Waiting to go ...

My view ... for a lot of the time. Just a bike, ready and waiting to go.

Do i understand?

Ok, something someone sent by email, usually i don't notice too much, but this one is just too true.

LET ME SEE IF I UNDERSTAND ALL THIS...

If you cross the North Korean Border illegally you get 12 years hard labor.
If you cross the Iranian Border illegally you are detained indefinitely.
If you cross the Afghan Border illegally, you get shot.
If you cross the Saudi Arabian Border illegally you will be jailed.
If you cross the Chinese Border illegally you may never be heard from again.
If you cross the Venezuelan Border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed.
If you cross the Cuban Border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot.

HOWEVER

If you cross the South African Border illegally you get

* a job,
* a drivers license,
* a pension card,
* welfare,
* credit cards,
* subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house,
* a free education and
* free health care.

Perks include

* weapons of your choice.

And in South Africa you can

* murder,
* use drugs,
* drink and drive,
* steal,
* rape

BUT PLEASE South Africans DON'T SMOKE in a public place - it is illegal.

Otoya

I've held off saying anything, nothing to say really, except may the dead and survivors both find peace.

Then i saw this article, from IOL, and it seems to some up everything very well.

Rider Henrik Bauer Larsen said at Lake Tyrifjorden, looking out towards Utoeya island: “We've got Hell's Angels, Coffin Cheaters and Outlaws riding side-by-side out here tonight - the first time these gangs have ever ridden together.

“These groups are not friends - normally, they fight tough - but we agreed there would be no politics here, that everybody would stand together.

“In each of these clubs, somebody knew people who died on the island - we just wanted to pay our respects to the victims and their families.”

“The truce won't last,” he admitted, “but even the police bikers wanted to join in when they saw the Tommy’s Facebook invitation on Sunday.”

NSRI Request

As these things go, my dearly beloved name was abused, again.



I received a call from the NSRI, National Sea Rescue Institute. They're raising money as ever, to cover what must be a very expensive operation, and like everywhere else in SA, do not receive their due share of the taxes we pay. Also, thanks to the lottery abortion, they are severely restricted in the way they raise funds.

I sadly cannot donate anything, that's the way it is. Truthfully, i'd rather be out there working with them. But these things go round, and i'm reposting here to hopefully inspire someone a bit more financially endowed than i to give a little bit.

They offer a R25pm "contribution", tied to a lucky draw.

Either way, if you're moved to do so, give Geran a call on 021 430 4715 and help him hit target. You could also go visit the NSRI website and see what they do, as well as donate directly.

Here in jozi the sea is a distant dream. Damn i miss the ocean.

peace

I'd like to meet him ...

PEACE AND LOVE, in their purest forms.

Velomobiel

Velomobiel

Here you can read a story about building a streamline to fit my Honda Innova 125i.

But first I present you a list of mpg and some background information with it.



A project to decrease the fuel consumption of a 125 scooter. Aside from the astonishingly well made result, his work and analyses are painstakingly accurate and meticulous. From conception to completion, he displays the most rigorous criteria for achieving his goals.

Quite a large webpage, but worth the time to follow his journey.

Enjoy!!!

Back to work

*blink*

*yawn*

*blink again*

I'm at my desk in my office. After being off for a week, Monday morning traffic came as a hammer blow to the senses. But i'm feeling way better already, i'm not some energiser bunny with flat batteries, which is kinda accurate for the last few months.

I found a few items of interest which i'll post soonish, a lot happened in the last week, some good some bad. I hope this week brings only the good stuff!

peace

No petrol

Following on the last post, nothing is indeed better than not needing petrol at all, or if you will, a lot less. I'm stuck at home this week.

Not voluntarily, and thankfully it's not the bike that's bust. It's me. Broked. By order of the doctor, i am sent to bed with 3 meals a day and pills for pudding. And one of them fancy inhaler thingys. I also got read the riot act about smoking, the doc looked quite smug with his admonishings, i almost expected a finger wagging too. funny thing though, as soon as i pointed out the real problem, which is bad airconditioning for 8 hours a day, he dropped the smoking ....

He also pointed out that there was no scientific basis for believing that vitamins aid the body in recuperating. The only reason to take vitamins for him, was a vitamin deficiency. So on his recommendation that a vitamin b12 (i think it is) is only useful for it's placebo effect (*snigger*) i'm going to get one, as soon as i can get there.

So home, doing some work (*gasp*) listening to Janis ... dreams of summertime in this cold ;-) Now if i can only convince myself that i'm allowed to sleep in the daytime, if only for this week, then i'll really heal well :D

Peace and love, don't work too hard!

#gotpetrol

Go there, when you, you know, need petrol, and can't find. Twitter btw.

Mobs swamping garages at the sight of tankers, petrol attendants being extra careful to get your cash without you leaving first ... it took a week?

And the cars just keep rolling, highways full. You can't stop, not really. I don't go out much, but this weekend, was Centurion today and going to be Benoni tomorrow ... i'm going to need fuel again. Accident on the highway, http://twitpic.com/5r02fz cars backed up for about 5km? The truck had crossed all the lanes, and i think dropped cargo, i saw wire frames and hay. 5 lanes and none moving, except for the bikes, whizzing precariously past.

