As with many Apple products, the Mighty Mouse is an absoute nightmare to disassemble. Normally I wouldn’t care, but the Mighty Mouse has a major design flaw that results in a non-functional trackball after a relatively short period of normal use.

There is no shortage of how-to guides for cleaning a Mighty Mouse, though most involve a knife and what appears to be permanent damage to the mouse. I’ve tried several non-destructive cleaning methods with limited success. However, I recently found success with a method loosely based of of this one.

My method requires a small motorized car and a little  surface cleaner (409, Sugar Soap, etc.).  Put a small amount of cleaner on the ball, then use the drive wheel of the car to spin the ball in several different directions for a few minutes.  In my experience, after a thorough cleaning the mouse feels as good as new.  As always, do this at your own risk, unplug the mouse before cleaning, and don’t whine if the cleaner fries your mouse.

It’s been a while, but here is another update on my non-Apple TV.  The set up has remain largely unchanged, though the usage has evolved with changes in the available video sources.

First up, hardware.  The system is currently based on a Mac Mini 1.66 GHz Core Du0 with 2GB RAM, and a 500GB internal HDD– the old Mac Mini G4 became someone else’s audio server.  Anyway, the display is a Dell 2209WA 22″ IPS LCD, and the EyeTV 250 is still hanging on.  Input devices are split between a standard keyboard and mouse, which are used infrequently, an Apple remote, an iPod Touch and an iPad.  I’m still using the Air Mouse Mobile Mouse Pro iPod/iPad app, and have added Apple’s Remote app for controlling iTunes.

The EyeTV doesn’t get used a lot these days.  We don’t have cable or satellite, but instead get most non-locally-stored video from online sources.  The EyeTV is attached to an antenna/areal, but broadcast TV isn’t convenient and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.  The digital broadcast available in our area would be nice, but the EyeTV doesn’t have a digital tuner, and I’m not convinced the available content is worth the cost of a new tuner.  Instead, most of the networks here offer their TV programs as streaming video from their websites.  These streaming videos don’t fit into Front Row, but using a full-screen web browser plus Air Mouse is acceptable for the few TV shows that are watched.

The  audio and video stored locally is in iTunes and is accessible via Front Row.  Stored media include our family videos, music, podcasts and a few movies and TV shows.  Front Row is by far the most convenient way to access the “TV”, and is almost solely controlled with an Apple remote.   My only complaint would be the lack of Front Row support for the Apple Remote app for the iPod/iPad, but it is rare that I’d prefer to use this application instead of the physical remote, though I’d still like to have the option.

Aside from the media functions, the Mac Mini also hosts a virtual Microsoft Home Server running under VMware Fusion.  The Home Server has essentially replaced Trash Server, and has the added benefit of saving energy as the Mac Mini is more efficient than the old P4, and would be running anyway.

Last weekend I raced in the Foxy 1000, a 100km enduro race with the claim to fame of 1000m of climbing in each of the four laps.  The race covers much of the single track and fire roads at Fox Creek, and if you’re good at math(s) then you’ll have noted that it climbs over 4000m/13,000ft.  The 2010 course map is below, or go to the Garmin Connect site for an interactive map and elevation.

While the course map and elevation plot do provide good insight into the course, they do not show some important details.  The first half of the course was far more technical and difficult than the second.  The lap starts out with long, steep climbs, and includes downhill runs that were technical and in pretty rough shape after a very wet winter.  The second half on the course had a very fast fire road descent where I hit just under 60kph, though I’m sure others were much faster.  The elevation plot makes the last climb look a lot worse than it felt.  Despite the apparent grade, it was decidedly relaxing compared to the earlier climbs.

There were several classes ranging from the full four-lap 100km down to 75, 50 and 25km options.  I decided to take my chances in the 100km ‘Men’s Open Grade’.  There were a total of 12 in my class, and a total of  47 racing.

My first lap went well.  The climbs were nice, and the downhills were fast and fun.  Looking at the results, I completed the first lap in the eighth fastest time.  The second lap also went well, but by the third lap the fatigue of the downhill was taking its toll.  My second and third laps were much slower than the first, which isn’t so surprising.  At the end of my thrid lap my time was six hours forty-five minutes, and the prospect of another run down the downhill didn’t seem appealing.  Instead, I opted to finish at 75km and watch the rest of the race with some chips and beer.

Overall, I’m happy with my performance.  My official time for my three laps and 75km was 6:45:16, with my computer showing a total ride time of 6:29:37.  The 15 minute discrepancy would be for a water bottle swap after the first lap, and a brief lunch break (half a PB&J and a banana) after the second lap.  Full results are available on the official Foxy 1000 site.  Next year my goal will certainly be to finish all four laps.

Equipment Updates: The Specialized MTB Comp shoes were great. In stark contrast to the old Shimano shoes, I had zero foot pain and am quite happy. As for the bike, the Eriksen worked flawlessly the entire 75km. The drivetrain didn’t have a single fault and the brakes didn’t complain. From a mechanical perspective it was an uneventful race. Though, I will have to say that I replaced the rear derailleur cable and housing, replaced the brake pads, removed and lubed the crank/bb and spent a significant amount of time aligning the chain keeper prior to the race.

For those who are interested in tires/tyres, I used a ~50% worn Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 on the back inflated to 28psi and a fairly chewed-up Hutchinson Toro 2.15 on the front inflated to ~25psi. Neither tire/tyre is “tubeless”, but both are being used as tubeless with Stan’s sealant. The Toro was probably overkill for the course, but it worked well. The Crossmark climbed very well despite significant wear in the center on the tread– I’ve been riding on the road from home, through the city, and up into the hills a lot recently.

I didn’t have any flats or other issues with the tires/tyres, though I did bottom-out the rear tire/tyre once on the first downhill. Having had my share of pinch flats in the past, this impact certainly felt like it would have resulted in one had I been using tubes. +1 for tubeless.

Thanks and photo credits to FBQ for the race photos.  See more race photos of the Foxy 1000.