Someone Else's Perspective

Matters of the Heart

2011-12-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

And as I sit here "reviewing" things, I find my attention turning to "matters of the heart"...
And I spend a while thinking back over lifes twists and turns... a dalliance here and a flirtation there, enamoured with that one and alured by this one. Momentary distractions and long held infatuations... More of lifes mysteries :)

... And no doubt the mysteries will continue in due course :)

But Ive been considering the "qualities" of my hearts past "choices"... You know, Why it was that I was interested in this girl at this time and yet wholely uninterested by someone similar (or even the same one) at another time? And in many cases, the question becomes more blatantly "What the heck was I thinking !?" :))
Yes, my heart has made some "odd" choices from time to time...

And so Ive tried to dig back into my past memories as best I can to review the largest possible sample size... and on the whole Id have to say that, .. well,... My "heart" doesnt have a bloody clue about what sort of a person Im looking for!... But then again, my head realy doesnt know either, so I may be being a bit hard on my heart here :)) ...

Im no spring chicken at 46yo and though Im far from "prolific" in my love interests, Id have to admit there have been a good number available to review. Note, these are "love interests" and not necesarily "relationships" which is to say its a review of all the people who Ive been interested in rather than just the ones who I got to spend any intimate time with. And so, Ive done my sort of "gut feel" statistical analysis using my mental faculties (the head) rather than my emotional faculties (the heart) about which ones of those "interests" were likely to have had much chance of any enduring relationship...
And the result is that its "all over the map"!...
Id speculate that the "average" result is barely better than an absolute random sample of the global female population (only including humans of course! :) ) Its really quite surprising how "irrational" my heart has been!

Now of course, I am the first to admit that "love" is far from a "rational" experience, and that in the end, what works is a "whole package" rather than any "planable/predicatble" combination of traits/features. And yes of course, Im a male and libido in its ebs and flows has a tendancy to "override" rational choices its true. Though Id have to say in my own defence on that point that I have absolutely never been interested in or able to "persue" intimacy with someone based solely on the urgings of my libido... No, if there is no emotional interest then its just "dead in the water" right from the start so to speak.
But, back to the confounding irrationality of my "hearts" choices... I mean, come on!, you would at least imagine there would be a little more than some basic "guide-lines" or "leanings" that my "hearts" choices would somewhat align with my "heads" preferences!...
But it seems not!
There are clear examples of my heart being strongly interested by people with MASSIVELY incompatible personalities, interests, habits, lifestyles etc..And not just one "missaligned" aspect at a time either... Several cases where the "whole person" seems to be a "terrible fit"!
It seems that my heart doesnt give a "flying fat rat" about any rationality whatsoever... Its so far out its actually hilarious :)))

... And so, what is one to do?...

Well, not a lot, I think ... Like they say, "There'll be no safety in numbers when the right one walks out of the door"... Which is to say that even though it seems that I cant trust my heart;... I realistically have no choice!...
For I can hardly "make" my self fall in love with someone who I "think" would be a good or logical choice, and likewise I can hardly deny my interest in someone who I "think" I should not be interested in! (I can of course control my actions though)
Indeed, logic and rationality are immensely usefull skills its true, but at the end of the day they are just tools that are in the service of our emotions... We are essentially "creatures of desire" and what our heart wants we use our heads to try to attain/achieve... It is our "hearts" that actually set the agenda and our "mind" just likes to think its in charge :)
And so I think Im more or less "doomed" to have to figure out any future "compatibilities" by the same old "trial and error" method that Ive been using thus far...
And in my review, there are of course more than an occasional case in where the emotions of both people involved started out somewhat aligned and so it was worth "exploring" the possibilities. And so we did, but after a short time it became apparent to one party or the other that it wasnt "right" and we each went our seperate ways fairly quickly. Though its always a bit of a dissapointment, I think those partings were fairly amicable on the whole.
And then there are quite a few cases where Ive met people who I thought seemed very compatible with me and who seemed somewhat interested as well... But who were "attached" already and so there was nothing for either of us to do other than "waive as we sail on past on our seperate ways"... And Ill always wonder about those ones :)

But its not all "bad news" as they say...
In my review I must also admit there are some few cases (though precious few they seem) where I have to say Ive been very fortunate indeed to have found myself interested in someone with a very compatible personality and certainly no obvious incompatiblities in other aspects... and by "outrageous fortune..." (sorry, Shakespere is bound to creep in when it comes to English speaking matters of the heart :) ) that other person has been both "unattached" and "interested" in me in return... And those few cases have been the most rewarding relationships of my life :)

... And yet they did not last... which does rather cast something of a shadow on their rememberance!...
... and of course begs the question of "Why did they not last?"

And to that I can only say that it was again because of my "heart"... I was compelled!...
Yes, my heart was "interested" and I followed it where it lead... And my heart did not become wholely "disinterested" over time either!..., But neither did it become "more strongly engaged" as time went by!... and that was the doom!
You see, for whatever foolish reason, I decided (and have repeatedly done so through my history) that though I definitely cared for (and still care for) them, I didnt care "enough"...
What kind of a thing to say is that? I hear you ask...
Well,... Its my "truth" as best I can say it... The love I felt was "not enough" and so one way and another, those relationships each came to an end in their intimacy and though I still love them, they are now treasured friendships instead.

...But how do you know they were not "enough"?, How do you know that they would not have grown to become "enough"? And how do you know what is "enough" when you have never had a relationship that met that criteria anyway???....

All good questions to be sure!

And the short answer to that is "Because its written on my heart!"...
The only evidence that I can produce in support of that is at best very very circumstantial... In barely any more adequate detail I can elaborate slightly by saying that I am quite sure I can feel "more strongly engaged" and that I would recognise the "enough" when/if I experience it because I have felt that "enough" in my dreams!....
And I have few enough remembered dreams to be sure, and Im the first to admit that there often seems to be very little in dreams that actually translates in any "real" way to waking life... But what I can say is that the emotional content of dreams is One of the (if not the only) highly translatable aspects of dreams to our waking lives... I believe that how we "feel" in dreams are exact analogys of how we "feel" when we are awake... Im no psychologist but Id hazard a guess that in some way or other, thats exactly why we have dreams in the first place!.... And so Im saying that I have felt "enough" in my dreams and though others may find it an inadequate reason or a poor choice, Ive decided that Im "not going to settle" till Ive felt something in waking life that comes pretty close or that I believe has a good chance of "getting there"!

But I admit the price seems high... And not so much for myself either... Whenever one of those relationships is "ending" it causes both people a lot of pain... And it just feels terrible to be causing someone that I care a great deal about that sort of pain... I just hate it!
And it is my most enduring sadness, that I have deeply hurt some amazingly beautiful people who have cared for me and who clearly have deserved to evoke in me that love that is"enough"...
...Sadly, it seems that my heart just will not "engage" ?? :(

...hmmm Ive been using the terms "head" and "heart" here as if they are some sort of seperate entities and in effect I might seem to be "blaming" one of them for my actions... Almost like saying "The devil made me do it!"... But it is not so... Its just an effect of my attempt to communicate by describing aspects of the psyche as independent entities (as is often done in modern language and by our lay-persons limited understandings of concepts from psychological science).... But, to be clear, there is no one to blame but myself (as a whole) and the truth is that for "complex personal reasons" I have deliberately chosen not to engage!... Ive been looking for something else/more/other...

And so, thats where I am these days in "matters of the heart"...
But I find Im not disconsolate at not having found "the one", and though these days I find Im less and less inclined to "actively seek" an intimate relationship (and not least for the reason of not wanting to hurt anyone else) I definitely do remain open to the possibility... And like I said above, its not like I realy have any choice anyway... again, Im "compelled" and I'll still follow my "heart" wherever it leads me :))
But again, I find for now that Im more or less "content" to spend my time trying to learn more from my past experiences....

...well, until the right one walks out of the door... :))

Sea Of Dreams

2011-12-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

The weather here in Vancouver is grey and rainy and its that quiet time between Christmas and New Year...
So Im gonna take the opportunity to do a bit of a self-review of "where Im at" and maybe ponder "where Im going".

Its been a bit of a busy eighteen months since I got off the motorbike after riding up and down the full length of the Americas...
When I first got back, I was staying at a friends place while there was a tennant still renting my place. I kept myself busy though by working away at my custom motorbike project and building a little model boat in the evenings...
Then I got my house back and discovered that I had a lot more reno/rebuild work to do on the house than I had initially thought... So, then it was six months of solid work on the house with a full basement refit and then a new upstairs kitchen and hardwood floors and windows and doors etc. And that was all done while I was working a contract too... I was really quite tired out by the time I moved back into my house. I basically went through a whole year with virtually no social contact outside a couple of close friends, and no out-door activities or sports at all.
And so over the last six months Ive taken it a bit easier while working another short contract and Ive been playing a bit of frisbee and doing some Tai Chi in the evenings and even some yoga in the mornings to try to get a bit more physical health... But socially Ive still been keeping very much to my-self.
And finally, for the last couple of months Ive been swanning off to Australia and SE Asia to catch up with my far-flung family and to see some sights and get some sun on my skin.

Yes indeed, a busy eighteen months, but more significantly, a very expensive eighteen months!
Even though Ive been working a fair bit and brought in a good amount of earnings, my expenses have been a lot larger than my income... Id say that only about half of the money really "needed" to be spent ( well in the next couple of years anyway -for the work on the house), but the other half was just me doing things I wanted to do...
Im not sure others would necessarily understand, but for me, while I was riding the motorbike it was about three years of virtually not doing any "projects" at all, and essentially not having any "home" either... It gave me lots of time to think about and filter through the related things that I really wanted to do... So, when I finally did get the chance... I "Went for it!" regardless of the fact that I needed to take on significantly more debt than I would have liked.

...Was it worth it?...
Well, Id have to say that Yes, I think it was.

Now there is absolutely no question that many of the things I spent money one were purely optional and had nothing to do with "need" at all... (Motorbike, Table, Bronco, some of the "trimmings" in the house). But they were on the mental "list" of things I wanted to do this life time, and so I find that I dont have any regrets about the choice to "get them done".
I used to actually keep such a "list" on paper and every year at about this time, Id review the list and cross off the things Id done over the past year and then think of some new things to add to the list to keep it current to my changing "aspirations" over time. If a year passed and I found that I hadnt managed to check anything off the list, then I made a serious effort the next year to make up for it... It felt like it was a reasonably effective way of me ensuring I didnt get too "stagnated".
But I have not bothered to keep the "list of dreams" at all for the last several years as my life definitely changed direction there, and Ive really only now just hunted around and found the old list ... Just to see whats changed...

And as expected... a lot has changed :))

Im not going to dive into any details of the old list (since its "of the past" now anyway) but well over half the items on the list just dont seem relevant any more. And about half of the rest seem to have actually been checked off over the intervening few years... Not surprising since I really did just throw caution to the wind and set about "doing things" :))

And even for those things on the list that do remain more or less "relevant", I have to say that there are virtually none of them that I feel "compelled to pursue" or that I would feel "dissapointed" about should it turn out that when "my time is up", I havn't managed to achieve... And that I would say is a very different way of being for me as compared to the "me" of five years ago.
Of course I guess I wont really know if thats how I truely feel about it all till Im actually confronted with my own death, but as best as I can tell, Im being quite honest with myself here... And its in line with my musings on the same lines a year or two back in my "Judgement" post, so it feels right...

And so this time as I sit here quietly and take a look at my inner self; Trawling for dreams while my little boat chugs along through the ocean of lifes possibilities; I find my lines are coming up bare?... Have I over-fished my dreams?... No, thats not right... There are still dreams there... I can see them sparkling and flashing down in the depths... Its more like I just dont feel the need to catch them and bring them onto the deck any more...I feel content with the ones Ive already landed... My hold is full... I have more than enough to last me through!

Truely, I have had such a furtunate life, full of so many different experiences... More than I can possibly make sense of...More than I could possibly digest. There is so much learning I can still do from this wealth of memories...I hardly know where to start with what Ive got!
And indeed, that seems to me to be a major part of "what its all about"... Learning... Growing... Becoming...
... And Ive got many years of material to work with on that front :)
True enough, this is but a moment in time; And no doubt as more time passes Ill find that I want for some other "something" or some other "experience", and Ill set a new course and head my little boat in a new direction seeking some new dream... But I certainly feel no ugency about it for the present.

... But, "dreams are free" I hear the old me say... "Why not get as many as you can", "More is always better" etc.
But I guess I disagree with the old me, the with the "common wisdom", in some ways these days...
I actually dont believe that more is always better... What good is accumulating millions of dollars if youve already got more than enough for your needs? What good is taking more classes when you have not learned anything from the ones youve already take?, What good is having a larder full of food that you cant possibly ever eat?.. No, I think we have it very wrong with our blind credo of "more is always better". It leaves us ever illcontent, and I think it makes us an ever unhappy society!
And in many ways I admit Im still very much of that credo, but I seem to be becoming less so.
So, at least for the time being I find myself to be "well content" and very greatfull for it!
Yes there are some things still on my list that Id like to achieve if I get the opportunity in this life, but for the most part they are things that I feel are largely not in my control. And so, while my little boat chugs along at the mercy of the winds and currents of life, I shall bide my time quietly, and happily live the life of a more or less "wealthy" man on the experiences and memories I already have :)

... And in a more mundane form, that means I shall be spending my time quietly, working another contract at a "good but un-inspiring" job to earn some money to pay my debts. I shall be trying not to start any big projects or spend much money. I shall be trying to get more exercise and to be a bit more social... Though I admit that Im all too comfortable these days spending many hours wandering around in my thoughts pondering lifes mysteries, so the social thing just doesnt seem to be that much of a priority at the moment :)

... And though it probably doesnt really qualify as "social" activity, Ive been thinking that I would like to get a cat!... Someone to share my house with, but who doesnt mind if I spend lots of time just being quiet :)

As a bit of a postscript here, I've clearly ascribed these "changes" in myself largely to "growing", but its also quite possible that Im just "tiring", or more likely that its a normal part of the "aging" process and it happens to everyone... But it really doesnt matter why I guess, just that Im gratefull for it :))

... Lets see what the new year brings :) ...

Pretty Flowers

2011-12-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

And lastly, I went to an Orchid farm.

Again its essentially a commercial business for raising orchids and they have added a revenue side stream through tourist operations. I certainly wouldnt call it an "exciting" activity... Its more a relaxing one.

You get to see thousands of orchids in flower, all growing in pleasant tropical shade-houses. There are row upon row upon row of them hanging from a high railing and all with absolutely minimal "potting".
These orchids were mostly of the Phalaeonopsis family (there were some others but they were a minority) and they are the ones that you are probably most familiar with. They are just perfect for growing indoors in the average household, but their native habitat is as epiphytes (living in trees rather than on the ground) in shaded tropical forest environments... like here in Thailand.

So, I wandered around for a while and looked at all the pretty flowers and saw how they cultivated them. And I read some of their literature on their particular recommendations for fertiliser mix ratios etc. And I had a cup of tea in their little cafe, and looked at their touristy nick-nacks which were mostly resin encapsulated orchid flowers as paper-weights or as broaches etc... All very pleasant and unexciting :))

On the "eco" front, there is not much of an issue I think... Pretty much everyone will say its fine, though I suppose only a few people would actually want to visit the "farm".

No one worries about "cruelty to plants" and the vast majority of people have no qualms about using flowers as decoration and even discarding the whole plant once the flower has died off. You can feel free to lop the flowers off whenever, and interbreed and hybridise as much as you want... Its just not an issue.
We dont mind "abusing" little orchids and looking at their dismembered parts in our homes just for our aesthetic pleasure... Little plants are not really an emotional issue for most people.

But it becomes a bit of a different matter when its a big tree it seems...
People seem to get much more emotional about those. But the only difference I can see is that the trees are older and that seems to make us care more, though I cant really justify why... Its not just that trees take a lot longer to grow and have a lot larger effect on the local environment, and so when an established tree gets "removed" then it really effects the rest of the immediate environment, and if it turns out that removing the tree was a mistake then its gonna take a very long time to rectify!... No, people develop emotional attachments to trees.

