Sunday, October 29, 2006
well i've just had a really cool weekend. one of those weekends just kind of make you think you know why you enjoy life. this summer is building up to be one of the biggest ever, if spring is anything to go by.
i was meant to go diving after work on friday. but a combination of equipment problems and desire for a beer to unwind after a toxic week led me to one of the local pubs for a drink with some workmates instead. then it was off to another mates' place to borrow some more equipment so that i could go for a dive the next day.
i wasn't really keen on the friday night dive anyway. i don't like using new gear on a night dive. i like to keep the fuckup factor to a minimum. don't try too many changes at once, and none at night that you haven't previously tested. an afternoon dive would have been ok, but daylight savings hadn't started, and getting away early on a friday is pretty much impossible. from where i was sitting that afternoon, i thought the night dive was probably going to be ok. the bureau of meteorology wasn't showing any significant swell, and the winds were offshore. but it turned out that the conditions were good when they got in the water, but the wind swung and it was crap when they got out, with a prick of an exit. screw that. i'm too spoiled for hard shit like that ;-)
new tanks with my mate's regs bit of a spaghetti factory, but will be severly simplified when i get my own extra set of regulators.
so saturday morning i was up at sparrow fart getting organised. still managed to be running late though, by the time i packed the car, picked up the kids, and headed off, i was destined to about 5-10 mins late at the meeting point. no worries, the others weren't on time either. but then i was driving along, and when i got to a bendy bit of road that i like, i got right into it before getting caught up behind traffic. 5 mins later i realised i should have turned off before the bends. oops. u-turn, a few shortcuts (i'll call them shortcuts untill i prove otherwise) and i got there just as one of the others did, who was also running late.
bass point, shellharbour. the gravel loader. a cool little dive. one of my mates found a big wobbegong in a big rock cave, some cool little cuttlefish, some cool schools of pike and the coolest, at least 40-50 big boxfish schooling around. chains and other stuff, assorted metal bits, a little nudi. there was a cool little yellow catfish, but the only shots i got in focus, was the little bastard swimming away.
unfortunately, like an idiot, i didn't put in fresh batteries, so after each shot it took at least 30-45 seconds for the flash to recharge. those boxfish should have been the coolest subjects, but the best i got was this
when i finally got out, the kids were a bit cold and didn't feel like snorkelling after all. so we bailed out back home for lunch then got ready for a haloween party that night.
we weren't the most prepared (like i'm ever prepared) but we did some face paint, and went as brandon lee from the crow, a witch, and a dead jester. it was fun anyway.
sunday turned up, and we weren't ready for it. daylight savings, what a drag. especially when i have to get up earlier. so we looked out and thought it probably wasn't such a good day for the beach. but we thought we'd try anyway, rushed around like black ants and got to the beach. my son and i had numb faces from the cold after about 30 mins and my daughter refused to get in. it was fun though. one of those giggle and shiver things hehehe
i really can't define what made this such a great weekend. but i know, there's gonna be more. bring it on
i was meant to go diving after work on friday. but a combination of equipment problems and desire for a beer to unwind after a toxic week led me to one of the local pubs for a drink with some workmates instead. then it was off to another mates' place to borrow some more equipment so that i could go for a dive the next day.
i wasn't really keen on the friday night dive anyway. i don't like using new gear on a night dive. i like to keep the fuckup factor to a minimum. don't try too many changes at once, and none at night that you haven't previously tested. an afternoon dive would have been ok, but daylight savings hadn't started, and getting away early on a friday is pretty much impossible. from where i was sitting that afternoon, i thought the night dive was probably going to be ok. the bureau of meteorology wasn't showing any significant swell, and the winds were offshore. but it turned out that the conditions were good when they got in the water, but the wind swung and it was crap when they got out, with a prick of an exit. screw that. i'm too spoiled for hard shit like that ;-)
new tanks with my mate's regs bit of a spaghetti factory, but will be severly simplified when i get my own extra set of regulators.
so saturday morning i was up at sparrow fart getting organised. still managed to be running late though, by the time i packed the car, picked up the kids, and headed off, i was destined to about 5-10 mins late at the meeting point. no worries, the others weren't on time either. but then i was driving along, and when i got to a bendy bit of road that i like, i got right into it before getting caught up behind traffic. 5 mins later i realised i should have turned off before the bends. oops. u-turn, a few shortcuts (i'll call them shortcuts untill i prove otherwise) and i got there just as one of the others did, who was also running late.
