Joker

LOL! Rap letter grown up table... too funny. Being completely honest, it has taken me years, I mean years, to come to grips with the "pioneer" label I've been given in regards to abstract Graffiti, so you'll have to cut me slack. I know I have expertise, not the best, but plenty to get by and share with those wanting help. I know @cancelculttourist, I know, but Susan (who has run ArtCrimes since day one) was/is a good friend so it was tough to pull one over and not feel guilty about it.

Joined: April 2000 (not sure of my member number) Age Then: 31 (now 55) I'd known @misteravenfor a little while prior to this website/forum so when he mentioned he was starting it I was all in. I still have every issue of 12ozProphet, too. I can't recall where I spent most of my time when I was in here every day, often several times a day, but there were so many people posting in so many different threads that it was tough to keep up with all the incredible content. Now I spend most of my time looking at threads old and new that I typically wouldn't dig into. I've honestly enjoyed taking over the Toys Post Here thread and trying to help writers hone their skills. I'm by no means an expert in this game but I enjoy helping out best I can. Helped with ArtCrimes in their early days as well. Used to help with with website content, and for several years handled all their online orders for caps. Just these massive clear bins filled with thousands of caps. Easiest job I've ever had. And somehow I never stole a single cap.

Oddly accurate.

I'm not man enough for that. I'm barely man enough for a 1982 Subaru Brat.

Because all my doors have different hardware, and some different paint colors, I'm in the process of removing all interior doors, sanding down to the wood, applying a coat of primer, then new paint, then new hinges and door handles. I'm about halfway through but two of the doors are sticking when I go to open them. They're not sticking too bad, and it's not marring the paint on the door or door jamb, it's just kind of annoying. I tried to rubbing wax paper on the door and jamb where where the sticking is happening but that didn't do anything. So I'm coming here to see if anyone has any ideas I could try. Thanks in advance.

2023 Audi Q8 S-Line Premium - yes please

This. I asked some UK friends about this because I had not heard of it before and they said exactly the same thing. The fee goes to the BBC and funds their programming (like Doctor Who, etc.) and keeps the ads to a minimum. I did some further research and found that if you're blind you can apply for a 50% discount, but you still gotta pay that shit.

As a guy in my mid-fifties, it's interesting to read some of these. Mostly because I went through most of these same concerns/thoughts in my mid-thirties. Back then I made bike racing a focus, lost a bunch of weight, started saving for retirement (wayyyyy too fucking late to be doing that, BTW), started teaching myself DIY home remodel stuff (something that has always scared the hell out of me but I've now learned it's not as scary as I made myself believe), decided to travel more - even if that's just a local weekend getaway, and spend more time with my wife. Other than bike racing, I still make most of these a priority all year long. I'm not much of a resolutions person but I have been thinking a lot about either cutting way back on alcohol consumption or cutting it out completely. Granted, I'm not a huge drinker, like maybe six drinks a week and usually only on the weekends, but I think I can cut that back even more. That will be a goal for 2024. And I'm going to give cyclocross racing next fall/winter one more go before giving in to being the weekend warrior bike rider guy. Art wise... I'd like to do more art, not necessarily for art shows but more just for the fun of making art. I kinda miss those days. I'd also like to spend a little more time creating three dimensional Graffiti pieces. And finally, spend some time learning animation on Procreate. I love drawing characters but they're always so rigid and 2D so teaching myself to bring them to life could be fun.

When I was starting out in the mid-eighties and secured a copy of the Subway Art, then a few years later Spraycan Art, T-Kid was the guy whose work stood out to me and inspired me early on in my "career". His work was and is next-level.

Finally landed a copy after looking for soooo long.. I'm one happy white boy.

Sometimes... you just have to wonder what people were thinking when designing things. https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-gear/saddlespur-new-saddle-promises-to-be-more-than-just-a-saddle/

I know, I need to get it sooner than later. Last I looked for it the cheapest I could find a first edition version was $350... unsigned and/or embellished.

Yeah, I understand the push back on a $400 book, but he did sign and embellish each one. I don't fault him for it, he knows his worth and the value in sharing this history, but I'm not from Europe so his influence on my upcoming and learning of the craft is minimal, if any. If it were T-Kid or Dez or Skeme... sure, $400 for a signed and embellished book is a no-brainer for me.

