Tag Archives: juggling

One-Car Garage

  • two Harley-Davidson motorcycles
  • one Jeep Wrangler
  • three adult-sized bicycles
  • two unicycles (24-inch and 36-inch wheels)
  • two floor-to-ceiling sets of shelves (spanning entire back wall, packed full)
  • one hydraulic motorcycle/ATV jack
  • one bolt-to-the-floor tire changer/bead breaker
  • two air compressors on carts (one a 2-cylinder commercial unit)
  • one eye-height tool chest (wheeled, full)
  • one vacuum cleaner
  • two 35-gallon recycling containers
  • lumber (approximately 120 cubic feet)
  • one folding workbench (yep, folded)
  • one set of two medium-duty automotive service ramps
  • three aluminum ladders (16-foot extension; 24-foot extension; 16-foot folding scaffold)
  • one 10-ton hydraulic log splitter
  • one 65-gallon trash can
  • assorted yard tools (shovels, rakes, hoes, brooms, and so on.)
  • and more small stuff (too various and numerous to mention)

The garage is packed kinda tight tonight.

There’s a storm coming that could dump a foot of snow – the largest snowfall here in about two years. I’ve got space outside to park the pickup, but I want the Jeep off the street.

It’s positively astounding what you can fit into a tiny space with just a little bit of planning!

Torch Failure

I spent some time throwing torches this evening. Scratch that. I mean not quite throwing torches. Or maybe the throwing was going okay, but the catching failed.

Oh, I’ve got plenty of excuses. Want to hear some? I’m getting over a cold. I just finished dinner. I’ve been slacking on my practice. My left wrist is a little sore. My mind was preoccupied with other stuff. That enough?

The doubles I started with were acceptable, I guess, but as dusk went to dark I couldn’t even get simple cascades to flow. Drop after drop after drop. I was glad the surface was asphalt – it doesn’t burn!

Well, there’s a bright side to everything. Despite a performance failure I didn’t set fire to myself or anything else!

The Hidden Costs of Juggling

No one can ignore the fact that fuel costs have risen dramatically in recent years. Gasoline, heating oil, even peripheral stuff that uses petroleum in manufacturing or transport, all has increased costs today. I feel it in the wallet just like everyone else. But I still had a ‘duh’ moment at the checkout register when I picked up a few cans of white gas to fuel my torches.

My stash of fuel had finally run dry. It’s been a while since I bought the stuff retail. Three years according to the database, almost to the day. In 2004 I paid $12 per gallon in 32 ounce cans at an Eastern Mountain Sports store.

I stood next to the display rack stacking a handful of cans into my right arm, mentally multiplying the shelf price of $10.95 per 32 ounce can, when it hit me! The shock was quickly followed by the realization that the increased cost makes perfect sense.

At least they were running some kind of sale. I got a few bucks off and, to my surprise, there was no sales tax either.

So what’s the metric for consumption, the equivalent of miles per gallon, for juggling torches? And in these days when everyone’s going ‘green’ has California outlawed fire juggling, labeling practitioners as horrible, vile polluters?