bass point, shellharbour. the gravel loader. a cool little dive. one of my mates found a big wobbegong in a big rock cave, some cool little cuttlefish, some cool schools of pike and the coolest, at least 40-50 big boxfish schooling around. chains and other stuff, assorted metal bits, a little nudi. there was a cool little yellow catfish, but the only shots i got in focus, was the little bastard swimming away.
unfortunately, like an idiot, i didn't put in fresh batteries, so after each shot it took at least 30-45 seconds for the flash to recharge. those boxfish should have been the coolest subjects, but the best i got was this
when i finally got out, the kids were a bit cold and didn't feel like snorkelling after all. so we bailed out back home for lunch then got ready for a haloween party that night.
we weren't the most prepared (like i'm ever prepared) but we did some face paint, and went as brandon lee from the crow, a witch, and a dead jester. it was fun anyway.
sunday turned up, and we weren't ready for it. daylight savings, what a drag. especially when i have to get up earlier. so we looked out and thought it probably wasn't such a good day for the beach. but we thought we'd try anyway, rushed around like black ants and got to the beach. my son and i had numb faces from the cold after about 30 mins and my daughter refused to get in. it was fun though. one of those giggle and shiver things hehehe
i really can't define what made this such a great weekend. but i know, there's gonna be more. bring it on
Saturday, October 21, 2006
we're going back to wakefield park, early november. i like it there. but it's hard work. but perhaps it's showing me what i need to be doing at eastern creek and phillip island. if i work as hard at either of those two tracks as i do at wakefield, then i'll either be going a lot quicker, or i'll be a lot more unco than normal.
but i really need to get a whole lot smoother. fast and smooth. and gotta work out what to do with my knees. the way i'm riding at the moment they touch down while hugging the fairing, i've gotta move my arse around differently and have my legs next to a thinner part of the fairing. Dirk was right, my knees do stick out too much, i hug the wrong part of the fairing. so it's time to go slower again :-)
but i really need to get a whole lot smoother. fast and smooth. and gotta work out what to do with my knees. the way i'm riding at the moment they touch down while hugging the fairing, i've gotta move my arse around differently and have my legs next to a thinner part of the fairing. Dirk was right, my knees do stick out too much, i hug the wrong part of the fairing. so it's time to go slower again :-)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
got nothing exciting to report. but i got a new book called "the rapture of the deep and other dive stories you probably shouldn't know" by Michael Zinsley. i'm only a couple of pages into it but i have to share this quote.
"Q. In what month do Australians drink the least amount of beer?
A. February. It has the least amount of days." Mind Trap
dunno what mind trap is but i like the quote :-)
"Q. In what month do Australians drink the least amount of beer?
A. February. It has the least amount of days." Mind Trap
dunno what mind trap is but i like the quote :-)
Sunday, October 15, 2006
my wierd life. i like having an online blog. i can vent and let crap out. but sometimes i gotta edit it. got a few relatives and friends that read it, it can really bite you on the arse. maybe i should make another entry in my diary. it's been about 5 years, might be time for another one.
i knew my life was at a cusp, but i still don't know which way it's going. at the moment i'm stuck in the nothing. a few weeks ago i was excited and animated, but now i'm in a void.
i think there a few factors. it's spring, my hormones have woken up and the bit of my brain that wants nooky seems to be getting all the blood that the parts of my brain that may (or may not) be capable of logic, should be getting. my job is annoying the shit out of me. i need to get on top of it, take control, and make it a job again, rather than a big fat bag of stress. my weekend diving gig has jumped up a notch, with a little extra stress. i'm still enjoying it, but i'd prefer the way it was before. i like being a dumb deckie. being the divemaster is a little more difficult, but it can be quite rewarding. and my lovelife. well the less said about that, the better. it's probably for the best that nothing is happening there, no lovelife means i can't screw up someone else's life. when it comes to relationships, think kamikazi, only kamikazi was apparently a very rigidly enforced and dedicated form of suicide, whilst my lovelife is kinda like an unco terrorist with a flamethrower, a wooden leg and termites.
all amped up, and nowhere to go. i think another few trips to the track will fix me.
