Section 179 Tax Incentive Calculator for 2010

This is probably only interesting if you lease of finance machine tools but I thought it was cool how little Excel application for one of our clients.

Tech Financial is a machine tool finance company that needed the calculator to demonstrate the savings that the new tax incentives would bring and the amount of the deduction a company would be eligible for under the revised 2010 section 179 tax incentives. It is an Excel worksheet that will let you input numbers and see the result of the calculation using the data from the new version of the Section 179 code changes for 2010.

Section 179 Tax Incentive Calculator for 2010

Working on The Tech Fiancial Web Site

I’m doing some writing about the new version of the Section 179 regulations affecting the manufacturing industry and the leasing or financing of machine tools for Mark over at Tech Financial Services. Pretty interesting stuff and it looks like it will change again for 2011 so it could be a good time to invest in your company!

Update On Jan Wilberg’s Website

I took a look at he site that we did for Jan Wilberg a few months ago and it still looks super! Jan has been great about updating her My Views section that is essentially her blog. She has gotten pretty comfortable with the Wordpress admin area and will be getting more experience soon as we are doing another site Jan is involved with using Wordpress as well. More when that site is ready.

New Work on Tech Financial Machine Tool Leasing Website

I picked up some work through Joe for Tech Financial Services. They offer machine tool leasing services to companies running machines like CNC lathes, CNC mills, robots, lasers and other capital equipment used in the machine tool industry. TechFin works with both dealers selling machine tools and end-users who need to finance their machines.

WORS Sheboygan Wigwam MTB Race Comp/Elite 2009

Man, sometimes if my head were not attached to my shoulders I am sure I’d misplace it. Here is a link to the photos I took at the 2009 WORS Sheboygan Wigwam MTB Race for the Comp/Elite class. It was a cool race. I like the hand off or $5 bills at the top of the steep little climb!

Everyday Cycles Website

I have been working on the website for Everyday Cycles. Everyday Cycles is a custom bike shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin specializing in bicycles for riders who use their bikes for transportation, commuting and, in general, enjoying the pleasure of riding. Everyday Cycles is also a dealer for the Schlick Cycles line of bikes as well as Simplified and Xtracycle. We are still gathering content for the site so keep an eye on it as we build!

Of course we are building the site using Wordpress and will be using a couple of plug-ins to add functionality where we need it.

New Work on a Chiropractic Practice Management Website

I picked up a new job, finally! I will be helping a friend revamp his chiropractic practice management website. He is running a content management system that I helped him get going about 6 or 7 years ago. He has been doing great with keeping it updated with a lot of good information about chiropractic practice management but the old system is kludgy and there are much better tools these days plus we will be making the existing content more accessible and easier to access. In addition, we will be able to finally make the site look A LOT better!

WORS Sheboygan MTB Race Pix

I have the large batch of Sport class pictures from the mountain bike race in Sheboygan on October 12th, 2009 posted at Flickr.

I’ll have another batch of Comp/Elite pix soon.

Short Track Motorcycle Racing Photos

There is a nice gallery of photos I took at the August 15th Aztalan Motorcycle Club Short Track Races. Check ‘em out!

The short track racing at Aztalan is a blast to watch too. Take a look at the club’s website to see when the next race is.

http://www.aztalancycle.com/

Going to Decorah for Some Bike Riding

John and I are heading out in the AM for a trip to the Elroy-Sparta trail, Decorah, IA and a stop to see Tom Teesdale to discuss some of the prototypes and production bike models we have been working on for the past several months. The Schlick Smitty is ready for production with a few tweaks from riding the first three prototypes and I hope we can pick up the Schlick Superfast prototypes on Monday. That would be sweet!

The Schlick Smitty is a versatile bike design! I have had mine set up several different ways and found that the Nexus 8-speed Coaster brake version is, so far, my favorite. Here it is with some Schwalbe Big Apple tires on it. Super for around town!

For the Iowa trip and the longer miles plus gravel I swapped out the Schwalbe Big Apples for some Kenda tires and slapped on some clipless pedals along with a switch from a 42-tooth chainring to a 38-tooth version. The bike was over geared before and, with those long hills around Decorah, I figured I could use a lower gear. We will see tomorrow!

Love Joe Cocker?

Love Joe Cocker? Check out his ‘69 Woodstock performance with “Closed Captioning” -   http://www.elwp.com/Joe%20Cocker.html

I can’t believe that I’ve never seen this before! It clears up some lyrics I wasn’t sure about.

Carrying Your iPhone on Your Bike

I know, why would you want to? Well, bear with me for a minute and I’ll tell you. For me, it is all about the GPS enabled app RunKeeper that records the routes I’ve ridden and gives me feedback on the ride and my performance. (Totally off hand but have you seen the video “Performance, it’s the name of the game!” on YouTube. Hilarious!) Anyway, I needed a convenient way to carry the phone that would optimize the reception for the GPS and provide easy access if I needed the phone. For what it is worth, I don’t feel the need to actually look at the iPhone while I am riding or for that matter make or receive calls, but I like to pause the app when I am stopping for a while so the time spent riding is a bit more accurate. An Auto-Stop feature on RunKeeper would be great!

So, I did a much more extensive review on Carrying the iPhone on your Bike over at the Schlick Cycles website but in a nutshell here are the methods I tried:

Pocket – Poor reception, perspiration issues and potential for dropping the phone led me to a 0/5 rating.

Rear Trunk Bag – Good reception but not convenient plus I might forget it in the bag and have it get ripped off led me to a 2.5/5 rating.

Customized Water Bottle – Good reception, not too convenient, don’t accidently fill w/water and damage potential kept this idea to a 3/5 rating.

Runner’s Armband around the arm – Not a runner and don;t want to look like one, Good reception. Fine if it is your cup of tea. For me 3/5.

Runner’s Armband attached to the bike – Better on bikes like the Schlick Shark or a recumbent where you don’t have to worry about cables or hitting you knee on the thing. Good reception. 3.5/5

iBikePack – Could have been a 4.5/5 but, for me there were knee clearance issues and the strapping system allowed the bad to twist on the bike frame. Worked better on the Shark. For me 4/5

Banjo Brothers Top Tube Bag – Wha Laa! This is for me. Nice and tidy, good reception secure straps, easy access = the whole enchilada! Top rating 5/5!

The Phone Holder on the Banjo Bros Commuter Backpack - Another big thumbs up for this one. The iPhone fits fine but I’d like to see a bit longer strap for this particular phone. Over all though the reception, accessibility and security are all top-notch. I don;t use the backpack on every ride but when I do this is the way to go. Another topper 5/5.