And like the previous post, many people are happy to eat meat and virtually all people I know dont hesitate to swat at flies, and squish spiders and cockroaches, and eradicate mosquitoes en-mass!... But Ohhh its a different story if you kill a butterfly!
... Hmmm... We people are indeed a conundrum! ... Our emotions are really very rarely well aligned with our rational thoughts on any given subject are they? :))

Well, Thats it for my little eco-comparisons. And thats pretty much it too for my time in SE Asia. Ive just got a day or two more here in the tropical warmth before I head back to the frozen North, there to rejoin work in order to pay for my financial excessesof the past year.
I guess Ill try to make my remaining hours "quality time" with the warmth and the mangoes :))

Flapping and Crawling Critters

2011-12-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Next, I went to see an "Insect Farm"

.... Ohhh CRAP!!
I just lost about an hour and a half of writing on this blog post !!!
... Its just one of the occasional risks of blogging in a "mobile" fashion ... as usual, no sense getting too upset about it... Just do it again :))

... This post discussion is a bit more divisive than the prior "eco" posts, but I think a lot of most peoples issue with mounted butterflies is frankly quite hypocritical... but I'll get to that all a bit latter :))

OK, so this time I went to see an insect farm. This one is very different to the previous three activities in that this is basically a commercial business that has "added on" a side-stream of revenue from tourism rather than a primarily tourist business... And it clearly shows in the "quality" of the tourist experience too.

And what do insect farms do, well, they "cultivate" exotic insects for sale to both the public and scientific/academic institutions. I guess originally butterflies and such were all collected from "the wild", but as the market for such things has slowly increased over the years, and as we have studied and learned in more detail about the dietary/environmental needs of the insects, it has become feasible to start small businesses that actively farm the insects that are most in demand and are of the higher values .
And so, these days, in pretty much any region in the world where exotic butterflies and insects naturally live, there are small businesses that raise some of the local butterflies for commercial purposes.

And its one of these businesses that I went to have a look at:

This is a prime example of an exotic species that is farmed. Its a sub-species of the large green bird-wing family (Ornithoptera Poseidon) that live in New Guinea and surrounding Islands. It is about 15cm in wingspan, and a mounted specimen is worth several hundred dollars!

And some of the other museum type displays at the start of the little insect farm tour.

A small collection of the beautiful iridescent "Morpho" family of butterflies that I mentioned quite frequently in my blog entries as I rode through central/South America.

This is one of the local species being farmed here... The huge "Atlas" moth...Its a very popular collectors item but is easy to raise and not that rare. Its up to about 20cm across but only fetches about $5 -$10 each.

And these Beetles are HUGE too ...

So, after the little museum section of the tour, they let you go see the actual critters that they are farming... And its not just butterflies... There are al sorts of insects that have "commercial value"... And not just for mounted specimens either. These days there is quite a market for insects that people keep as pets... These large scorpions are a good example

They let me handle one of them too... I was of course careful not to "aggravate" the little guy, but I have to say that I found it to be really quite docile... Not at all playful :)

This is a tiny little (its about 1cm long) pink "flower mantis". They live on flower petles where their camouflage lets them ambush small flying insects that come to get the flower nectar/pollen... amazing evolution.

And a camouflaged "leaf" insect

And then it was off to look at the "larval" stages... lots of pretty caterpillars here :)

This one is huge at about 15cm long!

And then it was into the "butterfly house" where they let the butterflies hatch from their chrysalises and then flap about among their chosen food plants.. where they find a mate and lay eggs... The eggs are collected and the whole process starts again :)

I didnt get to see them "processing" (catching, killing, and mounting) any of the adult butterflies, but I believe it is done pretty much immediately after the adults "hatch". Of course they only kill a percentage of the butterflies that hatch for sale, since they obviously need some adults to breed and continue the "normal" life cycle.

And that was it.... Like I said above, its mostly a commercial business and the tourist thing is an add-on rather than a primary goal of the business. As such, I got pretty much what I expected and was happy I went to see it... But its probably not of much interest to most people and even I would not bother to do it again.

OK, that was the tour...Lets get down to the "eco-thinking" :)...

Again, as I said above, I think most people with "Western" sensibilities do not approve of killing, mounting, and displaying butterflies just for their viewing pleasure!... It seems grisly and gratuitous!... But, as I said, I think that most peoples "objections" dont really stand up to logical scrutiny (although "logic" often has little to do with emotion!)...
But of course, I should clearly state here that I actually have a few mounted butterflies that I display on a wall at home...So I am biased and I may just be going through the process of "self justification"....
The judgement of that and of your own ethical position on the subject, Ill leave to the reader :))

Right, So on the "eco" front:
As I mentioned above, originally these rare butterflies were collected from wild populations... and as expected this was a bad thing as it brought the wild populations into decline and they became endangered.. I dont know of any that were made extinct but I expect specialists in the field could name a few.
But, fortunately, these days the international trade in rare butterflies, along with any endangered wildlife, is regulated so as to try to limit damage to and even help bolster and rebuild native wild populations of the species. The regulation is done by a permit system on any importation of specimens (ether alive or dead). Its called CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the regulation came into force in 1975. Like all regulation systems its not perfect and there are people who do whatever they can to avoid it and get around it illegally for their own financial gain. And likewise, there are plenty of "consumers" who will buy the item regardless of it being a permitted and legal "white market" or illegal "black market" item, but in short the CITIES system has helped a lot and is doing a pretty good job (as I understand it).
So, the international trade in rare butterflies is regulated and these businesses make most of their income through international trade...So a good amount of their "product" flows through the legal channels (though Im sure many businesses also service black market demand too).
Oh, and as part of that permit system, The "farms" are also required to release a percentage of their captive bred endangered butterflies back out into the wild to help rebuild wild stocks. The farms also breed saleable species that are not on the "endangered" list since the quality of the raised butterflies is higher than wild captured ones (not battered around by conditions outside the shade house etc)...
And in many cases, the butterfly farming is done in very remote areas by small villages of indigenouse peoples (they are also endangered of course). Its usually intended to provide the community with a "cash crop" in order to try to help the communities transition into the "modern/economic" world... Thats a whole other very complicated subject of course, but in short the butterfly farming is often one of the few commercial opportunities in these areas.... back to the butterflies.
And so, in short I think the farming of butterflies is a good thing... Well, if you consider that they should be allowed to be collected at all.

So, the main aspect of most people's objections to "butterflies for display" is that they are being killed just for our aesthetic satisfaction.... Not really being put to any good use!
My response to that is that if the person objecting eats meat or wears any silk clothing then they are being quite hypocritical!!
As I described in an earlier post, I think that its quite clear that virtually all people can live very happy, full, cheap, and convenient lives as vegetarians (allowing milk and dairy consumption in that definition of "vegetarian"). The Hindus of India have been doing it for centuries and many modern "Western" people do it too. So, if people are prepared to kill sheep, cattle, and chickens etc just for the few moments of pleasant taste as they eat their meal!; then I hardly think it reasonable to complain about killing a butterfly in order to have many years of enjoyment from looking at them... Likewise, I think that most people conveniently remain ignorant of what happens in the silk farming industry... Basically, the silk moth is bred in masses so that the caterpillars will weave their little cocoons of silk thread... Then, the little fellows get boiled alive in water inside their cocoon and the silk thread is unwrapped and spooled up to be later woven into silk fabric for the consumers wearing pleasure!. Each silk worm killed generates a few square centimetres of silk fabric! Again, we are long past the point of NEEDing silk fabric. We can easily substitute synthetics or fine quality wool from non-fatal wool farming of sheep etc!
So, the "killing them for our pleasures" being unacceptable argument seems pretty hollow to me!
Likewise, if Im prepared to eat meat (and I currently do), I cant find fault in people wearing animal furs either... Assuming that the animals are raised (farmed) and killed humanely and the market does not cause the "parallel" demise of the wild animals due to black market demand for the same product (Which is why they ban completely the sale of ivory and the import of crocodile/snake skin leather products in many countries).
Oh, and I also think the concept of "cruelty" becomes more "murkey" on the ethics definition front for insects versus mammals and birds, but suffice it to say that I dont think the farmed insects are treated or killed inhumanely (well certainly not when compared to what the silk worms experience!)

So, thats my take on it personally, and as I am currently a meat eater, I do not find I have a problem with the ethics of displaying butterflies...But thats just the logic of it and as I said, much of the "argument against" is not logical at all; Its emotional... And I admit that I too have a level of emotional response to these things (killing animals be it for food, clothing, or viewing pleasure)... And I also admit that it "feels" like Im slowly drifting toward being a vegetarian, but I think it will be a while yet before I get there :)))

Interestingly, on the butterfly front, I find that one of the more powerfull arguments against displaying them is much more philosophical than emotional or rational... And it is this...
People mount and display the butterflies because they are amazingly beautiful in their colours and shapes and we get great enjoyment from looking at that beauty. But butterflies are virtually impossible to fully appreciate in the wild because they are so timid and transient (as well as many of them only living in remote and inhospitibal locations). And so mounting and displaying them is peoples attempt to grasp and hold onto their beauty...As usual, we humans are trying to assert control over nature in order to satisfy our desires (we do it in all areas of our lives).
... But as I grow and learn, I change, and Im slowly learning that perhaps the greater part of the beauty of life (butterflies included) is exactly that it is so transient!... And that when we grasp it and try to hold onto it, we in fact "kill" an aspect of its beauty... And we cease to appreciate it as much as when it was "there for just a moment"... As I grow, Im slowly learning to "let go" and not need to possess; and to accept that its all only transient and that I should appreciate it all the more "while it lasts" because no matter what I do, I cant actually stop it from passing.

.. So I suspect that for me at least, the days of steaks and mounted butterflies are limited :))

Performing Pachyderms

2011-12-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

I went to see an "Elephant Park"...

Again, its a less than an hour from the city here, and again the business is ostensibly about "saving the elephants".. or at least the culture of working elephants...

You see, humans have been training and using elephants for thousands of years. They were effectively the "super-weapon" of pre-industrial armies, but I think they were mostly useful in the peaceful work of "heavy lifting" in activities like tree harvesting. The elephant has an especially important part in Thai culture. And even with the advent of industrialisation, the working elephant still retained its vital role in the North of Thailand where selective logging in this steep mountainous country with big expensive machines is far more destructive, expensive, and difficult than with elephants...
And so the tradition of training elephants has continued till the modern day...

And its an involved process to train an elephant...
The un-born babies gestate for about two years and then are allowed to "do their thing" more or less after they are born till about the age of five... At which time they start their "training" and it takes another five years or so before they are at all useful at work (I think). Then they go on to live till about 80 years of age! and thats a long time... Its longer in fact than a persons normal "working career", and so one elephant usually has two mahouts (trainer/driver/carer... its a very personal relationship); One older "experienced" trainer and one younger "junior" trainer (often a father-son pair)... One other point to note is that there is a long-standing imperial decree/law, that all working elephants must be released back into the wild at the age of 60 to live out their remaining time naturally... Clearly the Thai people have a deep seated respect for these animals!

And all that is just dandy but for the fact that modern Thailand has become pretty much deforested (especially in the South)... And so,about 10 years ago, the Thai government passed a law to try to preserve the little remaining natural forest in the North that all logging was outright banned!... And that left the bulk of the remaining trained elephants (and their mahouts) "unemployed" !

And elephants take a great deal of effort to "keep" as they need lots of attention and lots of expense to feed etc. So, the end result of the new law was that there was no-longer any "functional" role for these people and animals that were such a valued and long-standing part of Thai heritage and culture... And many of the animals were becoming neglected/ malnourished and maltreated... Very sad...

And these "elephant shows/zoos/parks" that have come into being around the Northern cities are an attempt to preserve that culture and protect the elephants.

At this particular park there were about 200 elephants of assorted ages and the tourism activities ranged from simply watching a "show" of assorted elephant skills/tricks, to buying elephant paintings (really!) to going for half/hour long rides, to spending days or even weeks learning some of the skills of a mahout and how to "drive" and care for your elephant.

I opted for seeing the show and going for a bit of a ride. I didnt feel the need to learn how to "drive" one since I didnt think that an elephant would likely be my "choice of transport" for commuting and running errands in the Canadian city of Vancouver.... and I really dont know how well they corner or break in snowy conditions either! :)

Anyway, here are some pictures:

First off they had a bit of a bath show... elephants really seem to like being in the water :)

Then all the tourists walked up to an "arena" and the elephant show began!

First off was a demonstration of how comfortable the elephants were with their mahouts... they climbed up and over and down on all sides with the elephants assisting by putting legs out at odd angles as steps or proffering their trunk to assist etc... And there were demonstrations of how careful and sensitive the elephants were about their mahouts by treading gently (even playfully) on a mahout laying on the ground... and then "picking him up" to standing position with their trunk etc.

And then there were the "stupid elephant tricks" from using hula hoops on their trunks, to playing socker, and "darts" and hide the mahouts hat etc... Good old circus stuff! :)

And then there was the painting...
Five elephants simultaneously painting their own "art" for about 10 minutes...
The mahoute dips the paint brushes in paints of their chosen colours and then puts the brush in the elephants trunk... And the elephant then paints a few strokes with it...and then the mahout takes the brush back and dips it in the paint again... repeat till done!
You are watch while they do this and you can definitely see the precision and delicacy of the elephants work and you can equally see the different "styles" and preferences of each elephant too!
... But, the mahout always has their hand behind the elephants ear and Im not sure what sort of signalling is going on and so Im not sure how much of the painting is fully the "creative output" of the elephant alone... A considerable amount of it may be being "suggested" by the mahout too!
... But, it definitely left me believing that elephants are at least as smart as dogs and probably smarter... though in a definitely "ponderous" way :))

Definite "individual styles" !

And finally, there was a demonstration of the old log moving skills that required three elephants to work in a very coordinated "team"... good stuff :)

And then the show was over and the elephants all lined up and formed something of a gauntlet for the tourists to have to go through to leave... The elephants wanted bananas and sugarcane, and their mahouts wanted monetary tips... tourist , children, mahouts, elephants, trunks stealing bunches of bananas, and laghhs and squeels and snorts etc... quite fun :)

Again, I found the "textures" of the elehants skin and hair very interesting... Very bristly creatures and their skin was most definitely very "leathery" (of course I guess!).

And then, I went for a half hour ride around the local area... actually, half an hour doesnt get you very far at all... they are a very slow mode of transportation!
And it has to be said, not that comfortable either!... A very "lurchy" experience.. (far more-so than a horse or even a camel) and particularly so when going "down hill".
... So, lurching, I went several hundred metres around the park buildings and up a hillside, down through the forest, up a short stream, and back to where Id started.

... So, that was the experience, and now the "eco-assessment"

Well, as I said its not just about saving the elephants,its more about saving the "culture" of people working with elephants, although, given the demise of so much native elephant habitat, saving the "wild" elephants is also a closely interrelated issue. And so I was not at all perturbed by pretty much complete lack of "natural" about anything. Likewise, its all run in a distinctly "Thai" style with an almost complete absence of any "modern" developed world type facilities ... Again I found this entirely appropriate.
The "show" option aspect of the park is relatively cheap at $10 or less, but going for a ride cost me about $28 which was more than "cuddling a tiger"!, so I consider that quite expensive by local standards... But, there were still "hordes" of tourists there so I guess they know what they are doing business wise :)

So, given their goals and the historical/political/environmental circumstance that have precipitated the pachyderms predicament ...(sorry, I couldnt help myself :) ), I find that I am entirely in favour of this eco-enterprise. The elephants have always been "performing" tricks for people, and so this is just a new set of "relevant" tricks that are replacing an old set of no longer relevant ones... A more or less natural evolution.
... That said, I have to say that I didnt find it that entertaining or exciting and I would not myself go and do it again...

On to the next "eco-attraction"...

Big Kitty!

2011-12-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

And the next eco-attraction is... A Tiger "farm" !

Its located on the outskirts of the city here and is not really a very big site. Its not at all a "sanctuary" where the big cats are in a natural environment. And again, its very much a business proposition.
They have over 40 tigers here of all different ages from new-borns to aging adults. The tigers are mostly of the local "Indo-Chinese" sub-species (not the Siberian or the huge Bengal species) and they are very actively being bred. None of the tigers here was caught in the wild, and none of them will ever be returned to the wild either. But thats not that surprising because there is so little native habitat remaining and in the wild, they would just be poached and hunted and be deemed a threat to the massive numbers of humans in this part of the world. So, these animals were all raised by hand in captivity and are very well "habituated" to human contact... That not-withstanding, they are still wild animals and even though they are very well trained and fed and cared for etc, they can still be very dangerous if you do the wrong thing.

Well, I was not sure what to expect really. I had seen the advertising posters all over the tourist section of town, with people cuddling up to kittens and adult tigers alike... So I decided to go see for my-self.
And there are lots of tigers here (not just one or two), and there were three or four of them in an enclosure (not individually), and there were up to a half dozen tourists in there with them (along with three or four trained handlers too of course)... And indeed, people are snuggling right up with them!

