Bookmarks for October 22nd through October 31st

Bookmarks

Some links for October 22nd through October 31st…

In praise of Time Machine

My Macbook Pro died this AM (actually the video chipset died).

I went through the “genius bar” reservation process at the downtown MTL mac store and was done in record time (45 minutes from confirming the appointment at the plank office online – to – sitting there and having the issue resolved); with the news that Apple is ordering me a new logic board for free due to a known video chipset issue (first I heard). This leaves me laptop-less for 5 days as they get the part and instal.

Thank god I had a full Time Machine backup from late afternoon yesterday. I was able to copy my TM archive over to a spare plank iMac and boot it up just as if I was in front of my laptop.

Easily the best recovery from a disaster I could ever imagine. After many years working with computers — it’s almost stunning how well it all worked.

Use Time Machine. It’s worth any slowdown’s or pain’s it might cause.

How VW became the world’s largest company

Crazy story came out today…

This afternoon in Europe, due to some information revealed by Porsche about how much of VW it actually owned (74% instead of 35%), it’s shares hyper-inflated to become the world’s largest company measured through market-cap. The world’s largest company currently is ExxonMobil.

“Volkswagen briefly became the world’s largest company by market capitalisation on Tuesday as panic-buying by hedge funds desperate to cover losses caused its value to shoot up by up to €150bn.”

Even by end of day; VW is now worth more than …

“$254bn, … bigger than that of Wal-Mart, Microsoft and General Electric – the second, third and fourth-largest companies in the US.”

Them darn ‘markets be mighty screwy these days.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/05bbd234-a4d2-11dd-b4f5-000077b07658.html

Big waves and cold days: Full report

Last Sunday and Monday we headed down to the coast — Mackenzie was my wingman as everyone else could only grudgingly look on from workplace wave cams and a couple phone calls … “soo.. how was it !?!”.

Sunday was windy — very very windy. There was swell but the biting wind made it tough to sit out in the water. We surfed at Jennes – only to get blown a good 1/2 mile down the beach – as it was a waste of energy to try and stay in one spot. I only know of two spots in NH that can protect you from a strong north wind — and this was one of them.

Big rouge waves and some messy small peaks were a good warm up. Couple good rides but nothing to write home about — messed around on the inside where it was small and sheltered. Semi-empty lineup’s were nice. Wore my 5/4/3 with my boots (no gloves) – water temps weren’t bad. Just that damn wind. Sunday night we stayed at a nice “posh” hotel and warmed our chilled bones in the hot tub.

We both knew it would be cold Monday morning — but wow. Woke up at 6am, breakfast at the free hotel buffet/restaurant and headed out to the car to find it covered in frost. Headed straight for the wall to find it HUGE and scary. No one out. Didn’t notice this sail boat that was in one of my photos. More about that later.

We bee-lined it up the coast; checking 6 or 7 spots until we decided that the only spot we could safely paddle out (did I mention it was HUGE ? We past by NH’s most famous point break that was well OH and heaving) was the spot we had surfed Sunday night (inside left of a point). We suited up around 8am and paddled out (me on the longboard and Mac on his elder quad fish). Not sure why I chose the LB — guess I’ve become comfortable with it.

We tide was low and the paddle out looked LONG. We tried to find a semi channel but the sets were relentless. After about 15 mins of just waiting waist deep I retreated to see if there was another way. Mac had tried to duck dive his way out and just got beat down – you could make it under a couple but one misstep would send you right back to the shallows.

We found what looked like a more mellow way out. Took me a solid 30 minutes of fighting to finally get a lull and scramble out. A testament to long summer of surfing and being in decent shape. The longboard really helped me motor a solid 500 foot paddle past 6-8 foot freight trains. Mac wasn’t so lucky — even with his shortboard he couldn’t find a way – but he didn’t give up and finally joined me way way out where the biggest sets were breaking.

Truly amazing scene. Us two and 2 other guys. Most waves between 5-7 feet and some solid sets every 15 minutes that topped 8/9+ easily. Strong offshore wind made them tough to catch – the few I was able to get into were FAST — almost too fast for my comfort level but we had fun.