one of the guys on the boat this weekend inspired me though. this lad has malformed arms. he only has very short arms, and 3 fingers on each hand, kinda reminds me of the thalidamide kids, he can reach his face and that's about it. but he's having fun with his life. he's a good diver, gets out and about and has a good outlook. sometimes when i feel down, guys like this with big hearts, remind me how lucky i am.
i knew my life was at a cusp, but i still don't know which way it's going. at the moment i'm stuck in the nothing. a few weeks ago i was excited and animated, but now i'm in a void.
i think there a few factors. it's spring, my hormones have woken up and the bit of my brain that wants nooky seems to be getting all the blood that the parts of my brain that may (or may not) be capable of logic, should be getting. my job is annoying the shit out of me. i need to get on top of it, take control, and make it a job again, rather than a big fat bag of stress. my weekend diving gig has jumped up a notch, with a little extra stress. i'm still enjoying it, but i'd prefer the way it was before. i like being a dumb deckie. being the divemaster is a little more difficult, but it can be quite rewarding. and my lovelife. well the less said about that, the better. it's probably for the best that nothing is happening there, no lovelife means i can't screw up someone else's life. when it comes to relationships, think kamikazi, only kamikazi was apparently a very rigidly enforced and dedicated form of suicide, whilst my lovelife is kinda like an unco terrorist with a flamethrower, a wooden leg and termites.
all amped up, and nowhere to go. i think another few trips to the track will fix me.
one of the guys on the boat this weekend inspired me though. this lad has malformed arms. he only has very short arms, and 3 fingers on each hand, kinda reminds me of the thalidamide kids, he can reach his face and that's about it. but he's having fun with his life. he's a good diver, gets out and about and has a good outlook. sometimes when i feel down, guys like this with big hearts, remind me how lucky i am.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
i've said it before, and i'll say it again. i just never get the hang of thursdays.
this thursday just gone was a classic example. i've just finished the whole "getting into debt for a house" process. thursday the 5th of oct was the date of my first repayment. this date has a few private sentimental issues for me as well. and i had an absolutely shithouse day at work.
i know i.t. is a moving, busy, hectic industry. but my boss is completely unable to say no. he has the backbone of a fucking jellyfish when it comes to telling people that "It Is Just Not Going To Be Fucking Ready Until We Have Tested The Options, So Fuck Off!" (i should empathise here that i actually like my boss and have a good working relationship, but when it comes to backbone, from above, he has none, only in response from below)
only days after i told one of the managers that he couldn't connect to our vpn, as it was overcrowded and we hadn't yet evaluated our options, the spineless prick said he could connect. plus reversed my decisions on a few other crucial security issues. i'm not making any decisions anymore. he can have the fucking lot. one of the things i didn't like about getting into debt was my reliance on a steady income. but i was a bee's dick from telling him to take his job and shove it up his arse on thursday arvo.
i'll just have to spend a few days letting everything else go, piss off a few other people, and work out this particular problem. should he choose the path he's pushing without letting me research properly, it can be his fucking problem. if it fucks up, you won't see me for the dust.
so at the end of thursday i was amped up and extremely fucking pissed off.
friday morning it was up at sparrow's fart to drive to goulburn for a track day at wakefield..
i'd never ridden at wakefield before. but i love watching the track. from the spectator mound near the pits, you can see the entire track as it winds up the hill, back down again, off to the right on the short, back straight, before the main straight which runs down in front of you, with a right hand kink, then a 90 degree right hand turn back up the hill.
my first session was terrible. i couldn't get into a rhythm and it felt very very bumpy, especially in places where i really wanted to open up or lean right over. i thought i had a pogo stick instead of front forks and after the dude that lets you out on the track moaned at me about the state of my front tyre (we always start on the leftovers from the last session) my confidence was shot to hell.
there was no way i could go fast, nor could i give myself a lovely high speed scare as i never felt comfortable.
when our second rider took off next, in the emptiest of fields, we noticed that when braking for the first turn the front tyre looked really flat. (turned out to be 20 psi, oops, we didn't check the pressures) so we put some air in for the next session, and our quickest rider went out and spent the entire session going past everyone. turned out that they'd put the slow and medium groups out together (the session i rode first) then our second rider went out in the quickest session.
so we worked out what had gone wrong, changed the front, got out in the correct groups, then changed the rear and a few front suspension settings.