As a tourist, you get to choose what sized tiger you want to "meet": large (2 yr and older adult), medium (kinda dog sized young ones) or small (a couple of months old and the size of a big house cat)... Or you can do a package deal and try all of them etc. Once youve paid for the options you want, you go into the larger perimeter caged area and are directed to where the cats of the right size are. Once there, you wait your turn and in the mean time read some very clear instructions... For the full size Tigers, its very important to never approach the cats from in front or touch their heads or fore-paws... If you do, the cats may assume you want to "play" and that can be quite "uncomfortable" as they say... And you can really appreciate what that means once you have been "up close and personal" with them... They have massive tongues and teeth and jaws and claws and muscles!!! And even "playing" (as all cats do) gently would leave you with an immediate need for "medical attention"!
The handlers that are in there with you are always paying 100% attention to the cats body language (ears, tail etc) and are always positioned at the head of the tiger... But its all pretty "low key" and not intimidating.

And then, after youve read the rules and waited while, its your turn to meet the tigers and you are let into the smaller enclosure (say 20m x20m which still has three or four tigers in there at the one time) and you are escorted over to one of the cats and encouraged to approach from the rear and touch and scratch and "snuggle up to"... The big cats are very social and are used to, and enjoy, lots of body contact with both other cats and people too. You can be quite forceful with the contact since they are big and strong and are used to big/strong contact from each other... In fact, you can see plenty of scars and healing scratch marks on them from where they have themselves been a bit too strong with each other and got a warning "swat"... Hmmm best I dont provoke that sort of response from one of them me thinks ! :)

And there is no rush about it. You get to spend pretty much as long as you want (15-20 minutes in reality) with the tiger. And its not just the one cat either, you get to move around and meet several of them. They all seem really docile but Im assured (and I believe them ) that none of them are tranquilized or sedated. Its just that cats are very lazy creatures and can spend up to 18 hours a day sleeping... They only get active to hunt or mate... And these cats are very well fed and if any of the females are "in season" then they are not anywhere near the tourist section of the compound.
So, you get to "interact" for quite a while and it is definitely a privilege to be able to get so close to these amazing animals. I admit I would have liked to spend more time "in front" so to speak (Id love to take a picture of my hand next to their front paw for size comparison etc) but I understand why this is NOT allowed.
And after you have had enough, they let you out of the cage (and someone else goes in) and you can then spend as long as you want wandering around and taking more pictures from outside the small enclosures etc...

... So here are some of my pictures :)

This guy is nearly as fat as me!

But he just wants a tummy rub... Big sook! :)

I just love the amazing patterns in their coats! Though when you feel their fur, its not at all like a domestic cat... Its more like a coarse haired dog coat. Not soft and silky at all.

Then I went to visit the kittens... There were a couple that were only one month old and were still quite "wobbly" on their feet (it was their first day meeting visitors!) and also a couple that were two moths old... Too cute :)

Nap time after a big day :)

Eco-assessment!...
OK, so that was the "experience" of it... Now for the "thinking"...

Well, the "farm" is ostensibly intended as the financial support end of a "save the tigers program". Its very modern and well appointed (nothing at all in the place was of "developing world" standard. It was all absolutely top notch). There is a larger "partner" site a few hours further North in Thailand where there are apparently another 200 tigers, but they do not do any "tourist" stuff at all, so this smaller site has to generate the full income to support both sites... Which it does easily by the look of the facilities... Its run by one guy who (having spoken with a few of the temporary volunteer Western staff) seems to be a genuine tiger lover.
But he's definitely making a very tidy profit from the enterprise...
Im really dubious about this sort of thing... Some one gets "official sanction" to breed and keep and show an incredibly rare and endangered species and then gets to "print money" for their personal benefit!... "Eco-profiteering"!! ... and make no mistake, these tigers are not at all living a natural life... Yes its not a cruel or uncomfortable life as far as I could tell, but the reality is that this is nothing more than a "petting zoo" or "circus"; and they are "wild animals" but they live in an entirely artificial and non-natural environment! They say the second farm site is larger and has larger and more natural enclosures, but its still an enormous difference from how tigers live in the wild, ranging over many kilometres of forest each day.
I think its an absolute travesty that such magnificent creatures should be reduced to living an enslaved life in a circus, and I just hope that there is a plan that is being actively pursued that will set aside some sizeable areas of natural habitat for these creatures to eventually be returned to (I suspect this is true though I have no details).
So thats the negative aspect of this Eco-tourist attraction, but there are some clear mitigating factors of course... The obvious point is that with the way the world currently is in the areas of the tigers natural habitat, you can pretty much guarantee that this "capitalist" solution to the immenent extinction of these animals through black-market trade and habitat destruction is probably the ONLY viable option... a stop-gap measure to be sure, but I agree its better than letting them become extinct.
Second point is less obvious, and its that while they are making plenty of profit from the enterprise, they are not being anywhere near as "greedy" as I think they could be!... It costs about $15 - $25 for you to visit and "cuddle" the tigers... Thats pretty cheap I think!! Im pretty sure that they could charge significantly more and still get high attendance... And that is of course the art of business management, but my point is that it seems to me that "maximising" the money making aspect is NOT their highest priority, and I think thats actually a good sign :)
... And one other sort of down side I see is that, while yes, it does allow the "general public" to interact directly with tigers and thereby fosters a greater appreciation for them and hopefully a greater public desire to preserve both them and their habitats; Its doing it in such an "un-natural" way that I think the public ends up with a very distorted picture of what tigers are and what they "should be"... but, Ya gotta start somewhere right?

So, thats my thoughts on it all, with some very serious negatives and some definite positives, but an acknowledgement that, at the moment, I think there is no realistically viable alternate option. .. And with that understanding, I think this particular business appears to be doing a pretty good job at it (from all perspectives) and so I find that on the whole, I am supportive of this version of "eco-tourism"... but NOT as an ongoing future for the tigers... only for the time being!

...and Whats next on my "eco-binge"

Zip Line

2011-12-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai is quite a large city... And its very touristy too.
And what are all those tourists doing with themselves here in the North of Thailand?
Well, as in most touristy cities, they are certainly doing the usual dining and shopping and clubbing in the evenings, but it seems that during the days, for the most part, the foreigners are occupying much of their time engaging in the numerous "Eco-Tourism" activities.

And there are lots and lots of them to do.
I sort of suspect that the "eco-tourism" is largely just a euphemism and is probably more accurately described as "eco-capitalism" in most cases and in some cases is probably little more than "eco-profiteering" bordering on "eco-vandalism"!
But since I cant recal actually having done any of it in the past, Im not really in a position to make informed judgements!
So, Ive decided to participate in a few of these activities to "inform" myself...and to fill in my time too :)

And first on the list is "Zip Lining" through the local mountain jungle at a nearby small village. Now I have had the opportunity to do this plenty of times before but just have not bothered to try it till now... Ive done lots or rock climbing in some quite spectacular locations and felt that Id probably not get as much out of zip lining as other people would, and that consequently it was not really worth the money to me.
But this time, I did it anyway :)

I went very early in the day and there was no-one else in my group, so I got two "guides" all to myself and I was not going to have to wait for other people at all... Should make for quick progress!
It took an hour or so to drive up into the mountains; Then about ten minutes to get kitted up, and then about five minutes to walk to the start... and I was away!

And this is what the start looks like... Steel cables stretching away into the distance at a slight decline... The end point is of course, that platform built half way up a tall tree (30m or so) at the other end of the cable...

And so, they clip you onto the line and more or less shove you over the edge!
Well there was some safety checking, and the first launch was a bit more gentle than that, but it did seem to be a bit "perfunctory" compared to the amount of "gear checking" that Im used to doing for rock climbing! :)

But, after a couple of runs (there were over twenty sections to be "zipped") they start clipping you in at "odd angles" and letting you see how each option feels...

Some of the sections were over a couple of hundred metres long and you get moving quite quickly. I have to say that, while they call it eco-tourism, in truth you have virtually no time at all while "zipping" to appreciate the jungle at all... Ahh, but normally there are a bunch of tourists doing it in a group, and while one person clips in and "zips", the others are standing around on the platform and I guess they can enjoy looking at the jungle canopy while they wait :)
But not for me... No, it was all a bit of a blur of a few zip sections and then an abseil and a zip, and a spiral staircase and a couple more zips, and a suspended bridge and a zip and another abseil.... etc.

Actually, I was impressed with the care and expense put into the many hundreds of metres of walking trail on the hillside between a couple of sections of zip line... It was all very well cabled and duck-boarded (effectively a suspended bridge at ground level). I can see that it would be necessary though in the rainy season since with about a hundred people a day coming through, it would all turn into an eroded mud-fest very quickly. So, the expense is I guess justified in that it ensures the tourists dont get filthy and injured and so have a better experience ... so more tourists will want to do it and the business makes more money :)

... And after a short break, it was back to more zip lining...

ohh... And looking at the flowers and orchids too of course :)

And then after about an hour or so of "flying through the jungle", I was done!

Another successful tourist dollar earned... and the tourist wasnt grubby, or injured, or dead either... a good day :)

And I got back in time to see the next batch of tourists heading off into the jungle to do some of their own flying :)

Yes it fun, but I doubt Ill do it again... Its really a zero-skill, zero-attention required,supper-safe adrenaline hit and I tend not to need that so much these days :)

As for the eco-tourism aspect of it, well, like I say, I think there is really very little "eco" about it other than the jungle providing a "pleasantly exotic back-drop" to this adrenalin activity. That said though, it was all run very professionally, and as far as I could see, lt did do very little damage to the environment. It also brought a sizeable business out into a very small village and provided direct employment for ten to twenty village people as well as indirect employment for another ten or twenty. A slight down-side is of course that when any community gets "mass" employment from a single corporate source then they effectively become economic "slave" to that business since there are no other local options... Its great while it works, but if the business ever decides to move to a different village then the local economy (and often the village) never recovers. Likewise, after the initial economic up-swing for the village, the locals ultimately have very little bargaining power over wages etc since again, there are no other local options... So, there are those aspects as well.

And what about profits for the business??
Well, it looks pretty good to me... It takes a year or so to set-up the cables/platforms for one of these businesses (assuming you have done it before and know what you are doing), and a similar time (concurrently) to train up and prepare the local employees and support businesses. The capital investment in the cable-way and tree platforms is significant as well as a sizeable investment in client equipment (harnesses, helmets, pulleys, carabiners etc). But once thats in, the operating costs look like they are quite low (mostly just wages). They are charging between $40 and $70 per person and they get over a hundred people a day through in high season... Thats about $5000 a day coming in and operating expenses of pretty much only 15 local village employee wages (really low cost here in Thailand.). Note also that I didnt see a single Foreigner in any active role in the business, though Im absolutely sure that it was set-up by and administered by foreigners. So they are now just taking the profits somewhere and likely setting up other similar businesses in other exotic tourist locations!. Of course, they have to amortise the capital equipment costs (which I dont really know but would guess are of the order of $100K), which I think would probably be over a 10 year period for the cable-ways and 1-2 year period for the client equipment.

... Anyway, I think it looks like a pretty profitable enterprise! and its certainly way better than logging the forest! (which by-the-way is now completely illegal in Thailand, so at least these villagers now have an alternate source of income).
So, though this is not really very eco-involved, as it were, it does result in effectively utilising the forest in a largely non-destructive way (Though Id stop well short of saying it helps "protect" the forest), It gets city people out into the native landscape at least a bit (and that fosters at least some appreciation for the natural environment) and it is a good business proposition too.

So I guess Im OK with this one :))

... On to the next "eco-adventure"!...

High Wattage

2011-12-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai is the premier city in Northern Thailand.
It was first settled about 800 years ago and being close to China, Laos, and Burma, has an assortment of cultural influences.
One of the stronger influences that is more or less nationally aligned but is very strong up here is Buddhism, and the old city of Chiang Mai (which is a walled city of about three square kilometres in area) has something like a hundred Watts (Buddhist temples) !!

So, in my wanderings about the place I am constantly going past these Watts... Each one built so many years ago by such and such a leader in honour of this great monk or that great event etc... It all seems much of a muchness in many regards. And, just like Catholicism in the West, it seems to me that the vast majority of people here feel that they can get some sort of divine "good will" by making offerings to the temples and praying to the statues and stuppas etc... It seems very much like idolatry to me rather than what Im sure the Buddha in the East or Christ/Moses/Mohamed etc in the West would have sincerely preferred, that people "think about" and more importantly "act on" the ideals of their teaching/preaching!!... But it seems most of us (regardless of what age we live in or our socio-economic status) would in general, much rather be given a simple set of words to recite and some simple rituals to perform in order to gain our eternal salvation/enlightenment... Its far easier that way than the struggle of changing our lives in ways that are difficult!... Oh well, each to their own I guess ... And Im surely not really much different myself ! :)

But, back to my time here in Chiang Mai...
So, while Ive been wandering around, whenever I pass one of these plentiful temples, Ive decided to go in and have a bit of a look-see.
And the thing that Ive noted (well one of the things that seems more apparent this time anyway), is that every one of the temples has numerous statues of assorted sizes of the Buddha... and that each and every one is unique :)
They are of course all stylised representations of the Buddha, but even so, they all have different facial expressions, and I find that I like some more significantly more than others :) ...
Here are just a few of the ones Ive visited:

Now I Remember

2011-12-09T23:03:00.000-08:00

... I remember what it is that I absolutely hate about long distance public transport by bus/coach...

Its not the noise, its not the crowding, its not the fact that people are so apparently "unaware" when it comes to being the least bit considerate for others. Its not the inevitable delays in arrival and departure times or the meal stops at designated roadside restaurants where there are no other options... Its not even the constantly screaming children or the sickeningly common inconsiderate smoking habits of others... I can deal with all those with comparative ease...

... Its the shape of the damn seats!

Its amazing that such a simple thing can turn my life into a living hell... but thats what it does, and now I remember that it always has done.
Pretty much all of my recent travelling has been on a motorbike, and as such, Im in control of pretty much all of the other factors I mentioned above, so I figured it would be those things that gave me more difficulties... And on a motorbike, there is no back rest, so I would have imagined that having something instead of nothing would be preferable!

But its just not so.
It turns out that the modern "sculpted" shape to the back of any "coach class" chair, be it in a bus or aircraft is an absolutely awful design for someone of my stature! Yep, the carefully designed shoulder hollow and neck support seem to be designed for the statures of the average western female and the average eastern male of somewhere between 150cm and 165cm tall (just a guess). But for me at 182cm tall, the hollows and lumps are in the EXACTLY WRONG places!... Even a flat board of hard wood would be far better than the padded shape on offer!
... And of course the shape is completely non-adjustable, so there is not much I can do about it... I try using padding to help, but its of very limited value, so mostly I just have to "live with it" and accept the fact that after the average eight hour bus trip, it will take me two more days to start to feel normal again.

By the way, Ive now abandoned the beaches of Southern Cambodia and bused my way back to Bangkok and thence North to Chiang Mai....Far too many hours on bus!

I shall just have to avail myself of more of the abundant Thai-massage vendors about the place :)

Squid on a Stick

2011-12-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

There are lots a different "walk by" street vendors... or more accurately, beach vendors here. And, not surprisingly, seafood is a common theme in their "wares".

Its one of those aspects of a tropical beach holiday to a developing world country that most people amuse themselves with. The first time you travel to such a place, these "street meat" and trinket sellers seem quaint and interesting, and after a day or so, people start to "sample" some of the "safer"options. Then, after a day or two more, people usually get a bit more adventurous and start to try some of the food items. But, then after a few days of the constant badgering and sales pitches, most of us get into a bit of a jaded phase with them and we usually end up getting a bit "curt" when they ask us if we are interested in their wares! But, after a bit longer, pretty much everyone seems to accept the fact that these pushy street vendors are just part of the way of things in this part of the world and we find a way to deal with their regular assaults on our ears and wallets :)

As usual, I've tried out a few different options while Ive been here, and I think my favourites this trip have been the lychees and the BBQ squid :))) yum!

And whileI was here,I also decided to spend a day Scuba diving just to see what the local under-water world is like...
And it was relatively pleasant day to be sure, with fine weather and a two hour boat ride out to the dive site on a quaint littlelocal fishing boat.

But Id have to say I was disappointed with the diving... Not from the perspective of the marine life which was plentiful and varied... But rather from the disappointing visibility which was never more than about five metres!... and apparently its pretty much always like that... Oh well!

Beach Time

2011-12-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well, there was some interesting stuff in the big city, but its very noisy and grubby, and I didnt really enjoy being there that much.

So after spending a day or two in Phnom Penh and seeing what I wanted to see, I hopped on another bus and headed further South...
Cambodia has several hundred kilometres of very nice coast-line replete with beautiful sandy beaches and tropical islands too.
So, thats where Ive been for the last few days. Just laying around on a beach... getting sun-burnt, drinking Mango shakes, reading a book, swilling back beers at 50c a glass, having very pleasant evening meals made up of more beer and local seafood BBQ on the beach too :)))

Those Infamous Killing Fields

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Im in Phnom Penh...

And every tourist visiting the city takes a tour of the `Killing Fields`...