After a good long session we made our way north looking for some smaller waves that matched our noodled arms – finding a right hand point into a sheltered bay. The point wasn’t really working but the bay offered some shelter and fun 5-6 foot walls that you could get in and around with ease.

Last story: as we headed north on our way out, we stopped by the wall to snap some picts and check the swell. That sailboat we had overlooked before was now beached up on the sand and BUSTED up. Keel gone and mast broken with no obvious way of getting it out (10 concrete wall behind it). Funny how we didn’t even notice it’s impending doom in the AM excitement.

If we get go again – it will be very cold water surfing. We’ll see.

Bookmarks for October 9th through October 21st

Bookmarks

Some links for October 9th through October 21st…

Big waves and cold days

Full report coming later but here’s a sneak peak (hah hah) of what we surfed on the weekend (taken about 30 minutes after we got out from this spot). Unknown local at our new favourite wave somewhere in Southern NH.

Videos from 2008

We don’t take many videos, but every now and then the Canon gets set to video mode and something gets badly recorded.

Here’s the ones that are okay from the past year. The highlight is me trying to remember then HUM the tune of “hollerback girl” by Gwen Stefani while playing Cranium in Mexico. Hah.

http://vimeo.com/stevey/videos

MTL’s newest skate park?


MTL’s newest skate park ?
All kidding aside MTL’s skateboarders must be looking at the new “quartier des spectacles” with some wide eyes. 30,000 (!) sq feet of marble at odd angles is being laid down as we speak.

Here’s the area.

I wonder how closely the police will be patrolling this area and what kind of anti-skateboarding devices will be secured to all that marble?

No matter what – this is gearing up to have slightly different “spectacles” than the city planned on.

Loon alarm clock

We spent a wonderful thanksgiving evening down at my Aunt’s cottage north of Kingston last night. Very nice house on a quiet lake.

The fun thing was this morning at 8am, the alarm clock rang; instead of the usual electro-variety — it was a couple loons singing their song and some chipmunks chirping away. Amazingly loud when everything else is quiet.

Bookmarks for October 3rd through October 9th

Bookmarks

Some links for October 3rd through October 9th…

  • The eyeballing game
    “Excellent nerd game”
  • Toyota RV-2 Mini RV – Retro Thing
    “The Toyota RV-2 prototype was unveiled at the 1972 Tokyo Motor Show. This bizarre 4-person camperwagon concept car was built around a Corona Mark II chassis and drivetrain. It seems that Toyota was attempting to capitalize on the popularity of the VW camper bus, but with a vehicle small enough to fit in a standard garage and practical enough to serve as everyday transport.”
  • The secrets of ‘Survivor’ answered
    “At last! The secrets of ‘Survivor’ answered — Is show real? Can they bring tampons? Why so many models and actors?”
  • DIBURROS: SMURFS WARS – Full Story
    “Between the years 2000 and 2001 I had an idea for a Graphic Novel about the SMURFS ®. As always, I didn't even start a script, just did some sketches for the heck of it. Other day I discovered that the small sky blue creatures complete 50 years in 2008 and decided to put this plot here, which as many others ideas, could one day turn into something… …or maybe not.”
  • Naomi Wolf: The Battle Plan II: Sarah “Evita” Palin, the Muse of the Coming Police State
    “Please understand what you are looking at when you look at Sarah "Evita" Palin. You are looking at the designated muse of the coming American police state.”
  • YouTube – “Inspiration…” Part Two
    “2nd part…”
  • Flickr: Panda
    “Excellent”
  • Soft Drink Can Generator
    “Soda. Pop. Coke. Whatever you choose to call it, welcome to the Soft Drink Can Generator. Enter some text, choose an emblem, pick your colors and patterns, and click the 'Go' button. An soft drink can will be generated for you. Collect 'em, trade 'em, put 'em on your website, or e-mail 'em to your friends.”