When i filled up, a bakkie driver marveled at my bike, at the 20km/l i get. His old nissen 1 toner would be a thirsty drive ... but the funniest are the comments about not being able to afford to drive anyway. It's getting there. Wife and i both get 20km/l, she drives a 1.0 spark, 3cyl thing. Horrid, but functional. But the highways are so full anyway, this country just requires you to cross land. I can think of 2 friends that i could visit and walk to, every other friend or family requires a drive of half an hour to an hour. Maybe it's just me ... but i don't see how you can stop using both petrol and roads and the wear and tear, even if you use public transport, you're still paying all that. Public transport is a massive cash rape scheme in south africa, and now with the toll roads they've taken it to the ultimate, we will toll you to get to work in the morning.

I'm kinda hoping this all goes down soon, i'm sick of the constant build up. Let's release some pent up energy.

SHAME ON THINK BIKE

I have to say something, although what i've yet to actually formulate.

Here's an basic outline of yesterday's events:
Think banned blanket banned people believed to be involved in the Helivac Marshalling team.
Now Helivac marshalls were formed because the Think Bike "team" had become too unpleasant to remain in, for MANY marshalls, and they wanted an alternate way of keeping cyclists safe.

Think Bike however, has decided that Helivac are a threat to the commercial interests of Think Bike, and so henceforth banned, no arguments. The list of banned includes both people who were not Helivac marshalls, and fully paid up Think Bike members.

Now apart from being a cunt, TB has also completely disrespected both it's paid up members, and the community at large, which it is bound to "foster". It has also clearly shown that TB is no longer a community of safety orientated bikers, but a narrow minded small group who wish to exercise their rights to free trade (and profit i imagine), while using a section 21 company to do it.

I don't think i'd be too concerned if they were open about it, but while this all is going on, there's a whole SHHHH don't say anything or you'll be banned attitude on TB, and don't talk about the YOU KNOW WHAT, otherwise you'll be threatening TB's public image and fiscal well being, or something. So a public NPO that advertises itself as a community based organisation, is now actively destroying the small community that exists, of bikers who are PASSIONATE about safety of ALL road users.

I'm way pissed off about this, and they don't even have the guts to debate these issues publicly, relying on hiding, deleting, obfuscating, ignoring and other bits of silliness.

There are enough anal bike gangs, i mean clubs around, and they're all a dismal failure in terms of reaching a WIDE audience. Think Bike is different, was different, is SUPPOSED to be different ... but i guess not.

TB is not a charity, it's a group motivated by commercial interests, that will not hesitate to enforce whatever might it has. Nuff said.

Apparently there is a discussion in members only places, i'll read that later once everybody has had their say and i'll let you know if there's anything juicy.

It's all in the mind

I came to a rather startling conclusion last night, about motorbike riding. The entire journey is taking place in your head, probably about 1-2 seconds ahead of your body. There's a definite split that happens when you ride, and you are constantly focused on in front of you. I think to a certain degree it's almost like the SUBconscious takes over, and leads for some time, trailing the conscious behind, to merely witness the experience.

Bang, wait, ok. So this means .... ?

We're busy with the Toyrun. Planning, scheming, organising, etc. Essentially what has to happen is the toyrun needs to take place in our heads, first. Not only the run, but possible runs, possible problems, and and every alternative scenario needs to take place in our heads before we even start. Is this the same? I think so.

Humans are the only creatures that are able to exercise this ability, of looking forward into time. Of course, since it's hidden we never really see clearly, but we have the imaginative ability to look forward, and hypothesis about what could come, based on our previous experiences. In the sense of the Toyrun, it's a vast body of information that needs to be processed a long time in advance. Starts, routes, end venue, food, security, saftey, toy collection, distribution, etc. All of these need to be forethought, pre-invisioned if you wish, until the day when all these parts actualise and become reality.

Faster and faster and faster ....

Until you're on the ride, which you've now done several hundred times in your head already. You're moving at the speed of thought, faster .... your mind is focussed on there ... that spot in front of you that you know you will be at in about ... half a second. The faster you go, the further away that spot goes ... until you're focused at that point in the horison ... and you are already there!!! It's just your body that is BEHIND YOU ... being dragged forward by scientific certainty.

I hope i've explained it ok, i know that now that i've identified it, i'll feel it a lot more. But it hints at something much bigger than that, almost bordering on the mystical. It becomes a waking separation of consciousness, where the subconscious takes over primacy of the body's actions. It explains so well why everything clears when i get on the bike, mind clears completely. No bills, no problems, no hunger, thirst or anything. There's nothing, a beautiful blankness in which the mind truly awakens.

There's so much more to it, but suddenly i feel a Eureka moment, this has to be true, it explains quite a lot. Like why guys are dying, there minds are out front, and don't have the right parameters, rules, for their mind, and their mind goes where their body can't follow. That's it, right there.

