After checking that there are no holes in my shorts (so that I don’t expose myself), I pulled off my bike to the sidewalk, replaced the flat inner tube, inflated it, and continued my ride for a total of 11 miles.

My shopping list: Inner tubes, tire, tire levers (I had to use a wrench), and shorts with more padding.  For the last one, does anybody have any suggestions?

It says, “NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD.”  I don’t know about you, but I could not help but to derive some amusement from it.

Desk before LED upgrade

Thus, I started the project to integrate LED lighting into the venerable Jerker desk from Ikea.

The Sample Order

I began searching for LED light strips on Amazon.com, which offered kits from Inspired LED for $148.  While tempting, I wanted to evaluate the characteristics to see that it is truly something I would want.  After browsing the catalog, I started with this order from Mouser.com:

• (4824) Super Bright 21-LED Panel, Cool White – $13
• (4825) Super Bright 21-LED Starter Kit, Warm White – $22
• Shipping – $7.93

Total: $42.93

Upon arrival of the order, I tried different methods of positioning the panels.  Ultimately, I settled on sticking the cool white LED panel behind the display and the warm white LED panel on top.

Sample LED panels installed

I found the lighting characteristics acceptable, and I decided to press on.

Design

The design process consisted of determining where to run the cables and coming up with a bill of materials so that I order only what is necessary to complete the project.  Since I would not always be reading when I am at my desk, I planned for separate switches for the reading lights and the bias lighting.  The bill of materials for the rest of the projects looked like this:

• (4802) Distribution block – $8
• (4833) Dial dimmer – $20
• 2x (4772) Interconnect, 6 ft. – $10 at $5 ea.
• 3x (4804) Interconnect, 3 in. – $9 at $3 ea.
• (4832) Super Bright 21-LED Expansion Kit, Cool White – $14
• 2x (4823) Super Bright 21-LED Panel, Warm White – $26 at $13 ea.

Total: $87

At the top of the photo with the sample LED panels installed, one could see a bright spot.  This indeed caused some glare, which required me to make a glareshield.  For that, I identified and purchased a metal piece from McMaster-Carr as well as some tooling from Harbor Freight:

• (4630T13) Anodized Aluminum (alloy 6063), 90 Deg Angle, 1/16″ Thick, 5/8″ x 5/8″ Legs, 6′ L – $9.51
• (77185A21) General Purpose Polyethylene Film Tape, 1/2″ Wide x 36 Yards Long – $11.41
• Shipping – $18.46
• 10′ tape measure – $0.99
• Hacksaw – $3.79
• Ratcheting clamp – $3.49
• Sales tax – $0.50

Total: $48.15

Ouch!  That is one expensive glareshield.  At least I get some tooling to keep out of this.

Installation

Adhesives made everything easy, and I only needed to make one cut for the aluminum to bring it to length.  Afterwards, I placed the three warm white LED panels on the metal piece.

I then placed the entire reading lights assembly on the top part of the desk:

The bias lighting was  a much easier affair as it involved sticking the two cool white LED panels on the back of my monitor:

In order to turn on the lamp, I had to stand up to reach the switch.  I remedied this by placing my switches underneath my desk:

Now, to Plug it in and Turn it On!

Bias lighting only

Reading lights only

Full complement

The three photos above were taken with the same exposure settings.  As a result of this installation, light is spread more consistently throughout the desk and I now have much better lights for reading.

For Those Who Wish to Follow My Steps…

For me, the total cost was $178.08, but the cost may be lower for those who want to repeat what I did since you will not need to order a sampler set like I did.  To replicate this project, here’s what you need:

• (4827) Super Bright 21-LED Deluxe Kit, Warm White – $48
• 2x (4824) Super Bright 21-LED Panel, Cool White – $26 @ $13 ea.
• 2x (4772) Interconnect, 6 ft. – $10 at $5 ea.
• 3x (4804) Interconnect, 3 in. – $9 at $3 ea.
• (4802) Distribution block – $8
• (4833) Dial dimmer – $20
• (4630T13) Anodized Aluminum (alloy 6063), 90 Deg Angle, 1/16″ Thick, 5/8″ x 5/8″ Legs, 6′ L – $9.51
• (77185A21) General Purpose Polyethylene Film Tape, 1/2″ Wide x 36 Yards Long – $11.41

Total: $141.92 (excludes cost of tools, shipping, and any taxes)

Of course, feel free to tailor this to your needs.  If you need any help, just visit www.inspiredled.com and click on “Contact Us.”  The representative I worked with helped me throughout the process.  If you order directly from Inspired LED, you can save on shipping costs.

Disclosure: This author did not receive any compensation for the mention of Inspired LED products.

After that, he visited Nepal for two weeks.  During his journey, he witnessed generosity amidst poverty, which inspired him to make a positive impact on their lives.  A chronicle of his journey can be found here.  To this end, he is raising $11,000 so that a village can buy land and raise a new school building and playground there.

As of the writing of this article, he is just a bit past the halfway point.  With your support, the school building and playground can become reality.  Please make your donation at http://www.giveforward.com/namaste-nepal

As I launched my career, I aimed for stability.  It is the stability I recognize the need for if I am to provide for a family.  It is the stability in which I slowly increase my wealth.  It comes with opportunity costs and constraints that I am still struggling to accept.  Sometimes, I can’t help but to feel admiration for the more adventurous folk.  Take, for example, my friend and former coworker Joe.  He decided that the corporate life isn’t for him, so he recently off-boarded from the company and has set off on a road trip.

Joe, if you come across this, I wrote this to say that what you are doing is an act of courage.  I wish you nothing but the best: A reliable car, good health, good weather, and kind people along the way.  I am optimistic that this will be one heckuva story by the time this is over, and I will be following this story wishing that I could do what you do.

You can follow Joe’s journey at www.joesroadtrip.com

In one go, I broke my distance and speed record.  And for anybody interested, there is a kml file you can load into Google Earth for analysis!  This will be my first ride in benefit of a charity, and it feels good to know that my efforts will be in support of research to cure and improve the quality of life for those with diabetes.  If you could, join me by either riding in your locality or making a donation.

Recycling goes here, right?

Right…

WRONG!

As someone who tries to do right by the environment, I found that infuriating.  Well, looks like I’ll have to make that occasional drive to Smyrna to take care of my recycling.  To whoever pulls this crap: Don’t offer “recycling” in which the things to be recycled get lumped into the trash.  It is a waste of your time, it is a waste of my time, and it is outright deceptive.

I declined, for the one credit card and one debit card presently in my wallet are all I need.

Speaking of inability to drive, I drove to get dinner and saw someone else blatantly run a red light and almost get hit.

After paying off my student loans, I got myself a Dell UltraSharp U2410 and an Ergotron LX Dual swing arm.  Installing it turned into a weekend project as I made my desk just so.  Well, here’s “just so.”  You’ll see in the below pics that most of my wiring is hidden on the sides.

Remember this addition to the Texas Constitution that got approved over 3:1 back in 2005 (Proposition 2, adds Section 32 in the Texas Constitution)?

The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

During one of my rounds through the Internet before heading off to work, I came across this article: http://www.star-telegram.com/local_news/story/1770445.html It became a conversational bit I carried to work with me one day, and I got some very good discussion out of it.  Some think it’s a politician’s ploy to get support from the LGBT community.  One person believes that if this were to come up in court, the intent of the law will settle things and precedent would follow.  There was a consensus, however, that it could’ve been worded better and more well-thought-out.  Before banning gay marriage, perhaps divorce and infidelity should be made illegal first.

I’ve been told to lighten up.  Whoever tells me that needs to give me a flashlight.