Wrecking Crew Orchestra

Awesome stuff.

Skydiving Granny Gets More than She Bargained For

Crikey the poor woman. I hope she was able to laugh about it in the end.

Grumpy Observation #2

I bought myself some noise isolating ear buds the other day for use as both ear plugs and entertainment on long rides. The wind and engine noise is very loud on a motorcycle and prolonged exposure can be bad for your hearing. I used these on my bus travel to and from work and they work wonderfully. Awesome sound, fantastic bass and the sound of the bus and heavy traffic reduced to background noise so much that I could lower the volume down around 40-50% of what I was using to overcome the environmental noise with my regular headphones.

I did a lot of standing around waiting for buses and for my suspended drivers licence to un-suspend. Never did other travellers approach or talk to me. Perhaps they sensed my innate hostility toward my fellow human beings. I don't know, but the minute I strapped on the noise isolating jobbies strangers decided to chat to me. I would point to my ear buds and shake my head but this did not discourage them. Only when I removed the devices from my ears were they satisfied.

In the latest example I was in the city waiting for the camera a shop to open when a stranger approached me and started blabbing on about something or other. I pointed to my (fairly obvious) ear buds but she kept going. Reluctantly I removed one of them discovered that she wanted to know if the store in front of me used to be a cake shop. Maybe my body shape gave her the idea that I knew a fair bit about cake shops.

Grumpy Observation #1

So I managed to book my motorbike in for a service on Friday. Big mistake. Worst day of the year, weather-wise. Heavy rain, wind and cold had turned the roads into a slow rolling car park and me on my bike in the thick of peak hour.

Anyway, I was reminded of an observation that I made while driving my car is such conditions. What is is about wet weather that turns your average garden variety psychotic car driver into a fully fledged howling lunatic? The full moon-like effects of rain have car drivers (hereafter known as cagers) agitated to such an extent that they regularly blind U-turn, fail to indicate, change lanes without notice, run red lights and other stupid shit that they only occasionally do in the dry. I suspect that they just want to break open the confines of their metal boxes and run howling and gibbering through the streets.

I call upon all you budding anthropologists and psychologists to make a name for yourselves and study this eerie phenomena. There's a PHD in it for sure. Pity Hunter S. Thompson is taking a dirt nap.

Traveller Sulky Race

Totally dangerous, stupid and bizarre but strangely compelling.

Why We Ride

Inherently dangerous - wonderfully fulfilling.

Poster of the Week

A Wee Misunderstanding

Thanks Eideard

Topsy Turvey Premier League

Well it's been a long, weird season to be sure. The demise of Chelsea in the league and their rebirth in the UCL, the death and resurrection of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, the duelling Mancunians, and of course the rise of The Toon and the annual decline of the Lillywhites. All very strange indeed. I suppose in keeping with the incongruity of 2012 that it is right and proper for all top 4 positions to be up for grabs with only 2 games to go. 

I watched L'Arse battle the flashy Canaries from Norwich last night and what a game it was. The thrills, the spills, the whinging from Arsene Wenger. All plentiful in a cracking game of end to end football. Fully proper that Spurs man Kyle Noughton should blatantly push Van Persie in the back and get away with it and then for Norwich to level things up and steal points from the rotters from Woolwich. Haven't been that excited since Bale scored his hat trick at the San Siro. Well done Canaries, You're allllllll right!

This of course leaves Arsenal in the precarious position of being overtaken by Tottenham and/or Newcastle if they manage wins tonight. Newcastle vs Manchester City will be an absolute cracker. Hoping Balotelli will score a triple and Cisse develops an allergy to other men. Spurs play away to struggling Aston Villa, with a win taking them into 3rd spot and one more win away from locking in a UCL spot. Please don't fuck it up, lads. I have already erased St Totteringhams day from my diary.

COYS!

Don't Try This At home

Welcome to the Anthropocene

New Baby

I used to lust after the Triumph Daytona in the 90s, but being older and wiser I decided that the Tiger 800 XC is the bomb. Orange and black as a Tiger should be.