February 21st, 2018:

	I'm in the doghouse now!  If you've been following me on Mastodon, 
you'll know that last night, Mrs. IPX caught me looking at bikes on Kijiji 
again.  This is kind of a touchy subject as I already own four bikes 
(commuter, road bike/cafe cruiser, hardtail mountain bike, and my folding 
bike) and my bike storage locker is full.  She's put her foot down, and 
won't let me have another bike (even if it's free!).

Of course, her protestations are only half-serious.  She wouldn't really 
care if I buy/acquire another bike or two, she simply doesn't want them 
cluttering the yard (and inviting thieves) or stored inside the house.  
My original plan was to set up a bike workshop in the basement (where my 
computer lab currently resides), but she put the brakes on that idea 
pretty quick.  Doesn't like the smell of rubber (tires) and doesn't want 
our daughter monkeying with my bike tools.

While our daughter *is* a bit young to be playing in my toolbox, she has 
expressed a curiosity in things mechanical.  Whenever I worked on my bikes 
in the yard last summer, she'd run over from her playhouse and plop down 
on the patio next to me, watching intently and quietly.

My parents bought her a little bike for Christmas 2016, and rather than 
ride it, she turned it upside down on her plastic Minnie Mouse lawn chair 
and proceed to tap the bike with a plastic hammer.  "I'm fixing my bike 
like daddy!", she'd say, thankfully omitting the four-letter words that 
normally accompany my working on bikes...

So, as soon as she's able to ride, I'm going to teach her proper bike 
maintenance and simple repairs.  I know she'll catch on fast.