and then my day changed.
i never really relaxed like i do at phillip island or eastern creek, but i started turning in a bit. it's quite a big braking effort for turn one (ok, turn two, turn one is a kink so you're leaning over as you brake hard). i reckon if i ever work that turn out i'll drop another part of a second a lap, as you can get through there quite quickly, which really sets you up for the fun uphill blast. i was never really unsettled for turn 3, but turn 4 gave me an unexpected problem. i was hitting turn 4 hard, then washing off speed for turn 5 before winding up back down the hill, when i felt something brush my right knee. i don't hang my knee out, i grip the fairing, so i figured i musta been leaning over the ripple strip, so i took it wider from then on, and kept my speed up. and i hit it even harder, on the tarmac. trying not to panic or head for the grass. so after that i was a bit wierd through that turn. the way i turn doesn't really give me a lot of room between my knee and the tarmac as my knee is a lot further forward than the others. maybe i just need thinner knee scrapers. the others sit further back and their knee has a lot more room. i chased one guy around a long left hander, he had his knee hovering over the deck while mine was tucked up.
maybe i need to learn to put my knee down, but i think i'll persevere with my natural kooky style.
anyway. apparently the superbike guys get around here in 1 minute flat, our lead rider got down to about 1 min 6 secs, and the next to 1 min 8. they were happy with that but 6-8 seconds is apparently a lot harder to find here that at eastern creek or phillip island. i was quite happy with my 1 min 12-13 second quickest times. as there was only 3 groups, slow, medium and fast, i was in the slow group. i think there was 30-40 riders in all, whilst at eastern creek you can have 30 riders in a group. when i'm in the next fastest group i don't mind blasting past in many places, but with the slowest group i don't like to upset anyone. so i spent a little while waiting for the ideal opportunity. i figure everyone is here for fun, at their own level, people who are just cruising around and enjoying the experience, don't need someone on an ex superbike stuffing them up into a corner. so i don't. there wasn't a lot separating the slow and medium groups, in our last session before going home the other two were stuffed so i went out in the medium group. some of the riders were about the same speed as the slow group, but one guy shadowed me around the whole track, without being able to get past. i reckon he was wondering why i wasn't overtaking everyone, as i was on the same bike and wearing the same leathers as our second fastest guy.
in the quickest group was a guy on a works bmw, an ex-superbike dude with considerable experience apparently. my brother told our quick guy that this dude was going quicker than he was. this turned out to be a good incentive for him to go faster. we call this "self tightening nuts". if you leave him alone, he'll tighten his own nuts, but if you drop a few select comments, he gives them an extra twist. in the past, when we were racing a bike which we shall forever call "the pig", this could win races or cause interest accidents, but now he seems to be a lot more cautious, and he can go faster without coming to grief.
the next day i realised how hard i'd been working. my arms and legs were stuffed. at eastern creek i am never this tired. even after putting on good tires and some suspension changes, it was still a little bumpy and i managed to lift my rear tyre or move it around under braking when i'd tried some stupid things.
good stress relief. tomorrow should be interesting though.
this thursday just gone was a classic example. i've just finished the whole "getting into debt for a house" process. thursday the 5th of oct was the date of my first repayment. this date has a few private sentimental issues for me as well. and i had an absolutely shithouse day at work.
i know i.t. is a moving, busy, hectic industry. but my boss is completely unable to say no. he has the backbone of a fucking jellyfish when it comes to telling people that "It Is Just Not Going To Be Fucking Ready Until We Have Tested The Options, So Fuck Off!" (i should empathise here that i actually like my boss and have a good working relationship, but when it comes to backbone, from above, he has none, only in response from below)
only days after i told one of the managers that he couldn't connect to our vpn, as it was overcrowded and we hadn't yet evaluated our options, the spineless prick said he could connect. plus reversed my decisions on a few other crucial security issues. i'm not making any decisions anymore. he can have the fucking lot. one of the things i didn't like about getting into debt was my reliance on a steady income. but i was a bee's dick from telling him to take his job and shove it up his arse on thursday arvo.
i'll just have to spend a few days letting everything else go, piss off a few other people, and work out this particular problem. should he choose the path he's pushing without letting me research properly, it can be his fucking problem. if it fucks up, you won't see me for the dust.