From 1975 till 1978, Cambodia was ruled by one of the worlds more recent and more ruthless political regimes... Draconian would be a definite understatement!
The political group were called the Khmer Rouge, and they followed an ìdealised `Maoist` doctrine of a `simple agrarian, communal society`... no money, no technology, no personal possessions.
But, regardless of what they `believed in`, the end result of their rise to power through military force and subsequent forced exercise in "social engineering" was one of the most ruthless dictatorships in history! Within days of taking control of the county`s capital city, the entire population were re-located en-mass to the countryside to `live the life that was `RIGHT`.

... and they did it by force... brutal ruthless, relentless force!

Of course, their idealised vision was impossible to create, but that didnt matter (You simply cant triple a country's rice production in a single season using manual labour no matter how much brute force you throw at it)...
And of course, like all such regimes before them (and no doubt those that have and will come after them too), as time progressed, the ruling elite became more and more paranoid and there were purges and the brutality increased...
And in just about three short years, the Khmer Rouge had either directly and brutally murdered , or starved to death through work malnourishment and disease, about 1.5 million people, amounting to one fifth of the country's population!!
Most people lump it in with the "genocide" label, but in truth, most of the killing was not aimed at a racial group within the overall population, but rather, it was an ideology targeting "modernity"... All technology or modern knowledge was deemed to be a problem and to be removed... Any professionals of any sort were killed, Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Administrators, Engineers, etc. Educated people were targeted... even wearing glasses or just having soft hands was plenty of reason to end up dead!
And they didnt just stop with the "offenders" either, they killed the offenders entire family too... babys and grandparents and, well, basically everyone!... "If you want to kill a weed then you need to kill its roots and its seeds too!"

... Absolutely horrific, and I can not find words to describe any of it!

In the end, their own paranoia and self destruction made them vulnerable enough for the "recently Communist" Vietnam to invade and bring their reign to an end!
But, it doesnt stop there, because the scale of the atrocities was fairly quickly discovered, but the Western democratic powers were still very much afraid of the Communist states (which were still in the ascendant phase at the time), so the West decided that they would prefer to continue to recognise the dethroned Khmer Rouge (who were hiding out in the jungle regions of the country) rather than the communist Vietnamese liberators and so rather than persue culpability of the top cadre of the group for their "Crimes Against Humanity", they chose to legitimise them, give them monetary and military support, and a seat at the UN as well!!!!!!!
And to this day, only a few of the top Cadre (And most of them are located and identified) have been executed or prosecuted. Pol Pot himself (the leader of the KR), died just a few years ago, but he was never imprisoned or brought to justice for what he did. Most of the others in the group are it seems likely to die peacefully at home after living long and comfortable lives!!!!
Truly, there is no justice!!!!

But, those three short years were enough to absolutely destroy the country and scar the people and in fact, the world... forever!

And so, while Im here I (like most tourists) decided to visit a couple of the significant sites and to "think about" what happened and why, and try to commit it and my thoughts and to memory so to speak.

First place to visit was the largest of the "Security Prisons" called S21 in the city here... It was a school before it became a prison, and its a fairly simple set of four three floor buildings, each of about 60m long. Its simple concrete block construction with flat roofs , painted walls and tiled floors. When it became a prison, they added closed surrounding walls and wire, and divided about half of the class-rooms into tiny 75cm x 2.5m cells with either wood or brick walls. The other half of the rooms were interrogation and administration rooms.

According to their own meticulous records, the KR "processed" about 17,000 people in this place and no one who was ever brought there was ever "released"... They all either died during interrogation or were taken away and executed...
When the Vietnamese liberated the city, they found only 14 prisoners there, all dead and I believe all still shackled to the iron bed frames where they had been tortured to death.
But, as a current day visitor, its all pretty sanitised of course... The structure is all still intact and there are still some few of specific larger pieces of "equipment", but the two most striking things for me were as follows...

First, there are a few large prints of grainy black and white pictures of those last 14 victims on the walls of the rooms where they were found (about the only gruesome imagery in the place at all). And the rusty steel bed frames and a wooden desk or chair or two as well... And you can clearly see from the picture details that this is the exact room and the exact bed frame where that person died a horrendous death... The only things missing from the space are that the actual body has been removed, and the puddle of blood and filth beneath them has been washed away and the smell along with it... You are standing on the same tiles where that puddle of muck was... and bearing witness as you may!

The second thing is that in many of the larger rooms there are many display boards with hundreds of the pictures that the KR took of their "victims" before they were interrogated... There are no names or dates or other details...The thing about the pictures is that you get to see their expressions (which is of course the point)... Some angry, some sad, some defiant, some afraid, many blanc or uncomprehending... Its quite a mirror on ones own feelings and thoughts... I as usual found myself "feeling" more when I saw the women's faces than for the men...Still not sure why that is?

So, I walked around the place and read the information available and looked... and thought... And then I went back out to find my tooktook driver and we headed off to the second site...

This was the actual "killing field" site for that prison facility and it was about 15km away, on the outskirts of the city. The site is now a park/memorial and they have an extremely well set-up little self guided audio tour... You pay your entry fee and they give you the little audio set and off you go to slowly walk around the tour sites. Like I said, its very well done and has some quite moving snippets from various survivors from the period.
The site is actually surprisingly compact... There are none of the original structures remaining (they were all flimsy and temporary anyway), but there are about fifty quite small pits (say 3mx3m on average). There is also a small dam/lake, and some orchard trees that were always there. The whole site is only a couple of hundred metres square, but in those fifty odd little pits, they found over 8000 bodies!!! (And to date, over a hundred of these types of sites have been found in Cambodia!)
And one of the more horrific little sites is a large old tree against which the KR executioners regularly took babies from their mothers, gripped them by the legs, and simply smashed them against the tree trunk... after which the mothers were themselves bludgeoned to death (no bullets were used as that was too expensive!)........ again, words simply fail me...

The main structure at the site is a new one. Its a memorial stuppa that has been built to house the bones of those exhumed at the site. There are about fifteen layers of shelves in the structure that is probably about 20m tall, and the skulls are all plainly visible from outside since the structure is effectively made of four stout concrete columns with glass walls. And of course the visibility is the point...Lest We Forget!
Its not at all ghoulish and I thought it was all done very respectfully and openly...

And so, that was basically "the tour", and on reflection, I guess I was expecting to have more "feelings" evoked in me by being at the places in person so to speak... You know, maybe feel something dark, or sinister, or oppressive about the buildings or the site or something. But truth is, for me, they felt completely blank... Now I could easily, and of course did, evoke very strong feelings of all sorts by thinking about what happened, but thats "self inflicted"...The places themselves evoked nothing in me!

So, its the "thinking path" for me again, and I've done my usual session of pondering about it all and trying to understand... And I think Im a reasonably able person when it comes to seeing other perspectives. I can usually find a way to see how someone can feel the way they do about something, or do something that I would not do myself... And for lots of aspects of these atrocious human acts, I can see how they come about... Its power and greed and fear and anger mostly... All very human and all of us have these failings, limitations, frailties etc. So, I get that, but I can not for the life of me (I cant decide if thats an apt, inapt, or inept turn of phrase in this case ;) ) fathom how it is that people can inflict these kinds of cruelty on other people who have clearly not done something to the person doing the torture...
I can of course see how people can be made to do just about anything by force, fear, and manipulation... But thats not the case here. Well Im sure it has its place but its not my main point... My thought is that to do these things to people I like to think that I'd have to be forced to do it... That Id feel guilt or regret... And that if I had to do it repeatedly, Id probably find a way of mentally walling myself off from the pain of inflicting this sort of suffering on others... Yes, I get the "dissociation" thing, And I get the "reallocation" of anger/pain from one subject to another; And I get the idea of power and control...But none of that covers it either... There is no doubt in my mind that the people inflicting the torture were actively enjoying it... a lot!, and not for any purpose other than to inflict as much pain as they could!
And its not like its just a few rare pathological people with this ability to dissociate from any guilt, No, on the contrary, throughout history, "thuggish" behaviour is an easily harnessed tool for regimes who want to control populations... It seems that there are lots of us who have the ability to do this... and that means, given the right circumstances its probably a latent aspect in all of us...

And thats a very scary thought!
And, I think its a peculiarly "human" trait!... Yes, dogs and some other animals can become habituated to killing livestock or people etc, and yes, they can clearly enjoy what they are doing, but I dont think they can or do deliberately think up ways to deliberately inflict more pain... either physically or emotionally...

Most of us live our lives without that "necessary stimulus" it seems.. There are of course some very few who become mass murderers, and many more who become pathological liars, and many more of us still who seem to treat ethics as more or less a "convenience", but for the most part most of us manage to act in "Socially Acceptable" ways, most of the time.
But I think the kind of mental processes that enable people to enjoy performing the kinds of atrocity that were done here require us to really and absolutely "take the gloves off" on our psyches so to speak. And its pretty alarming to see what that can lead to!
Now obviously it can happen (and history shows us that it frequently does), but I really honestly have not been able to find it in myself...
But, I think that just demonstrates what a fortunate life Ive had... I think its one of those things, like living through a war or surviving a natural disaster... No one who has not been through it themselves can ever know what it means, and there is ever-after a gulf of understanding between those that have experienced it and those that have not.. A bridge that once crossed can never be returned across...

And so, in the end, I simply dont understand... and I guess I should be grateful for that...

Cambodia Impressions

2011-11-29T05:11:00.000-08:00

So, Im here in Cambodia, and Ive had a short visit to the city of Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor.
But I figure that is hardly a fair impression of the country, so I decided to spend a bit longer and took a bus trip to the capital city of Phnom Penh.

And, again, the bus trip took pretty much the whole day and I got a pretty good look at the countryside along the way. The country I went through is pretty flat... Actually, its Exceedingly flat!... Its part of the flood plains/drainage system of the massive Mekong river.
Now, it is only just the start of the dry season here, but Id have to say that if "global warming" causes the sea level to rise pretty much at all, then most of this part of Cambodia looks like it is at serious risk of being flooded!

All of the country that I travelled through was one vast, cultivated swamp!... No self respecting Cambodian farmers house in this area is built without stilts of about three metres in height. The land is covered with rice fields and coconut palms are sprinkled about the place too. There are mango and papaya trees around the simple wood, thatch mat, and corrugated steel homes, and there are lots of water buffalo and Brahman cattle about the place too. There seem to be relatively few chickens but many more ducks as livestock.
One thing that I was a bit surprised at is that pretty much every household in the country (and they are very simple agrarian dwellings) has its own "fish farm"... Thats over stating it a bit, but essentially, every house has a pond or, more accurately, enlarged road-side ditch with brown muddy water in it, and its used for most water requiring activities like watering the stock and washing the kids,... and farming fish...
It seems that since the land is too wet for goats and chickens, the people have substituted fish and ducks for their dietary protein needs (which makes perfect sense of course). Just take a walk through any market and you will find an amazing variety of aquatic life being sold for food... There are many sizes and varieties of eels and catfish and Perch and other fish that are barely bigger than your little finger, but apparently thats not an issue and if they taste OK, thats enough... There are also plenty of sizeable frogs (sold by the Kg!) and the occasional tortoise too.

Virtually the only `solid land` that I saw in my journey was the dike that the road was built on... There also seemed to be a thriving trade in land... Not `lots` of land but rather earth its self.... a rare and valuable commodity around here (a whole new meaning to "real estate agent"!!).

Anyway, the vast expanses of the countryside were paddy fields... Not in that romanticised view of verdant green rice fields sculpted onto the sides of rolling hills, interspersed with idyllic little thatched cottages and happy little farm workers in the paddys planting rice;
But rather in the form of vast expanses of flat flooded land with mind numbing drudgery under the hot sun and covered from head to toe in brown mud, day in, day out,... forever... Its a simple and constant struggle to survive for the farmers !

And even that main `highway` that I was on was barely a two lane paved road ... With plenty of pot-holes and mud and dust in the mix too.
And the vehicle of choice across the land... Well its the little motorbike of course. The country is absolutely full of little 100-125cc motorbikes, and they are all of the `step-through` frame style rather than the `leg-over`type too. (A bit different to Central and South America).
And most of the took-tooks here are different from those on Thailand too... They`ve mostly adopted a `trailer` type solution to the problem here... They bolt on a bracket over the top of the back seat (which means the bike can be disconnected and used as just a bike as well) and then they can attach any old motorbike to the passenger trailer ... which comfortably seats two westerners, or squishes in four, or seats a good six to eight of the locals,... or pretty much ALL of whatever it is that you want to transport anywhere, regardless of size or weight if you are a local :))

And the city traffic is a pretty interesting experience too... Its certainly more chaotic than most Central American cities, but it also has far fewer cars (though trucks are very prevalent) and far fewer traffic lights too.. But the traffic seems well adjusted to cope with lots of motorbikes going in every direction imaginable ... Including a `counter flow`stream of traffic up the side of pretty much every òne-way`street you see :)) The dominant rules seems to be `make allowances` for others, and `dont make any too sudden changes in direction... In any event, it seems to work quite well, and I think I wouldnt have too much trouble adapting to it on a motorbike :))

A Visit to Angkor

2011-11-29T01:08:00.000-08:00

When I decided to go visit my family, I also decided to stop off in SE Asia on the way back to Canada.

Its a very long flight from Vancouver to Perth and there is no such thing as a direct flight...
And if there was then it would be something like 18-20 hours long!.
I ended up booking my flight through Hong Kong for price and availability, but I have no real urge to spend any time there.
But for the return flight, I decided Id use the stop-over to take another little break somewhere in SE Asia. Even though Ive been to Thailand before, I decided to book a short hop return flight to Bangkok to use as a "base of opperations" and take the opportunity to do a little touristing...

And, first on the list of things to go see was the well known temples of "Angkor Wat"...
But thats not in Thailand, its next door in Cambodia. So, after a day or two of acclimatising to the tropics in Bangkok, I hopped on a bus for the day long trip across the boarder to the city of Siem Reap. And then I spent a day checking out the legendary temples...

I should state here that I didnt really have too great a expectations of the place for a couple of reasons... First off, the temples have been a major tourist attraction since the end of the second world war (barring a decade or so when the Cambodian boarders were closed to all foreigners). So, I expected that there would be absolutely nothing that was remotely "un-touristy" or "remote/authentic".
And secondly, I've had plenty of encounters with other travellers over the years who have been there and have told me more or less what to expect.

So, with those thoughts in mind, Id decided to go see it anyway and in the end, I got about what I was expecting...
Thats probably a bit hard on the place really because its a very impressive group of temples and it is without doubt a marvel for its time (1000 -1500 years old or so). And it is clear that there were massive feats of earth moving and stone carving canal digging, and engineering etc. The structures are, in my mind, on par with the Aztec and Inca citys of central America and Peru, and the Hindu city of Kajuraho too.
... Incidentally, Angkor Wat has a great deal more in common with Kajuraho than I had thought... I'd thought Angkor was a Buddhist temple, but it was in fact built as a Hindu temple to the god Vishnu, and later became used as a Buddhist temple (Many of the temples at the site have mixed Hindu/Buddhist architecture/symbology.

Back to my personal experiences...
The challenge for me though was as expected... the tourists (of which, I was of course one)... There were absolutely "Hordes" of us and especially groups of Japanese tourists... And they were all very nice and polite, if a bit noisy. And the site is more or less "in Japan's back-yard" so to speak, so I have absolutely nothing against them (or anyone else for that matter) being there and "doing their thing " at all... Its just challenging for me personally... The site sees more than 10,000 tourists each day!!

Anyway, other than that, I guess I found it all a bit "smaller" than I'd expected... Its funny how we form our expectations of scale... I guess it mostly comes from other people's descriptions in our imaginations, and Holywood's imagery...

Lots of pictures, and I find that I'm "Way out of practice at photo taking", but here they are:

They say we are all ``Budhas in progress``

Visiting the Fam

2011-11-28T04:56:00.000-08:00

Ive not seen any of my family for five or six years now, and I kinda figured I probably should go visit them... If not for myself, then at least for the nephews and nieces who must wonder who their eccentric Uncle Grant is:)

So, as soon as my most recent short contract finished, I hopped on a flight (paid for with credit card points) for Perth and started a short tour of my family (who all live in different places in the South West of Western Australia.

So here are a few photos of my little visit

A Usefull Heritage

2011-11-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

It seems that my little truck is a bit "vulnerable" at the moment.

And I demonstrated that very point quite clearly the day after I got back to Vancover with it when I casually managed to lock the keys in the truck while I was messing about with the door at work during lunch time...

My initial response to the situation was "Well, that was dumb! ... Now what ?". Cos I only had the one door key at the time ... Yes, its on my list of things to do promptly, but you cant get key blanks for cars from 1972 very easily any more!.
So, I considered calling the Auto Club(though I dont have a membership so it would be a costly option) for roadside assistance, but decided that would be a last resort...
After all, Im originally an Australian... And Australia (and consequently all current Australians) was originally populated largely by Britains criminal classes...
Its one of the three basic criminal skills... Safe Cracking, Jail Braking, and Car Stealling... I should be genetically pre-disposed to solving this problem with ease!
I just need to let my native instincts "do their thing"..

