Two Below, Honey

Sub-zero night time temps to open up the week - just too cold to work in the shop. However, took the Missus to the oncologist on Monday. Real good report there. The doc said come back in three months or so for a CAT scan and a check up. There was one little spot that didn't clean up with the chemo. She wants to keep an eye on that but that's the kind of thing that'll warm you up regardless of the temps.

Because it's been so cold and the wind has been blowing pretty steady, it's tough to keep the old farm house warm. We've got hot water heat and unless we're up and moving around, the warmth from the fin tubes doesn't circulate well. The area where we sit to watch TV/read has no fin tubes, so it always gets chilly. I put the new AC unit in last summer and it has a built in heater - Monday seemed like a good time to try it out and it made a huge difference. I don't know how many watts the heater puts out, but letting it run for about a half hour was all it really took to warm the central area of the house up quite a bit. I'm sure the meter was spinning at a decent clip but our electric rates are relatively cheap. And if you only need the heat when the temperatures approach zero, well worth the money.

I started on the Aermacchi book. I didn't realize they were as successful as they were in the aircraft field. They were extremely competitive in the Schneider Trophy races and the Macchi MC72 held the absolute speed record for landplanes for five years. (I probably should have thrown a picture of an airplane in above but I came across the photo of this beautiful Sprint @ Motobilia and decided to toss it in instead.) 

Besides airplanes and motorcycles, Aermacchi made these cute little utility trucks in various configurations. They're similar to the Piaggio Ape but I'd prefer having the Aermacchi version if I was going to have something else with wheels under it to trip over around here. If I'd have won the big Power Ball  prize, I could have gone to Italy on a search and seizure mission and come home with who knows how much motorized junk. Or just set up shop there.

The temperatures are supposed to be a little warmer for a few days. I should be able to get out in the shop and get a little more progress made on the 900. I've got the rear brake caliper bracket almost done. I'll get the back wheel underneath it again and then I'll swap out the forks and get the dual disc brakes sorted. There really isn't that much left to do on the bike. Just need to devote some time on a regular basis towards getting it done.