I'm also VERY curious about other implications, especially for how it affects the rest of our waking life. It also PERFECTLY explains my "moment of ecstacy" the other day ... this kind of mental schism that i've tried to describe is the perfect mindset for ... mystical experience.

I'm off for a smoke, the other mystic practice.

peace and love

Toys

VrooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

No really that's AWESOME!

I must get a pic of the pressed tin racing car i got the other day. Was about a half a second before "seeing" and "reaching" ... my friend i was in the shop with burst out laughing, his is at home he tell me.

These are somewhat more refined than pressed tin, but carries the same "motion" that is irrisistable to boys of all ages. The guys name is James Corbett, and you can find his website here:
http://www.jamescorbettart.com/

He also does animals, and other stuff, but it's the bikes and cars that he really makes alive.

Family

So in the last 2 weeks, my family has grown by a kitten, a puppy, and a human. The human is temporary. This excludes the broken family we're (kinda) supporting a return to "normality". And i didn't want any more pets, or people for that ... lol.

I know what happened, i blinked. That's what, i freakin blinked for a 10th of a second and the universe thought, NOW.

The kitten was looking for a home, and the puppy was too. Tiger and Shadow respectively. Tiger because it's like a bosbevokked bengal tiger gone suburban, and shadow because it's like a hole where the light should be. The human is named Herman, and his mom is in ICU and his dad had to go to Botswana on contract, and he's black too, although i wont make any jokes about that, since his parents aren't ;-)

There's a something that is happening, that happens rather in our house: people get there and relax. Odd isn't it? Thankfully i know i had nothing to do with it, generally i just ignore most of what gets said and done, otherwise i'm like, responsible, you know? So i just stay out the way, making sure there's a fire and coffee, chase the kids outside and make sure ashtrays are cleaned out (not so much - ashtrays are better full).

And these people come visit, and end up sinking deeper into the couch than they expected, enjoy the coffee more than they thought they would, and unwind and start talking and sharing and laughing and joking ... inexplicable really.

Of course, it's still my fault. Banning television, playing Pink Floyd, keeping it all very low key ... well you know there isn't enough of that kind of thing. I know because of the surprise most people express when they leave and smile in a relaxed sorta way. They didn't expect that.

Good.

i like keeping people off balance ... ;-)

Brother, where you bound?

For the sake of all that's holy
Listen good to what I say
I can feel them all around me
They could be here any day
But you act like you don't know me
Why d' you look at me that way

If there's one thing that is clear
We gotta get away from here
We've gotta leave this place
It's just a hopeless case
Ain't no one else to blame
We're gonna lose this game

Brother Where You Bound Lyrics
Supertramp

Food wars

93 days in jail over a vegetable garden. for a regular mom with several great children who has never been in trouble,who abides by the laws, who has no record, who has committed no crime, and who doesn’t cause trouble. and I didn’t do anything wrong.

i wanted to just put that in writing to see if it made any more sense.

it doesn’t.

http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/more-love-from-the-city-of-oak-park/

Another of these stories that are growing more common daily. This woman is being prosecuted because she is growing vegetables on her FRONT lawn. This conflicts with the city ordinances which stipulate "suitable" plant matter, and "suitable" equates to "common" in the city's dictionary, and vegetable gardens aren't common, so they're not allowed.

Did you follow that? http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/

Russel Peters

Russel Peter's Blog.

I watched a lecture from this man last night, entitled "The Primacy of Consciousness", freely available on youtube. Get it watch it. What do you think? Ok, maybe watch it again ... lol It's very heady stuff, but his breakdown of the subject into a clear hour long journey is astounding.

His conclusion is: I AM GOD. But not in any way that i've ever heard before, and his message isn't religious, it's scientific. Like i said, you have to see this :)

I'm reading the blog now, i love his thinking, and way of expressing these ideas, it's so seldom you find someone so clear.
___________________________________________

I'm home sick today, got the flu, again. I both needed and deserved it, so no complaints, i've bookmarked a spot in the sun to warm up with a book maybe, or maybe just the garden to keep me company. Have a fantastic day all.

Aqualung

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze
when the ice that
clings on to your beard is
screaming agony.
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
with deep-sea-diver sounds,
and the flowers bloom like
madness in the spring.

Sun streaking cold
an old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
the only way he knows.
Leg hurting bad,
as he bends to pick a dog-end
he goes down to the bog
and warms his feet.

Thank you Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull

A good winter song for the winteriness outside. A hot fire, warm drink, and hopefully a warm atmosphere, and you can sit inside and marvel at the inhospitability of the outdoors. That being said, i want a bike ride. Fast, alone, long winding roads and the freezing air flapping at you and reminding you to stay alive.

My next bike

Beautiful.

Gitanes racing

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Sitting to death

I found the most astonishing "infographic" they call it on News24. Now i drive a desk all day, sitting vegetating in front of twinkly lights. But it's a massive problem for a lot of people, you sit and sit and sit and sit, and when you stand up it hurts.

http://www.health24.com/fitness/General/sitting.asp

The artwork is really good, kudos to whoever put it together, very cool.