Enjoying this one at the moment...

Hmmm... usually numb hands is a sign your bars are either too close or too far away, but there's other bits that can factor in as well. Things like your saddle fore/aft position, height, and angle. A professional bike fit is always the best route but that can be expensive, so a DIY option is a good bet. It's a lengthy process and you'll definitely go through trial and error before getting it just right, but it's worth the time. Especially if you're doing longer rides. When I do my bike fitting at home I get the pedals to saddle height & fore/aft adjusted first. That's where all my power is coming from so I want to be sure that I've got that correct from the start. From there I figure out the cockpit - stem length, stem rise and/or stack height, bar rotation and hood location. The older I get the more I appreciate mega-padded bar tape, too. DIY Bike Fit

My favorite all-rounder tire is the Donnelley Strada USH. I know with that tire I can go anywhere. Perfect for road, great in gravel & dirt, too. Honestly, I've had the same front tire for almost 18 months and only had to replace the rear one twice in that same amount of time. I used to ride the Schwalbe G-One Allround tire for a long time but while it's great for gravel and dirt it wears way too fast on the road.

Ah, I see. I was looking at the wrong website. I was looking at Bike Tires Direct. Sorry about that! The nice thing about the one you're looking at is that it takes up to 42c tires, should you want that. Gives you the ability to run bigger, softer tires for that plush ride feel. It's also nice that it comes with mounts for fenders and bags, could be the ultimate commuter and/or get out of town bike. I have a much older version of that frame that I use for my get-around-town bike. I love it. It's my little snot rocket. It's solid, it's quick, and will probably outlast me. The older I get the more I rely on the front brake and my knees just can't handle the back-pedal/skid-stop anymore. I'm slowly transitioning to riding my e-bike more anyway.

@Elena Delle Donne- I don't see any Mercier or Motobecane bikes on BTD. Are you sure it's their website you're looking at? That being said, I don't know anything about those brands other than they exist.

My wife is a Jehovah's Witness, so I showed this to her and she said "Oh yeah, no one answered the door but we could see someone hiding behind the curtains. We'll try again next week".

I don't know if anyone is watching the Tour de France this year, but damn... it's been a corker so far. The speed at which these guys are going for the entire stage is bonkers. Even more so when you consider in the mountain stages some of them are attacking up an 7% - 8% gradient at, like, 20+mph and holding it for several kilometers. It's phenomenal. This two just keep punching at each other and it's been exciting to watch.

Yeah, I get it, but I still don't see him spending a single day behind bars.

Trump will never see a day in jail, ever. Everyone around might, but he never will. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see his ignorant-ass locked up but there has been lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit and he walks away from all of them. So I have zero faith in him getting jail time, ever.

LOVE that belt drive - congrats on the cool, new bike! About eight years ago Raleigh had a single-speed CX bike that I really wanted for racing but I never bought it and I've been kicking myself ever since.

@T4M* - The first thing I would do is decide what your hourly rate is. From there I would think about how long you think this is going to take you. I've no idea how long it takes to build a website as it's not the level of design I do, but I would assume it's a long process with at least a handful of revisions. Let's say your hourly rate is $75 (fairly typical design rate unless you're really good and in demand). And let's say you know for sure it'll take you no more than 80 hours of design/development time. I would pad that design time by 10%-20% to cover your ass should the client go sideways with an extra revision, or a last minute ask. A few things you can up front is set the number of revisions. In your bid you can say what your fee is to design the website, how many rounds of design changes that fee covers, and what they'll get in the end for that fee. Make a note that anything outside the original agreed upon scope of work will require an adjustment in your fee. Last thing you want is to agree to a fee for the work you'll be doing and then end up doing a bunch of work you didn't agree on because you weren't clear up front. If you can lay out a roadmap/calendar that outlines the scope of work you're being asked to do and shows the target dates you'll hit for that work - that will set you up with targets/deadlines and lets them know when they can expect a round 1, round 2, round 3, final design, live launch of their website, etc. I typically like to know from the client what it is they're looking for as far as style of design. In your case, I would ask them to share a few websites they like or think fits their brand style which will give you a style of design to chase. I don't know much about events & promo costs but I would assume it's fairly expensive. Is this more about a social media presence for the brand? And always, always get 50% down to start the work.