2-4tbsp grainy mustard
    • 1 tbsp maple syrup

Preparation

  • pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C
  • combine dry ingredients in a fairly large bowl, and wet ones in a smaller one (the oil and mustard are kind of hard to combine, I use a tiny little whisk)
  • pour the wet mix over the dry mix and stir really well
  • spread the granola on a cookie sheet (use one with raised edges; you really don’t need to grease it or add parchment paper or anything, usually a plain wash without scrubbing gets it cleaned up)
  • bake for 15-20 minutes; longer gets it a bit crunchier but you start to lose some of the flavour
  • once it has cooled completely, if there is any left, you can store it in a jar with a well-fitting lid

Kat’s Meow

Savoury granola

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup rye flakes
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat
  • 1 cup pecan pieces
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (to taste)
  • 2-4 tbsp dried rosemary (to taste, but this is what really makes this stuff smell good!)
  • 1-2 tbsp dried thyme (to taste)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-4 tbsp grainy mustard
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup

  1. pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C

  2. combine dry ingredients in a fairly large bowl

  3. combine wet ingredients in a smaller bowl (the oil and mustard are kind of hard to combine, I use a tiny little whisk)

  4. pour the wet mix over the dry mix and stir really well

  5. spread the granola on a cookie sheet (use one with raised edges; you really don't need to grease it or add parchment paper or anything, usually a plain wash without scrubbing gets it cleaned up)

  6. bake for 15-20 minutes; longer gets it a bit crunchier but you start to lose some of the flavour

  7. once it has cooled completely, if there is any left, you can store it in a jar with a well-fitting lid

My friend Kat gave me some of this savory granola. I really liked it – the little jar she gave me got nibbled to death without being added to anything. I usually eat it with plain  3%+ yoghurt, even though a bunch usually still gets nibbled right off the cookie sheet (careful, it’s hot). Kat gave me the recipe. I have since tweaked it some more, but I still call it Kat’s Meow.

Shim screws

I live in an old brick house in a city with clay soil. When we have a really dry summer the soil dries out and shrinks and everything shifts. Then, when we get enough rain, the soil expands and everything shifts again. If you go to older parts of town, few houses are straight.

In my house these soil changes cause my back door starts to stick, or for the frame to become so lose that it barely latches. I used to fuss around with shims to make this better, but it was a big pain and meant taking all of it apart.

Shim Screws
Shim Screw and crown driver bit

Bring in shim screws. They are a screw with a second screw that spins loosely as a sleeve around the head of the screw. You use a special crown drive bit to drive both the screw and the sleeve into your door jamb. The sleeve only penetrates as far as the jamb, while the screw itself drives into the wall/framing behind. Then you take off the crown bit and adjust only the center of the screw in or out from the frame. Because the sleve spins but can’t slide up or down the screw, the jamb moves with the centre screw.

If the explanation doesn’t quite make sense, there are a bunch of videos online that show it, just google GRK shim screw.

In the case of my back door these gadgets mean that I can now adjust my door in about 2 minutes with one tool, rather than an hour or so with half my toolbox. Like!