So, I stop and think for a minute or two and I decide that what I need is a "slim jim", which is the standard locked car entry/stealing tool... Hmmm, dont have one and I dont know anyone who does.
Hmmm, well, before they had those, they used to use... a coat hanger!... But Im at work, not at home... Not to worry, Im sure there is a closet somewhere in the building, and where there is a closet, there is bound to be a coat hanger! A quick walk around the cubicle farm office area locates a closet... and Yes! At one end of the closet are a few old wire coat hangers :)

So, back out to the truck and look at the problem.
It seems to me there are a couple of approaches to this... I can either try to pull the lock mechanism up by sliding the coat hanger down between the window and the door panel, Or, I can try to pull the "lock button" up by sliding the coat hanger in sideways between the window frame and the truck body... I try the first option, but it does not want to go because all the window felts and seals are new and well fitted... and I really dont want to scratch the paint!.... So, I try the second option... Hmmm I can get the coat hanger through OK, but its a bit tricky to hook onto the button... I pull the coat hanger out and bend it this way and that and try it again... Almost but not quite... Pull it out and bend it a bit more... Try again and "pop!" its unlocked!!!...

Wow, that was way too easy!
It took me only about five minutes to do that from scratch, and Ive never done it before!

I think Im gonna have to put a club-lock on the steering wheel and put a kill-switch under the dash quick smart!... Auto security was definitely not that well developed back in 1972!

... Hmm I wonder what other uses I will find for my genetic heritage? :)))

Trains, Covered Bridges, and a Noisy Ride Home

2011-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went down to Oregon to collect my little truck...

My friend I-fan came along for the voyage and to collect some stuff she had ordered from a US store that had arrived.

The plan was to take public transport down to the big town in Oregon near where the little truck was, on Saturday; Collect the little truck, stay the night, and then drive back to Vancover on Sunday with a bit of sight seeing and a stop to collect I-fan's stuff.

We decided to take the train... Its been such a long time since I took a train ride :))

It turned out the first leg of the "train ride" was by bus though! From Vancouver to Seattle (just over the boarder in the US) was a regular coach bus. Then there was a break while the train loaded which we used to go get breakfast and a coffee at a nice little cafe near the station. And then the rest of the day was a rather pleasant train ride through the Pacific NorthWest with all the fall colours of the countryside sliding pleasantly by :)

In due course we arrived at our destination and after a phone call or two, we took a cab to a local hotel and then set about finding a suitable dinner. A couple of hours later I heard the distinctive rumble of a V8 engine pull up in front of the hotel and a quick glance out the window confirmed that it was indeed Mike bringing my little truck over.

I hurried down to meet him and did a bit of a walk around the truck ... Niiiice! :)

Anyway, then I drove Mike back to his shop and we had a more thorough look at all the work he had done. I was very pleased with it...

Then I drove back to the hotel for the night.

Next morning, we headed off through the local countryside following a little road tour to a few of the local covered bridges...

There are about a half dozen of them in the area and it was just interesting to see them...

The obvious question that springs to mind about these bridges is "Why cover them?"

And the answer is that without the cover, the bridge would last about 10-15 years, but with the cover they last 80 years or more... And, when these bridges were built, they were actually private business concerns. They were built by private citizens rather than local governments, and there was a small toll for the public to cross them (I read 5c for a horse-and-rider and 3c per head of livestock).

All that aside, we had a nice little tour of the local country side while the little truck got a bit of a run in before setting out on the long drive back North... Actually, its been about four years since I drove any vehicle with more than two wheels, so I was getting a bit of practice too :)

And there were some wild turkeys on the road ... Running for cover too .... I think the US thanksgiving holiday was only a week or two away (Turkey is the traditional main meal I believe!)

The truck was going fine after the little tour, so we got on the big I5 highway and headed North...
The trip went well but the little truck was quite a "handfull" to controll at highway speeds. The truck has such a short wheel-base that steering is very "twitchy". That just means you have to pay attention while driving, but the problem was greatly compounded by the absolutely terrible tires that it had on...
They are big tires with a high sidewall profile, and made from a really hard compound rubber with large lugs... They would be great for driving around in the mud, but they are about the roughest and noisiest things you could put on it and just to add to the challenge, they were quite baddly worn too... Wich all added up to about the worst highway handling possible...
So, I took it fairly slowly and planned to change the tires as soon as I got back to Vancouver.

Another unexpected and interesting experience on the drive North was all the attention from other people that the little truck gets! It actually became a bit of a sport for us... Spotting people in other cars on the highway staring at it.
I got more "thumbs up" and smiles and nods etc. in a few hours than I think I ever got riding my big motorbike with all the flags of the countries Id been to plastered on the panniers.
And whenever we stopped for fuel (which, saddly, was very frequently with the V8 engine!) or food, Id invariably end up in a short conversation with someone every few minutes about the little truck... It was mostly with guys but women also seem to like it and ask about it.
So it seems that my little truck is a "female"... Shes deffinitely "a bit of a flirt" with the boys... They all want to "get to know her" and come trotting over with their toungs hanging out, their eyes a bit wide, and big smiles on their faces... Its quite funny to watch :)

And Ive already had someone ask me if I want to sell it within a day of getting it back to Vancouver!
... But thats not at all why I did the project, and I dont think anyone has any real idea of what it actually cost to get the Bronco back to this kind of condition.
It is of course quite flattering that so many people like the little truck the way I like it, but Im not sure I like all the attention that it generates... Its a pretty repetetive conversation Im always having... "Yeah, its a 72... Yeah 302 V8 engine... Yeah thanks, I like it too..... More than you think it costs"...etc.etc.

No, Im not interested in selling it or even in the complements it gets. (Though those compliments really should go to Mike who did all the restoration work, not me!)
Ill just be happy to use it as my winter transport and tinker away on it for quite a while I think :)

About that little Truck...

2011-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I posted about it, but you might remember that I bought a beaten up little 4WD truck a couple of years back, with the intent of "restoring/renovating" it...
But, that was before I headed off South on my second motorcycle "odyssey".
Since then , the little truck has gone through a couple of "phases"...
Before I bought it, the poor little fellow was languishing in someones large back yard and being used by teenaged sons to "mess around in the mud". As far as I can tell, the last time the truck was officially registered for use on the road was back in 2001. After I bought it, the first phase was a little different to how it had been treated before because it was now "left alone" but still out in the same back yard. And it got no further attention till I came back from my long riding trip about a year later.

At that point, I spent a day doing some really basic and rough work just to get the little fellow running again. But there were significant problems with it, and I really didnt feel I could successfully drive it back to Vancouver without breaking down and then having to tow it... So, at that point I decided to enlist some local professional help to do the big mechanical and body work down in Oregon rather than up in Canada.
What I wanted to do with the little truck was basically a full "body off frame" restoration (in order to get rid of the inevitable rust patches after 40 years in the Pacific NorthWest), and even though this is a small, simple, old vehicle, I knew that this was going to be hundreds of hours of work that I was going to have to pay for... And I felt I really needed to earn some money before I started in on this big project...

And that was over a year ago.
And so, after I rode back North to Vancouver I got myself a contract job and then started working on the motorbike project through the winter and since then the big house renovation project and then the table top too...
And the little truck lived much the same life as it had for the previous year... Languishing in a back yard (although now it was in a different back yard).

... and so, working I have been...

But, earlier this year (In the Spring), I called up the workshop where the truck was waiting and I gave Mike (the professional ) the go-ahead to start working on it... And "work on it" he did!!!

First thing to happen was they rolled it into the big workshop and took off the old cab top... It was rusty and dented but fixable, but I had decided that I wanted it changed to the "half cab" version. So, the guy doing the work did some research and found a disused original steel half cab (much better and more authentic than the fibreglass after-market versions). So, the bolts were undone, and off came the old top and the new one was fitted on to see how it looked...

And sure enough, I like it better than with the old full cab :))

But that was just a trial fitting, and then the top came off a gain and they really went to work.

The rear tire carrier was removed and the holes were welded and patched.

And the auxiliary fuel-tank filler was removed and patched.

And the passenger side engine bay panels were rebuilt to fix extensive localised rust (presumably from spilled battery acid over the years).

And then the body was removed from the frame and all the removable doors and panels were seperated and all the paint was ground off, and the little dings and dents were patched and filled.

And the mechanicals of the suspension and chassis were given a going over too.
Its a V8 engine of almost 5litre capacity (Ford Widsor 302 "small block") with a three speed automatic (that was in very bad condition). I decided that I reallly didnt like the old auto transmission, and I comitted to paying $5000 for a new specially designed substitute 5-speed manual gearbox.

And then the engine got a going over... It was working OK but it was "rough" and you know how it goes with reno' projects of any sort... One thing leads to another and you may as well do this extra job while your doing the other stuff... etc...
So, the motor got its share of attention... Though the only major work it needed was a new competition cam cos the old one had a flattened lobe.

And then the body and the panels were ready for primer...

And then it was time for paint... I decided I wanted a dark but "deep" blue, and it took me quite a while to find a colour that I really liked. I just watched cars on the street till I found one that I liked in different weather conditions (Cloud and sun effect the appearance so much I find). It is a Toyota colour called "Indigo Ink Pearl".

And then it was time to bolt it all back together.
The whole process had taken well over six months by a professional shop, and unfortunately for me it had taken a lot more time and a lot more replacement parts than I had hoped (and than Mike the professional restorer had expected too), and that all added up to lots more cost.
I had initially hoped that I could do a basic restore for about $10K or so, but Mike had corrected me early on that it would definitely be more than that...Like probably TWICE that much!
It turned out to be even "significantly more" than that! and I have to admit that I was quite stressed by the accumulating costs and felt that I probably made a mistake undertaking this project through a professional... Even though it was undoubtedly going to be a "top notch" job and Id get all the big fixing done in the one effort....rather than spending several years with the car alternately on and off the road etc.
But, what can ya do once you've got half way through the project?... You carry on and finish it of course :) ...

So, after monthly calls with Mike and monthly visa bills that always made my eyes water!, it was DONE!
And this is what that little truck looks like after all that work...

The pictures dont do the colour justice, but in short Im "very" happy with it.

Pretty much every lead and wire and hose in the engine bay as well as all the auxiliary systems like power steering, brake master unit, and alternator have been rebuilt or replaced new. But its still a pretty "Plain Jane" engine bay with the original "points" ignition system and old four barrel Webber carby... Nothing fancy in there.

And the interior of the cab is very rudimentary at the moment... No carpet or radio or liner panels at all, just the bare painted steel cab... I find I quite like it, and I think Ill probably keep it largely as it is.
Call it Simple, or Basic, or Utilitarian, or Spartan, or Rustic... you pick :)

And so, thats the transformation of the little Truck...
And though I didnt end up doing all the work my-self as was the original idea, on review I have to say that I definitely made a good choice to work with Mike from NW-Autofab in Oregon to do the bulk of the work... He did an amazingly good job on it and having gone over the receipts for all the hours worked and the parts replaced,and looked at the quality of his workmanship over the entire vehicle, I have to say that I think I got a real bargain, despite the painfull cost.
And while Im probably never going to undertake another project like this, if I did, I would not hesitate to get Mike involved... I really appreciated what he did for me and the little truck :)

Now I just have to go down to Oregon and get it...

And Now its Shiny Too

2011-10-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ive continued working on that table top, and with a bit more work than planned I now have a very pretty, flt, smooth , and shiny table top :)

I had quite a few options of how to finish the wood... Oil, Stain, Varnish, Epoxy etc.
I pretty much already knew that I didnt want to sttain the wood since it has a nice rich hue as it is and it will get darker and richer as time passes... Exposure to warmth/heat enhances the yellows in wood, while exposure to UV light enhances the reds... Though too much of either will degrade the wood.
So, the wood would be left its natural colour, but I still had to decide how to seal it.

After due consideration and some consultation with the guys down at the specialty wood shop where I bought the wood, I decided that I would try using an epoxy.
Ive used epoxy quite a lot for bonding things together in all sorts of applications, but this would be my first effort at using it as a coating.
The particular version of epoxy I was going to use is specifically designed for this type of application. It is "food safe", finishes very "hard" (not slightly soft like many epoxys), and shinny (miror like finish), and best of all, it is "self leveling".

So, the theory is that you carefully mix out the right proportions of the two componet liquids, mix them thoroughly together and then pour the resulting clear viscous goo onto the table top (which you have carefully leveled beforehand). spread the goo out over the surface ... and then you just watch and wait!...While it cures.
So, I set the table-top up in my spare room, and carefully leveled it. Then I made sure it was all clean and dust free.
Then I set about mixing up about 2.5 litres of the epoxy. It was easy to measure out but I didnt have quite the right set-up for thorough mixing, and I had to do it in two sb-batches. Anyway, one batch at a time I poured the goop onto the table and spread it around with the brush till it was right to the edge of the table and pretty even all over. Then I brushed over the edges and the epoxy then started to slowly drip off the sides...
That all took just about an hour to complete.
Over the next three hours I would visit the table and check on its progress about once every 15 minutes or so. Initially this was to ensure that the "self-leveling" was going well, but then it focussed more on "dabbing" out the few tiny little bubbles that were not coming out by them selves, and finaly I was just giving the edge a once over with the brush to remove a few "runs" on the sections where there was a bit more dripping.

And then I had to wait another two days before it was cured enough to handle...
At which point I discovered that I had a couple of issues.
First off, there were a few areas near the edge of the table that were a bit rough still and were sunken in from the rest of the level top... It was in areas of the lighter "sap -wood" rather than the "heart-wood", and the more pourous wood had absorbed the epoxy slowly and by the time it had absorbed, the rest of the epoxy was too "set" to flow back into the area and fill the void.
The second issue was that there was a fine swirled sheen on the to p surface of the table... I figured it was just resuidue and that it would "wipe" off, but it wasnt...

On closer inspection I found that it was lots of tiny pinpoint bubbles. Now they were not there when I was watching it set and only appeared once I cleaned the table after three days of curing time!.. I suspect they were little bubbles of the hardener component of the epoxy because I had not mixed it quite well enough.

They were extremely small however and Im sure they would hve quite easily been dealt with by applying a furniture wax on the table top. But that wouldnt fix the rough areas from the other problem, so I decided that a second coat of the epoxy was in order. So, a week later I went through the whole process one more time ... at a cost of about another $100 :)

And this time the finish was much better.

So, I left the epoxy cure for another week and then turned the table over (no mean feat to do by my-self !) and then I varnished the back side just to seal it so that humidity changes effect both the top and bottom surfaces in the same way... So there will be no warping :)
And now the table top is done.

I moved it out into the dining area where it is sitting on-top of a smaller dining table that I had.
Im really pleased with how it has turned out, and Im looking forward to finishing the project next Spring/Summer by building the legs for it :)

And Making it Smooth

2011-09-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

So, after spending that whole day with the router, my slab of wood was now flat, but it was far from smooth, and a "lumpy" table top is not that great for using...

Actually the horazontal striations that were left by the router were, I thought, quite attractive, and I was tempted to preserve them by putting on some sort of very thick, self-leveling transparent coating on the table.... But I decided against it and proceded with the "smoothing" process.

Striations/ripples left by the routing

So, the process used for smoothing is good old fashioned sanding...
Thus, I spent several more hours using my 4" belt sander to remove the ripples.
I just stood there and moved the sander slowly and evenly over the surface of the table. Very coarse grit to start with, and then once all the ripples were nolonger visible, I changed to a medium grit and did it all again, and then changed to fine grit and did it all again, and then I changed to using my random-orbit sander with a very fine grit...
And after another 5 hours or so of work, the table top is now flat And smooth :)
So I routed the edges to a small radius and gave it all the "once over" with a hand sanding pad to get any last little rough spots...

Then I got some help to move the table inside where I can do any further work protected from the elements.

And then I disassembled my "flattening jig" with the router and put all the tools and planks of wood back in the garage.... And just in time too since the very next day, Vancouver weather announced the end of Summer with a couple of days of heavy rain!... and now its back to the regular dreary weather for fall.

But, not to worry, cos the table top is now in-doors and safe from the elements.
Next job will be to put a surface finish on it.... Hmmm Not sure what that will be yet (varnish, oil, epoxy???)Legs will come somewhat later :)

Making it Flat

2011-09-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Now that Ive pretty much finished renovating the house and have cleaned up most of the mess inside and out, Ive been doing a bit of work on that table top project...