so at the end of thursday i was amped up and extremely fucking pissed off.
friday morning it was up at sparrow's fart to drive to goulburn for a track day at wakefield..
i'd never ridden at wakefield before. but i love watching the track. from the spectator mound near the pits, you can see the entire track as it winds up the hill, back down again, off to the right on the short, back straight, before the main straight which runs down in front of you, with a right hand kink, then a 90 degree right hand turn back up the hill.
my first session was terrible. i couldn't get into a rhythm and it felt very very bumpy, especially in places where i really wanted to open up or lean right over. i thought i had a pogo stick instead of front forks and after the dude that lets you out on the track moaned at me about the state of my front tyre (we always start on the leftovers from the last session) my confidence was shot to hell.
there was no way i could go fast, nor could i give myself a lovely high speed scare as i never felt comfortable.
when our second rider took off next, in the emptiest of fields, we noticed that when braking for the first turn the front tyre looked really flat. (turned out to be 20 psi, oops, we didn't check the pressures) so we put some air in for the next session, and our quickest rider went out and spent the entire session going past everyone. turned out that they'd put the slow and medium groups out together (the session i rode first) then our second rider went out in the quickest session.
so we worked out what had gone wrong, changed the front, got out in the correct groups, then changed the rear and a few front suspension settings.
and then my day changed.
i never really relaxed like i do at phillip island or eastern creek, but i started turning in a bit. it's quite a big braking effort for turn one (ok, turn two, turn one is a kink so you're leaning over as you brake hard). i reckon if i ever work that turn out i'll drop another part of a second a lap, as you can get through there quite quickly, which really sets you up for the fun uphill blast. i was never really unsettled for turn 3, but turn 4 gave me an unexpected problem. i was hitting turn 4 hard, then washing off speed for turn 5 before winding up back down the hill, when i felt something brush my right knee. i don't hang my knee out, i grip the fairing, so i figured i musta been leaning over the ripple strip, so i took it wider from then on, and kept my speed up. and i hit it even harder, on the tarmac. trying not to panic or head for the grass. so after that i was a bit wierd through that turn. the way i turn doesn't really give me a lot of room between my knee and the tarmac as my knee is a lot further forward than the others. maybe i just need thinner knee scrapers. the others sit further back and their knee has a lot more room. i chased one guy around a long left hander, he had his knee hovering over the deck while mine was tucked up.
maybe i need to learn to put my knee down, but i think i'll persevere with my natural kooky style.
anyway. apparently the superbike guys get around here in 1 minute flat, our lead rider got down to about 1 min 6 secs, and the next to 1 min 8. they were happy with that but 6-8 seconds is apparently a lot harder to find here that at eastern creek or phillip island. i was quite happy with my 1 min 12-13 second quickest times. as there was only 3 groups, slow, medium and fast, i was in the slow group. i think there was 30-40 riders in all, whilst at eastern creek you can have 30 riders in a group. when i'm in the next fastest group i don't mind blasting past in many places, but with the slowest group i don't like to upset anyone. so i spent a little while waiting for the ideal opportunity. i figure everyone is here for fun, at their own level, people who are just cruising around and enjoying the experience, don't need someone on an ex superbike stuffing them up into a corner. so i don't. there wasn't a lot separating the slow and medium groups, in our last session before going home the other two were stuffed so i went out in the medium group. some of the riders were about the same speed as the slow group, but one guy shadowed me around the whole track, without being able to get past. i reckon he was wondering why i wasn't overtaking everyone, as i was on the same bike and wearing the same leathers as our second fastest guy.
in the quickest group was a guy on a works bmw, an ex-superbike dude with considerable experience apparently. my brother told our quick guy that this dude was going quicker than he was. this turned out to be a good incentive for him to go faster. we call this "self tightening nuts". if you leave him alone, he'll tighten his own nuts, but if you drop a few select comments, he gives them an extra twist. in the past, when we were racing a bike which we shall forever call "the pig", this could win races or cause interest accidents, but now he seems to be a lot more cautious, and he can go faster without coming to grief.
the next day i realised how hard i'd been working. my arms and legs were stuffed. at eastern creek i am never this tired. even after putting on good tires and some suspension changes, it was still a little bumpy and i managed to lift my rear tyre or move it around under braking when i'd tried some stupid things.
good stress relief. tomorrow should be interesting though.