The first problem was to get the huge slab of wood down to a more maneagable size... Like Id said, I was initially torn between two possible table formats and I needed to make a decission so that I could make the cuts in the right places... Well, I decided to go with the long thin rectangle styled table over the elyptical option since it keeps the slab of wood more intact and after all, thats what I really like about it... the size and thickness of the single piece of wood.
Having decided that, I set about trimming off the edges (they were very rough and had insect holes etc... I really couldnt have used them on the final table even though its nice to preserve the "live edges" of the original tree trunk). The slab was still over 3metres long though, so I also decided to make it just 2.4m long so I also lopped off 60cm of the narrow end (Ill use that for a bed-side table that ill make later I think).

Right, the slab of wood is now becoming much more manegable :)
But I cant work on it where it currently is (tucked up next to the house under the back deck), so I get some help from a neighbour and the two of us move it without too much struggle around to the front of the house.

I put it on work horses here and have a look at that "crowning" problem that is then next "issue" to be addressed...

Hmm, well its still there :) See the curvature of the wood in the picture below - looking across the end edge of the slab.

Right, so Ive figured out how Im going to try to deal with that.
I get two big flat and straight planks of pine and I attach them to the sides of the saw horses as "rails" for my "contraption". These are going to be my references for making the table top "flat", so I spend a while making sure they are parallel to each other and that they are solidly attached to the horses at the right height.
But the big slab of wood also has a bit of an "arche" too it along its length... This is much more slight than the crowning, and while I could just machine the table top to be exactly flat, I decide that the little bit of arch is a good thing as it will resist gravitys tendency to make the table sag over time with a long unsupported span of over 2 metres... So instead, I decide to make my two side rails have the same arch by using a very coarse grit belt on my sander and spending about 10 minutes on shaping each of them to match :)

OK, now to make the "contraption"...
Which is just a carriage for my router so that I can run it over the whole surface of the table with a repeatable and solid height setting. Im more or less building a very large milling machine :))
The side rails (longitudinal rails) are bolted to the saw horses. And a friend let me have the use of an old exercise treadmill frame that he had (its a very solid rectangular aluminum frame) and Im gonna use that as the "latteral rails"... essentially, Ill rest this aluminium frame across the side rails and slide it along the table top to whatever place I want it.
Now, I have to build a carriage for my router to run on the aluminium frame rails...
I looked at a bunch of roller and wheel options for this but I ended up deciding to use a couple of simple old "clothes line runners" as the wheels for the carriage...
They come as a pair of about the right size; They are pulley wheels that will run nicely on the edges of the aluminium frame (rather than wheels that need a track). They are solid and well centred (so there is no flex in them and thus variability in the hight of the router)... and finally, they are as cheap as dirt :)))

So then I spent an hour or two cutting up a 2x4 and screwing it together around my router to make the carriage...
And this is what "the contraption" looked like...

... You cant see much I guess, but I ended up with a router carriage that was very solidly tracking (not more than about a milimetre of lateral movement) and had virtually no vertical "slop" but was still acurately height adjustable with the routers built in height adjustment system :)))

So, I layed it over the table and moved it around to see what sort of cut depths I was dealing with....
Hmmm quite a lot !!
It looks like im gonna need to take off about 15mm of wood in some places... Thats a lot and more than the router can do in a single pass, so Im gonna do two rough cuts to get the bulk of the material off and then one more finer finishing cut... This is gonna be a lot of work because I can only take "swipes" of 10-15mm width with the router bit (channel cutting bit of about 25mm diameter). and after each swipe, I need to physically slide the whole router,carriage, and aluminium fram along the side rales by 15mm before I take another swipe...
Oh, and I have to be carefull too, cos this isnt a professional milling machine... If I move too fast or carelessly, the router carriage could jump off its rails and then the router would dig a lovely big and un-hidable hole in the top of that very expensive lump of wood... we definitely dont want that, so I need to pay attention and go slow (The "pay attention" part is no problem, but the go slow is definitely a challenge for me!)
Oh well, just have to get started...
... push, pull,slide, push, pull, slide ... repeat about a thousand times: and all with the wood chips flying and the whine of the high speed router... great way to spend a day :)))

... And about five hours later, after spending the whole day in the sun working on "the beast", this is what I had...

Yep, it is now "Flat"... but its still, far from "smooth"... I figure Ive got about the same amount of time again to spend sanding it down to make the surface good for coating.

I spent another hour and a half with the belt sander using 50 grit to get the router lines out of the surface... next is 80 grit, then 140 grit... etc, etc...

But look at the beautiful grain :))) ... its really gonna be nice when its done I think :)

Im gonna keep at it when I can after work in the evenings, but time is rappidly running out.
The leaves here in Vancouver are starting to change colour, and the sun is now set by 8pm. Im definitely not going to get this project done before the rains come, so Ill just try to get the top smooth and flat and maybe a "sealing, coat of finish so that I can bring it inside the house for the winter...

Work in progress... Ill keep you posted.

Lost Summer

2011-08-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

House reno' update... and life in general too.

OK, so once I'de "done" the floors, it was time to put the kitchen back together...

Well you see, Id removed a section of one kitchen wall before I did the floors so as to open out the space a little more... Obviously, it would have been silly to do the floors first and then remove the wall and try to patch the floor... and as a result, one side of the kitchen was something of a disaster...

And if I was going to rebuild one half of the kitchen then I may as well rebuild the other half as well of course... You know how these things go!... Actually, I consider myself lucky that I managed to "contain" the "chain reaction of destruction" just to the kitchen... It could have just kept going until I was left with nothing but a bare plot of land with no house at all :))

So the first task was to refinish the wall in some basic form and get the stove and fridge back to being useable... Drywall work; which is not hard but is always very dusty!

Then I hung a new extractor hood on the wall hooked up to the duct and power where the old one had been, and wheeled the fridge and stove back to their original places.

That was easy enough, and to fill the gaps between the appliances I installed a couple of reasonable quality premade cabinets with some solid wood "butchers block" counter tops (I like wood and its a cheap solution for the benches on this "low use" side of the kitchen).

The next challenge though was the other side of the kitchen...

It was all old "built-in" cabinets and very ugly and over used counter tops... Id already chisled off the matching (and equaly ugly) back-splash tiles when I jackhammered out the old tile floor.

... Oh well, nothing for it but to "get started"...

I was hoping to just have to replace the cabinet doors and drawers with new ones and leave the cabinet boxes as-is (built-ins are nasty to try to replace), so I was just going to replace the old stainless steel sink with a nice new pocelain one... I used that most imprecise of modern power tools - The reciprocating saw!

And I got the sink in, but it was larger than the old one and it didnt really fit the cabinets that well... and by the time Id finished "hacking" away at the old cabinets to make it fit, there was not that much of the old cabinets left ... And after due consideration, I decided to remove that section entirely and replace them with some more of the new pre-made ones that Id used on the other side... So, it was back to work with the demolition tools! :)

And so, I removed the old cabinets, rebuilt the sub-floor, refitted the telephone line (that ran through the old cabinets), and put in the new section of cabinets... And they fit quite well... and the sink fit in nicely too :)

So, then I bought a bunch more doors and drawers for the remaining old cabinets and set about sanding and repainting the old boxes (very dusty job but I guess Im used to it after all the drywall work Id just done), followed by installing the doors etc. (actually quite a bit of work because the cabinet openings all had to be "resized" to fit the standard sized doors and drawers... But it looked good on the lower cabinets when it was done, so I continued with the upper ones too.

... And then it was time for counter tops and back-splash.
I spent quite a while looking at counter options and what I found was that there are about three or four basic choices... In order of my preferences...
    Concrete (DIY is only real option, expensive, difficult to do well, looks great)
    Stone/quartz/corean (very expensive, low maint', looks great),
    Wood (few options - DIY if you want more, high maintenance, cheap, looks great)
    Laminex (lots of style options, lowest maint', cheap, looks average)

After looking at it all I came to the depressing conclusion that it was going to cost lots more than I wanted (of course)!... It seems that although there are a huge number of laminex options out there, that look nice and although it is tough and low maintenance and easy to install and cheap... Its just not "done" any more... It seems that kitchens in Vancouver are done in "stone" these days... Laminex is considered the cheap and low quality solution... Which if I ever want to sell my house (to go off and live in a tropical paradise?) will matter...
The wood counters option was a real possibility, not least because I could build them myself out of any wood that I want... And so I'm sure I could make them look good... But they are the least durable and require the most maintennance... Again, Im sure I could live with those aspects and I actually enjoy the "character" aspect that the petina of wear and tear gives them.... But, again if I want to sell or even rent out my house (while I go traveling again) then I think its a really bad idea... So wood is out too.
The concreate counters option is really expensive to have done professionally and is a great deal of effort to do myself (not to mention that I dont know exatly how to do it)... Its also got a high probability of being a bit of a disaster if I do it myself!...
And that leaves me with Stone... It can look great and as I said, is effectively du riguer' in kitchens around here these days... But its pretty expensive (fortunately the popularity has meant that the prices have been reducing :)

Anyway, I looked at assorted options and dident see anything that I really liked for a long time. Eventually I settled on a quartz (which is a "manufactured" material with lots of "sand" in it) and ponied up the cash to have the counters made... And about two weeks after that a couple of guys showed up and installed the counters while I was at work (I started another contract to try to earn enough money to pay for all the spending Im doing on the house!). In the mean time I went and selected some tiles for the back-splash.
And so, about a week after the counters were installed, I had tiled and grouted and seald, and then a couple more days to install the light switches and the under cabinet lighting, and all of a sudden, the kitchen was basically done!

I have to admit that Im not completely happy with the overall apearance (it just ended up a bit "dull" if you know what I mean) and I probably should have gone with a darker/bolder tile colour choice, but its done now and its not bad enough for me to want to rip it out and do it again! :))

So this is the new and now finished (well for a few years at least) Kitchen...

And so I find that I have at last got my house back in order and I can finaly relax a little more... Ive pretty much spent the last eight months working all my available time either on contract to earn some money, or renovating the house. Ive not spent more a half dozen days when I was not working on the house and as a result it seems that Ive more or less "missed" the summer!

Although, Id have to say it wasnt a very good summer season here in Vancouver anyway... We had more rain and grey days than I can ever remember having before. I honestly think there were not more than three fine days in a row all the way in to late July... And, its only late August now, but already I can feel the evening and morning air has that cold edge to it and its getting dark before 9pm again... Summer is "on the run".

But I guess I dont really mind :)

Ive had a great time working away on the house... learning new skills and feeling good about working with my hands to make something that I enjoy using. I admit though that I am now feeling rather "tired" of all the renovating and Im ready to spend my time doing something else for a while.

There are still plenty of jobs to do on the house, but none of them are urgent and I can take my time getting around to them :) Im going to spend the next week or so clearing up all the construction mess of tools and materials that have accumulated, and then I can start working some more on the "big lump of wood" table project.

Other than that, Im faced with the usual problem of trying to figure out what that "something" that I should be doing is?

For the time being, I think Ill potter away at smaller things and just see what "life" brings into my path :)...

Nibblit

2011-06-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

I bolted on all the new bike fairings... The ones I had painted by a professional.
Rather than a somber gunmetal grey, it is now a warm yellow with subtle flame/smoke markings. It looks really nice, and I think I can pretty safely say that this bike project is now done!

Now though, people seem to want to give it a name, but there are not that many yellow objects that you can name it after... The current two favourites are:
"Ra" (after the Egyptian sun god) or, more light heartedly, "Nibblet" (after canned sweet corn kernels)
... although, I should note that I vetoed both "Daffodil" and "Daisy" :)

It only Hurts when I Laugh!

2011-06-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, while everyone else in Vancouver was experiencing a "Hockey final to remember" and splashing their vitriolic oppinions about regarding the post-game antics of the less "mentaly enabled" denizens of the city, I was having a far more "internal" experience...

I dont suppose you recal my "Judgement" post of a couple of years ago??.... Probably not, It wasnt that special :) But I sure as eggs do!

...And thats because Ive just had a rather indellible reminder of it.
To refresh peoples memories, that old post was about a spontaneous gastro-intestinal "blockage" that I had and that lasted several days before "clearing" by its self.
Well, two and a half years later, more or less the same thing happened again, but this time it didnt "self clear", and after a week of discomfort (but no seriouse pain or disability), I went to see the doctor....
.. By that time, Id had a while to think about it, and I told the doc' that I figured I probably had appendicitis...
The doc prodded and poked and asked questions and listened carefully to my responses and said he figured it wasnt appendicitis for the moment and then sent me off to get blood and urine tests.

So, I let the labs have some of my fluids and I went back home and , well, waited... and waited...
But things didnt clear themselves, so after a few more days I went back to the doc' and said "something is definitely wrong"... which he agreed with and promptly sent me off to get an X-ray and some more blood tests... and they also set about scheduling some more "imagery" in the form of a sonogram, and a barrium meal and followup x-rays, and a CT scan... I have to admit that I had no faith in either the blood woork or the X-ray since they have never shown anything on me in the past for obscure illnesses, but of course they have to be done.
Now, saddly, it all takes a while to schedule for this imagery (about three months for the Barrium meal, and about six months for a CT scan... assuming of course I survived that long while ot being able to eat!!), but the sonogram was only a couple of days of waiting... So, again I waited and things continued to "not clear themselves" and at the duly appointed hour I turned up for my scan...
And the sonographer did his thing and when he was scanning away in the lower abdomen, he made a couple of "hmmm" type noises and then excused himself from the room for a short while and returned with another person,.. a doctor, and they both looked at the screen and pointed and "hmmmd" and had a bit of a conversation (the screen was not visible to me though), and then they included me in the discussion and said that they were seeing stuff that looked consistent with an accute appendicitis... to which I said that I didnt think the little guy was in the least bit cute and that I would be quite happy if we set about removing it as soon as possible!
So, agreement was reached, and they said I should go straight back to my doctor and they expected Id be off to the emergency room pretty much immediately!

But, I had something else I needed to do for an hour before I did that...
I had that great big slab of wood being delivered to my house in half an hour!
So I hopped on my motorbike and rode home to meet the guys on the big truck... And from there, we (me and three other guys) man-handled this slab of wood up the back stairs to my house... OK, OK it probably wasnt the greatest idea Ive ever had... hefting a massive lump of wood about while I am nursing a seriously inflamed appendix... But, it all worked out OK and the slab of wood is now safely stashed under my back deck.

After that I went to the doc' again and was then dispatched to get a small bag of personal effects before heading down to the hospital emergency department at about 2:30pm
From there it was about an hour wait to move through the ER process (it was a quiet day it seemed) and then they prepp'ed me for surgery...
And then at 6:30pm, I was wheeled into the OR and they put me under...

... and I woke up a few hours later with a sore tummy and no appendix!
So, now I think I know what it was that I was suffering from over two years ago, and Im pretty sure that that particular issue will not be back!

... and for the time being, It only hurts when I laugh! :)

p.s. good thing that I got all the stone work completed in the house just the day before, cos I really cant do any heavy lifting for a few weeks now :)

Oh, and I got a new paint job done for the motorbike project, though I havnt had time to put the bodywork on the bike yet.

... and its been Prawn season in Vancouver, so Ive been enjoying a couple of "feasts with friends" ...yum yum :)))

A Lump of Wood

2011-04-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ive enjoyed woodworking ever since I had a class in it during early high school (about thirty years ago).
Ive built a few pieces of furniture at various times, mostly of moderate quality but getting better each time I do it :)

Years ago, before I went off riding my motorbike, I came across a really nice big slab of exotic lumber at a wood retail store near wher I lived in Vancouver. It was a really really nice piece of "figured" Bubinga (I dont know, its exotic hardwood!)... It was about four meters long by one meter wide and 5cm thick... and it "weighed a ton"... Like I said, it was really nice and just perfect for a "feature" table top (though the dimensions were a bit hard to work with in order to keep it as a single piece) and in fact I didnt even own a house to put it in at that stage, let alone any woodworking tools... Anyway , it had a price tag of some $4000 which was a lot more than Id ever considered spending on a chunk of wood before!
... So, I didnt buy it but I looked at it each time I went to the wood shop to get some other item and I thought about it every time... Id love to work on a table project like that.
Many months passed... actually I think it was a year or two!, and then one day when I went in, it was gone!... I asked at the counter as to who had bought it and they told me that it was a group of local artists... sculptors, and apparently it was destined to be cut up into small pieces and carved into sculptures...
Now it was clearly going to make the sculptors happy, and no doubt they made some beatiful pieces with it, but to me, it was a bit of a tragedy!... A single piece of wood of that size and with that "figuring" is just begging to be made into a table... To me it seems like the size of the piece is half of the beauty and it seems like a waste to cut it up into smaller pieces...
But it was gone, and I hope it made the buyers happy.
However, it was only after hearing about what was to become of it that I felt regret ... Regret for not having pursued a dream even though it was only a small one... And ever since then, whenever Ive gone into that shop or whenever I see a nice "feature" table made from a slab of beatiful wood, I feel regret...

And again, years passed!

And then, a few months ago, after I got back from my "long ride", when I went in to the wood shop to get some mahogany veneer for my model boat,... And there it was again... the same slab of wood!

Well, actually it turns out that its not the exact same slab of wood but in fact another slab of wood from the same tree... Its pretty much the same dimensions as the original one, but this one is not as good as the first one because it is a slice more from the side of the tree trunk than from the center...But the price is somewhat lower too..

Hmmm
...But I have no place to work on a piece of wood that size!... I cant even move the thing without three other very strong people to help me!... I dont have any tools to be able to machine a pice of wood this big!... I have no clue about how I would work on it!... I dont even have my house back from the tenant yet!... And it still costs a rediculous amount of money!...
So I walked away again... but the urge was still there and is still strong...
But I was left feeling that same "regret" again...

Another couple of months pass and I go and have another couple of looks at the "lump of wood"... and my little "engineers mind" (emphasis on the little! :) ) is occasionally tinkering away with ideas of how I would go about solving the problems of working the wood.... you know, just in case... :)
And another couple of months pass and now its Christmas and the wood shop has things on sale ... And the lump of wood is a few hundred dollars cheaper... so I go have a chat with the staff about it...but Im still not making any commitments.
Its just a chat, but it keeps me thinking about it...

More time passes... and my thinking on the subject continues in its sporadic fashion...
But after a while I come to a a kind of closure on my thinking...
And know what?   In the ballance of my emotions, it goes like this...

Yes, its a stupid thing to spend money on... Money that I dont really have and cant really afford.
Its just a lump of wood, that doesnt really matter or make a difefrence to anyone.
Sure its a project that I dont have the space, skills, or equipent to execute well.
And it'll just be a table that will likely only ever be seen or enjoyed by a handfull of people on a handfull of occasions.
Its just another project in a long line of projects that are really all just ways of me spending my time while I wonder what I should really be doing with my life...

But theres a bunch of little "sayings" that come into my head:
   "Life is what happens while you are making other plans"
   "We are not put into this world just to work... We are put into this world to live our dreams..."
   "If you dont go when you want to go then by the time you do go you may find you've gone!"
   " Id rather regret the things I have done than the things I havnt done"

... and in the end, I kinda feel that Im "done with" regretting that prior decission! Ive got another chance this time and Ive decided Im going to act on it... Damn the torepedoes!!as they say...

So, I may yet regret doing it, but I will no longer regret not doing it!
... and with that, I went down to that shop and paid them a very large sum of money for a very large chunk of wood !   :)))

Now for some more details about the "block of wood"

Well, like I said its about four meters long, one meter wide and 5cm thick... Its really dense wood and Im pretty sure it would sink (or barely float) in water so based on that, Id say it weighs about 200Kg!
Its from a Bubinga tree (also called African Rosewood) which I looked up on the internet, and they come from "Tropical West Africa". The "figure" I refered to is a carpentry term and does not refer to the shape of the block of wood, but rather the patterns and striations in the grain of the wood... I took a picture of it but the lighting was very bad and the picture is very washed out... The board is coverd with swirling grain patterns that look really nice, and should look amazing once it is planed and finished. The wood colour will be a rich orange brown once sealed :)

And Ive been thinking about what sort of table to make from it too... Ive done a few sketches and it at this stage there are two options.
The first is to cut the slab into a 2/3 and 1/3 length sections and then slice the 1/3 section longitudinaly. The two small pieces then get glued along the sides of the big piece so that an eliptical table top of about 1.2m x 2m size can be cut... but this wastes a fair bit of the wood.
The second option is to leave it much more "as it is" and make a long thin rectangular "banquet style" table... say 3m x 0.8m. Its a bit unusual as a dining table but it can work :)

The elipse seats six and the thin rectangle seats eight.... not that I have that many friends... or even really know how to cook for that matter, but there is always hope that I may eventually find someone else to share my life with who has some other friends and knows how to cook too! ;)

Anyway, at this stage Im leaning toward the "banquet table"... maybe just because I like the emotional and mental immagery evoked by the word banquet :)))

Ive also done some sketches and I think I like the simple "trestle" type legs I could make for the rectangular table... just a few curves in the profile of the legs to "spice it up" a little :)

... But, I wont know what Im really going to do with it till Ive got the wood home and had a good long look and measure of it all... You see, the slab of wood has a significant challenge ... other than its sheer size... Its got quite a bit of "crowning" at the narrow end of the slab. That means that the plank is "bowed" and the mid-line of the plank is higher than the edges (as if the edges have "sagged" down).
This "crowning" is too pronounced to simply machine off because at the worst point (at the narrow end) it looks like its about half the thicknes of the slab!
... Hence the idea for the eliptical table of cutting off the narrow end third and using it as sides... that way I cut it in half and the crowning effect is reduced by half...

... But perhaps a bit of an explanation of why its "crowned" wouldnt hurt...

The best wood for furniture making is taken from right across the centre line of the tree log. Its called "quarter cut" and it means that the grain of the wood is "ballanced" and runs through the wood at right angles to the width of the slab. Slabs cut from any other place in the tree trunk are inherently "unballanced" and you can see it if you look at the end section of the slab... you will see the curve of the tree rings in the wood grain.

And this "unballanced" issue is not at all just an asthetic issue, it is a very important quality that is critical for making furniture... You see, wood is not an inert stable material. It is pourous and organic and it responds to its environment and changes continually. What this means is that it is always expanding and contracting slightly as temperature and humidity change around it. Now these dimensional changes are usually very small and unnoticable. And solid wood furniture is usually constructed in a way that these changes do not effect things much... This is done by using smaller pieces of wood in combinations that counteract the dimension changes... A good example is ply wood which is a sandwich of several layers of wood with the grain running in different directions... Plywood stays pretty much flat and square regardless of its environment because the different pieces of wood all want to warp and streach and twist in different directions and it all kind of ballances out as internal stresses in teh pannel...

But, when you want to use a single very large piece of solid wood, its gonna warp and twist and stretch and bow and split as the season change... and this is a problem...

Everyone hates a table that wobbles because floor is uneaven, but a table that wobbles even though the floor is dead flat, just because its that time of the year is a real pain.

Back to this particular slab of wood...

Its VERY big which means the dimensional and allignment changes will be quite large. It also means that it will be impossible to physically stop the warping with other elements of the table design (since this piece is so large it will simply over-power any smaller braces etc).

And becase its not "quarter cut", it will develop a bow... and in fact it already has (it is after all, quite a few years old) and it has a substantial "crowning" at one end .

The good news however is that while its not "quarter cut", it is the full width of the log and the bowing is reasonably symetrical from one side to the other. But its significantly more pronounced at the narrow end than at the broad end (because the narrow end was less central in the tree trunk).

...work in progress...

Projects a Plenty

2011-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, its been quite a while between posts again , and as usual Ive been keeping myself quite busy :)

Apart from filling my working days as an electrical engineer (to earn some money to pay for all my distracting projects!), I seem to have about half a dozen projects on the go...

The major project is renovating my house. This started with fixing up the basement after I had a "bad" tenant, but I completed that work well over a month ago now. But I had planned to do some other work on the house while I was away traveling (you know, lots of time while riding the bike spent thinking about all sorts of stuff... including some house renos!). So, Ive also had all the old single pane windows replaced with nice new double glazing, and Ive installed two out of three new double glass doors to replace the worn out old single pane glass sliding doors. And Ive removed most of one wall between the kitchen and the dining room to get more of an "open plan" layout... And the big job, which is still underway, has been to replace the old tile and carpet floor coverings with hardwood.

Having spent the better part of a month on this last big job, it is now about three quarters done. Its slow work because I only get to work on it about three hours a day. After I finish the days work as an engineer, I ride over to my place and spend the next three hours renovating, and then after that, I ride home (at a friends house about 40 minutes ride away), grab a bite to eat, have a shower and then the day is done... I get more work done on the weekends of course but its still nothing like working on it full time.
Its not too hard to stapple down the hardwood, but there is a huge amount of work involved in preparation... taking out baseboards, ripping up carpet, pulling out thousands of staples, jack hammering out the old tile floors and ripping out the old ply sub-floor... and then leveling/preparing the main sub-floor before the stappling starts... but its nearly done now, so here are a couple of pics of "work in progress"...

And of course, Ive also been "tinkering" away at the motorbike project about one evening a week. The latest task was to remove, sand-blast, and repaint the engine side covers... They were all scuffed up and looked quite bad, so Ive now repainted them. Yesterday I reinstalled them on the bike, and Im quite pleased with the results :)
I also changed the front sprocket over to be a 14 tooth instead of 15 tooth unit (It will reduce the top speed but will make stop-and-go city riding more pleasant and easier on the clutch). I also removed one of the front fork legs and replaced the oil seals (it was weeping suspension oil) as well as changing the engine oil filter and replacing all the oil and coolant... and bolting all the plastic pannels back on again... Busy day!
I think the weather around here is pleasant enough now, so Im going to re-register the bike this week and start riding it for the summer :)))

But, Ive also had another little side project running for a few months that is nearing completion too...
Ive been building RC model boats and planes for decades now, and I never seem to get tired of doing it. I get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from working on them and it doesnt take up too much space (I spent years living in one room basement suites!), though at times it does make lots of dust... Anyway, the latest project was started soon after I got back from my long motorbike trip, but it was while the tenant was in my house and so I couldnt work on renos...
And the project is a 75cm x 30cm scale model race boat... A 1960 prop driven "three point" hydroplane. The model is fully built and Ive been doing the painting and detailing... Just need to install the driveshaft, prop and rudder and then make a stand for it now.

... but Ive also found the time to look for some plans for future model projects too :)...

Though I think these will wait a while... like till after Ive done with the house renovations perhaps! :)

... But there's also another, bigger project "on my radar" so to speak...

Bike Project Done

2011-03-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

The bike as it currently is.

OK, I got the bike all back together and then I got the engine fired up (after having had to buy a battery charger and crank the engine over a few hundred times). And then I got the chain on and bled the rear brakes...

... and then I went for a short ride around the block :))) (and discoverd that id put the gear linkage on slightly wrong and that the gears were consequently "upside down"!)

But, there it is, the bike is "built and ready to be registered in a couple of weeks.

There are still lots and lots of "clean up" jobs to do to make it all "pretty", but they can be done slowly over the summer. For now, I need to get back to house renovations cos Ive got a hardwood floor to install and another bathroom to do a bit of a renovation on. :)

Bike Progress

2011-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

The bike is nearly back together again after lots of not getting much of my attention for a couple of months ... I was working on renovating my basement after it was left in rather bad condition by the previous tenant.

Housework aside, here are a few update pictures...

The new mufflers in the back of the bike but with the "undertail" plastic fender removed...

But with the exhaust pipe so close to the plastic body panels and with no air flow in there to keep it cool, Im worriedt that it will melt the pannels... So, I decided to wrap the pipe in some insulating webbing...

So, I then had to make a new substitute "undertail" out of a couple of pieces of aluminium... and it seems to work pretty well after a couple hours of cutting and bending and drilling and filing :)

And now I can put the rear set of body work panels back on and then work on the front end... Side note, Im really having a hard time figuring out which screws and bolts and nuts and bushings etc. go where in this reassembly process because its been a couple of months since I did any work at all on the bike.

Exhausting Work

2010-12-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

I know, its been really quiet on my blog for a while now...

But truth be told, Ive not been doing much of interest... Just going to work and doing the hum-drum 9-5 thing that most of us get by with for the better part of our lives :)

And its been too dark, cold and rainy when I get home after work to be able to do any work on the bike project... I cant even work on the painting of body pannels (too cold outside and too many toxic fumes to work inside).

But, I did manage to hunt around and find an exhaust system solution that I liked...

First off, I found a couple of cylindrical carbon-fibre mufflers at a motorbike wreckers that I really liked the look of.

They were too long but I figured with some cutting, I could get them to fit up under the tail section of the bike... So, I bought them and then got them "cut down" to a size I liked (who knows what they will sound like now?).

The next (and more challenging) problem is the exhaust pipe routing to connect them to the engine!

This was going to take two different sizes of stainles steel pipe and all sorts of precission cuts/bends/welds...

So, first off I decided that I should "model" the pipe I needed in plastic before trying to get it made in steel.

So I bought some cheap plastic plumbing pipe and some bends. I then spent an afternoon on a weekend cutting up the plastic and fitting it in under the bike and taping the mufflers and pipes into position. I got it pretty close... To the point where I was sure it would all work :)

Next problem was to get the steel pipe to use for the real version.

It turns out that thin-wall stainles steel pipe is very hard to find... In fact there is basically none of it available in Vancouver (a city of more than three million people)... I did find some pipe at a couple of auto-exhaust places but it was very thick-walled and heavy... Not what I wanted to use.

After lots more seeking and not finding, I had to resort to mail ordering some sections and then waiting for it to arrive.

It eventually did arive, and so I then called my mechanic/machinist friend Mark and the bike and the bits were collected and taken out to his workshop where hes gonna cut and fit and weld it all together for me.

It is however holiday season here, and it'll take a while before its all done... which is just fine with me since I cant do anything without a workshop in this weather anyway ... Its an over-winter project and Im happy for it to progress at its own rate :)

And thats where things stand at present.

Here are a couple of pictures of how the new exhaust is going and I think its gonna look really good when its done...

Cant wait till Spring :))

Rear view of the proposed exhaust location

Side view of the proposed exhaust location...

And after more than a month of other activities, I have the bike back and the exhaust system is installed as expected. Mark did a great job of mounting the exhausts, pollishing the header pipes and also making a nice number plate mount with light for beneath the mufflers :))

Bike Update Number 2

2010-10-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

OK, the swing arm came back and it all fits and works like it should :)

But just for fun, lets review that swing-arm plan...
My initial plan was a simple "cut and weld". The picture below was what the swing-arm looked like before the cutting and welding:

And here is what I "imagined" it might look like when done...

But, after consulting with and letting the mechanic/welder guy "do his thing", this is what it actually looks like...

So, it looks a bit different yes, but Its definitely stronger (due to that welded-in spacer tube) and just as functional. The only down side is that I need to remove the exhaust system if I want to take the swing-arm off again... Thats no big deal though because I shouldnt ever need to do that :)

And Im also very happy about the welding quality which is good because there is significantly more welding in the job than I had planned... We effectively extended the swing-arm by about 25mm by adding in pieces of aluminum plate, in order to make the suspension linkage work properly.

So, the swing-arm welding work is done now and all I have to do to it is get the plastic bits for the chain guard etc. back on and aligned with the new chain position. It isnt completely straight forward but it should be no real problem.

Ive also been patching and sanding the plastic body pannels for the bike and they are just about ready for the colour coat. I temporarily put them back on the bike today just to see how it would look when Im done :)
So, here is what the bike looks like now...

Im really liking the look of that new swing-arm!
But to keep it looking good Im going to have to solve the next big challenge which is the exhaust... The standard exhaust system works just fine of course but it hangs along the side of the bike at the back and pretty much obscures that nice new rear section of the bike!

So I will need a custom system, either with the muffler mounted centraly up under the tail section or a very small muffler mounted right down near the foot peg.
But custom exhaust systems are pretty expensive and I cant afford to buy one new, so Im gonna have to hunt around for a used one that I like the look of and think that I can "make work" for this bike...
Lets see what I can come up with ...

... stay tuned for the next update :)))

Bike Project Progress

2010-09-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

After I took the back-end of the bike appart and measured as best I could, it was time to get the cutting and welding done.
So, I took the parts out to Mark's place and, after having a long chat about the "possibilities and problems", I left them there and went back to doing "other things" for a week or two.
And then Mark gave me a call one evening and said "Its done"... Well, I was actually not expecting that, because when Id left it with him, as I understood it, he was going to do the cutting, but then just "tack" weld the parts back together so that I could do a trial "fitting" onto the bike to see that everything was where I wanted it...
But, "done" it was!
So, I went and picked up the modified swing-arm and set about fitting it onto the bike.

And indeed it basically fits and looks like I want it to :)

The bike doesnt have its "body pannels" on but you get the idea :)

But then I had to try to connect up the suspension linkage which is where I was expecting to have difficulties... And indeed, there were difficulties... The rear shock absorber would not connect to the linkage - It was obstructed because it was contacting the "throat" of the swing-arm yoke!

It was not possible to do accurate measurements of this area till I got the new swing-arm into place, so Im not surprised that my "rough" measurements were off... And as it turns out, I was "off" by about 15mm! (Thats quite a lot)

But, that wasnt the only problem...

After setting things up carefully it appeared that the rear wheel was "off-centre"!

Now, Id been quite carefull to try to get this right so I was surprised to see this. It seems that the swing-arm from the Honda is mounted off-centre in the original bike frame, because thats the only way this could have happened... And, Ive not had the opportunity to measure the Honda bike frame!

Note that the rear wheel is about 1cm to the left of centre!

So, Having looked at it all again, and measured things all again, it seems to me that the best solution is to re-cut the swing arm and put some spacer sections in to solve the shock absorber problem, and move the wheel back to the right too. Thats unfortunate because that means it will be expensive (This is why I wanted it just "tack" welded for the trial fitting!)... Bummer :(

So, I gave the bike and the swing-arm back to Mark, and he'll call me again when its done.

In the mean time, Ill go back to doing "other stuff" while I wait.

And this weekend, that included being "Best Man" at my very good friend Rick's wedding with Jen :)

You do the Math

2010-08-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

Progress report on the motorbike project....
Well, while work life isnt exactly boring, it is rather unexciting... So I figured Id blog about the fun-stuff :)

Project is to modify a Single Sided Swing-Arm from a 2006 Honda VFR800 to fit onto an unmodified 2002 Suzuki SV650 frame.

I have the Suzuki bike, and I have the Honda Swing-arm... Now to bring them together!
The trick here is that the new rear whell is 20mm wider than the original, and that makes all sorts of realignment and fitting issues!

I got some tools together, and managed to take the back-end of the subject bike apart on the weekend. And once I had it all apart, I could set about trying to figure out if Ill be able to get the alternate back-end onto the bike in place of the original.

So, I got my trusty steel rule, and a straight edge and I started to measure all the components so that I could see what had to be done...

First and simplest measurement was the inside frame "opening" width of the bike at the swing-arm pivot (135mm), and the outside width of the pivot on the swing-arm (183mm).
... That means that the new swing-arm is 48mm too wide!
And that means that I have to reduce this width by an equal 24mm on each side of the swing-arm (If I dont do it equally then the rear wheel will run "off-centre"!).
... Wow, thats a lot!

Hmm... Well, my initial plan was to machine the bearing sockets deeper on each side of the swing-arm "yoke" style pivots, but there simply isnt anywhere near enough metal for that idea to work!
So, my new plan is to "cut and weld" instead.
So, Ill carefully cut-off the "free" side of the swing-arm pivot "yoke" (where it branches off the main side of the swing arm), and then remove the 24mm from the inside "cut" end of the removed piece; And then re-attach it to the swing arm by welding it (need skilled Aluminium welder to do this job). The other side of the swing-arm yoke will be used as an alignment jig by running the pivot bolt through the attached and unattached bearings :)
Then, Ill cut off the main side of the pivot "yoke" (about 100mm back from the pivot), and then reweld it back on but 24mm closer in to the centre-line of the yoke (using the same alignment jig trick with the already reattached other side of the yoke).
Then Ill have what amounts to a "majorly mis-aligned butt-joint" in the main load bearing section of the swing-arm!!
Needless to say, I will then need to add some serious "bracket" plates of Aluminium to reinforce the joint... Again, Ill need a professional to do this - Whom I have already located :)))

The old "square" and boring (but eminently effective) swing-arm above, and the new "curvy" one below.

The new swing arm as it is now with "cut-lines" indicated...

And a "photo-shopped" version of how it will hopefully look after the cutts and welds :)

OK, so that will get the new swing-arm to fit into the bike frame with the rear wheel centre-line on the centre-line of the bike!
But thats just the start of the fun!... Now, I have to get the chain to align between the front and rear sprockets... And that, is gonna be really tricky and is what Ive been carefully measuring things for...

Here are all the associated measurements:

For the Motorbike and old swing-arm:
Left Side Frame Pivot Hub face to Frame inside left face - 10mm
Front Sprocket Drive-Shaft face to Pivot Hub face - 18mm
Front Sprocket width - 6mm
Chain width (SV650 525 chain) - 22mm
Chain centre-line at Old Swing-arm pivot - 10mm inside of left side pivot face

For the new swing-arm:
Chain centre-line at New Swing-arm pivot - 20mm inside of left side pivot face
Chain centre-line clearance to left edge of rear tire - 29mm
Rear sprocket width 8mm

Now, Im pretty sure that all that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone reading this, but after having drawn myself up a very careful diagram of all the bits on graph paper, the following becomes clear...

... There is not a lot of space!
... And the front chain sprocket on the bike and the rear chain sprocket on the new swing-arm, are mis-aligned by about 18mm!... Which is lots... Which is a bummer!

OK so what can I do about that...
Easiest solution is to make a "tube" extension to the front sprocket to effectively move it further "out" from the bike centre-line... But with the existing sprocket position, there is only about 13mm of clearance between the outside edge of the chain and the inside edge of the bike frame.
And there needs to be about 5mm of clearance to allow for chain slack and flex...
So, the most I can move the front sprocket is about 8-9mm... Which doesnt solve my 18mm mis-alignment!

Hmmmm

OK, so what about the rear sprocket?
Well, I could do the same "tube" extension there but its a much larger sprocket diameter and it gets harder to do (and I think less mechanically sound too)...
But, if I measured correctly, I have 29mm of available space to the edge of the tire... But the tire is a LOT more flexible than the chain and when the bike is cornering, Im sure that inside edge moves by between 10-20mm!... So, realistically, I can only move it 8-9mm before I get into trouble... And, again, that does not solve my 18mm mis-alignment problem...

Hmmmm

But, as you have likely noticed, If I make the "acceptable" modifications to both the front AND rear sprocket positions, we get pretty much exactly the required re-alignment change! :)))

... And, the rear sprocket modification can be made without the difficult "tube" extension too... The rear sprocket width is 8mm... And I need to move the alignment inward by 8-9mm...
So, the simple solution is to machine off the "teeth" of an old sprocket and mount it as normal to the rear hub. Then, machine out the centre of a new (and slightly larger diameter - more teeth) rear sprocket to "clear" the wheel hub, and then drill and bolt it to the "inside" of the old sprocket disk... This will move the new sprocket by the exact 8mm requirement, and will also be strong and simple to construct :))

So, thats the chain alignment solution.

And the only other issue remaining, should be the suspension linkage...
... There is an attachment point on the bottom side of each of the swing-arms for the rear shock-absorber.
Needless to say, the two swing-arms have different attachment points...
So, again, this will require cutting and welding, but I think its pretty straight forward since I can simply cut the mount off the old swing-arm and weld it onto the new swing-arm in the correct location (after cutting the old mount off of that swing-arm too). Note again that professional welding skills are required here since this linkage point takes the full force of all rear wheel suspension forces... And the forces are amplified by the long swing-arm lever-arm and the short shock-absorber lever-arm... hmmm Need to add some reinforcing too!

Old and new swing-arm suspension linkage points

But, after having "done the math!", I now feel that I will be able to make it all work without too much expense or "precission machining/engineering"

... So now Im gonna commit to "start cutting" and we'll see how it looks after I get the modified swing-arm back. Then Ill fit it to the bike and do another careful re-measurement to confirm exactly what I need done to each of the sprockets.

Stay tuned for the next update on my SV650 Single Sided Swing-Arm Conversion :)))

A Suitable Interval

2010-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

As Im sure some of you have noticed (and Im equally sure that others of you havent too), I havent posted anything on my blog for quite a while...
But I feel that a month is a "Suitable Interval" since the end of my tour, and now Im gonna put the od post up again :)

Ive been back in a "normal" life for about a month now and thats long enough for me to "get my stuff together" and so now Im starting in on my first "Project" :)
And as I suggested while I was on my ride, Ive been wanting to work on a couple of motorbike projects.
Now, Id like to do some modification work on the big touring bike, but since its my only form of transport, and my work is a 45 minute comute away, I kinda need the bike to be working ... ie I cant pull it to pieces and leave it that way for a week or a month etc.

So, Ive decided to work on the little "sport" bike project I had in mind...
I started tracking down parts for the project.
So, while I was looking for parts for this project on the local "Craigs List" web site, I came across a bike for sale of the right model year, and with the front end modifications I wanted to do already done.... So, I went and had a look at it and after much thought, I decided to buy it as the base for the modified bike...
I had to take some more money from my loan to do it, but it wasnt too expensive because its an old bike and its been a bit scratched up... Mechanically its very good but aesthetically it could use some more work :)

So, this is the bike (2002 Suzuki SV650S, with the front wheel brakes and suspension of a 2005 GSXR750)...

And then after some more hunting around on the web, and a few phone calls here and there, I found the other major component that Im looking for...

The rear swing-arm of a Honda VFR800...

Its a "single sided swing arm", which means that the wheel is only held to the bike on one side. And that makes the bike look much nicer as far as Im concerned :)... And thats all this project is about... It wont make the bike faster or handle better... Itll just look nicer :)

... But its gonna be quite an effort to get it done.
You see, the new swing arm doesnt naturally "fit" on the bike that I want to put it. Its too wide for the bikes frame, and the suspension linkage is different, and the chain alignment will need to be changes too... Its gonna need cutting and welding and machining etc. So, its a project that will take a while for me to find people to do the work I need done at a cheap price.
And then I need to get the body work painted... And there are a couple of other things that will take time to get done...

So, its gonna take a few months, but its a project that I want to do, and thats under way and that makes me happy, so I thought Id share it with you. There will be some more posts as the project progresses.

Trip Statistics

2010-08-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it took me a full day to enter all the fuel-log information into my computer... But, now that its done, here are some of the statistics for the trip from Vancouver to Ushuaia and back.
... I find them interesting, but other people could also use them for trip planning :)))

Total Distance :........... 76,505 Km
Total Fuel Stops:.............. 230
Total Fuel Volume: ........ 3672 Litres
Total Fuel Cost: ..............3239 $Cad
Total Days: ........................311 (10 months and 1 week)

Average fuel cost: ..............89c/Litre
Max fuel cost: ..................196c/Litre - Argentina
Min fuel cost: ....................39c/Litre - Ecuador

Average efficiency: ...........20.815 Km/Litre
Max efficiency: .................. 25.2 Km/Litre
Min efficiency: ..................15.314 Km/Litre

Rear Tires: ..............5
Front Tires: .............3
Rear Sprockets: .......0.75
Front Sprockets: ......0.75
Rear Brake Pads: .... 2
Front Brake Pads: ....2
Chains: ....................3
Oil Changes: ............8

Flat Tires: ................1
Accidents: ................1

And, I think that wrapps it up for "the long ride" :))

Whoooa There! Big Fella

2010-08-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

And "touchdown"!
Ive made it back to Vancouver Canada... Where I set out on this little jaunt, and the others from earlier in this blog too for that matter.

So, it took pretty much 10 months to ride to Ushuaia and back, and I covered 76,000Km (same as twice around the planet at the equator!).
I had only a single "self inflicted" riding accident (I fell off on a muddy section of dirt road) and
likewise had only one flat tire... Actually, thats only a single flat tire in over 145,000Km of riding now!

But, its now time to "let the tires cool" for a while so to speak and I expect to be here in Vancouver for a fair while... There is of course nothing certain about that as the future is always a mystery, but thats how it feels at the moment :)

And the bike definitely needs a rest too...
Its really worn-out at the moment, and I spent over $700 in a single "buy" yesterday with new tires, new bearings for the swing-arm, head-set, and rear suspension, as well as a new battery (which decided to die just after I got back!).
Actually, the old tires were so bad that the guys at the bike shop where I had them changed used the description of "suicidally worn" :) ... I personally think they still had a few more Km in them though I admit they were realllly bad :)))...
I bought the rear tire "used" in Argentina and put it on the bike in Costa Rica. I figured it would make it back to Canada OK from there, but it seems it was a very old tire as well as being used and the rubber was very dry... So, when inflated, the rubber developed big "splits" in the tread due to the stretching... And then, the really hot desert conditions for a few days meant they "melted away" quickly on the asphalt too! But, they got me back home safely, so Im happy :))

Split in the rear tire tread... Through to the belts!

Front tire went on in Colombia, but is now also virtually without tread :)

Apart from the splits, the rear tire had absolutely no tread left either.

So, Im back where I started and the trip is now over!
Actually, after just a day here in Vancouver, I already have that strange sort of sensation that the trip "never happened" if you know what I mean :)
I was expecting it, but its still a bit sad to have it all "in the past" rather than in the present and the future :)

There will be a couple more blog posts on fuel consumption etc, but thats about it for this trip, and future posts will be on my more mundane and domestic life here in the city...
So, my blogging will likely get much less interesting now... Though people are of course welcome to keep reading if it amuses you :)

Not sure what or when the next "long ride" will be, but if I manage to get the money together, and my butt forgets the discomfort then I guess the "dream" would be to ride North from South Africa, through western Europe, then East across northern Russia/Mongolia, and then South down through Asia...
But thats for the future!

... For the time being, Im spending my time trying to "re-assimilate" myself into the West Coast culture of Vancouver... Really Weird!" :)))

So, I guess Id like to say thanks for peoples supportive comments during my trip, and Im glad to have shared "me" with you...
If anyone wants to write me an email, then I have a hotmail account in my name "grant_else.
Other than that, I wish you all well and good luck in your own "voyages"... Whatever they may be and where ever they may lead you :)))

A Cautionary Tail

2010-08-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

This posting is brought to you by Grant's butt!

Yes, I think its time I said my piece...
Now Grant has been gallivanting around on his motorbike for about three years now, and he has clearly been having a wonderful time going places and seeing things and meeting people etc. Hes clearly also been spending lots of time on introspection and has written about all his marvellous little "insights" etc...

But I have to say that for all his inner searchings he seems to have completely overlooked me!
Now, Ive never been particularly large or demanded much of his attention Ill admit, but I would have thought that that would make him pay all the more attention when I did speak up... But No, It seems he has been completely ignoring me for pretty much all of his motorbike touring...

Cos, Ive been complaining quite loudly, and almost continually since he started riding!

You see, I have very little padding at the best of times, and motorbike touring involves a great many hours sitting on the motorbike. Now, initially its not too bad of course, but after a week or so it starts to get to you, and after about three months the pain becomes positively diabolical!
You see, what happens is that with all the sitting down and not much walking around, combined with tropical climates (eating less, and the body seems to naturally lose weight), I have atrophied away quite a bit... And that means that there is even less padding and the seat is even more uncomfortable!

Now every three months or so its true, Grant did stop for a while in some place or other for a week or two... But that was just enough to start recovering rather than fully recover... But, then he'd ride on again for another month or so and do it again.
Then there were several larger breaks of several months too. But in the end these were just taunting me... It all seemed like some elaborate torture... No sooner would I think that the riding was over than it would start yet again!!
And it just went on and on, and on... For three years!!

But, It seems that its over now... At least for a while anyway.

It seems that there is nothing I can do about Grants motorbike riding habits, despite my complainings... But, let this be a warning to any others out there considering long "adventure tours"...

Do your butt a favour and invest in a REALLY comfortable seat upgrade for your bike BEFORE you set off!

... and now, I guess Ill "Butt Out" and leave you all alone again :))

Mechanic for a Day

2010-07-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ive made it back to Oregon...

And just about a year ago, I saw a little old Ford Bronco 4WD here that I really liked. And I came to an arrangement with the owner to "hold onto it" till I came back... Which he did :)

So, now that Im back from my inter-continental wanderings... and the little 4WD is still there :)
So, today I spent "getting a closer look" at it and seeing if I could get it going and how much work it would be to get it into "road-worthy" condition to drive it back to Canada...

It wasnt great but it wasnt bad either...

I ended up spending the whole day working on it.
The first half of the day was spent just getting it going... I had to get a battery for it cos it didnt have one !
Then after I got it cranking over (needed a jump from another car too because it was so stiff from having no use) it wouldnt fire up... Turned out it wasnt getting any fuel.
It turned out that it had a small hole in the fuel line that had drained the fuel tank... And it took me a while to figure it out and find it... And then fix it and get enough fuel into it...Including the mandatory mouth-full of fuel as I tried to siphon fuel into a bottle to fill the fuel bowls in the carby! :))
But I got it going eventually.
And then I got air into the tires and washed off the mud and cleaned out the spider webs and wasp nests etc...
Then I thought I was about done... But just as I was about to move it back to where it had been parked for the year, it decided to almost burn its self to the ground!
It turned out that the alternator had decided to short its self out (I dont know why it chose this moment to short out, but things like that just happen!) and it was causing wires to melt!!
Again it took me a while to figure out what was going on and disconnect the alternator... And in doing so I managed to break the high pressure oil line (old brittle plastic) that ran inside the cab for the oil gauge... And I got sprayed with quite a bit of hot oil in the process :))
... And by that time, the day was over, so I left it at that :)

Actually, just a couple of doors down the road there was a "auto-restoration" business, and there was a really nice little Bronco (same type of little 4WD) parked out the front of it. So, during the day, (lunch break) I walked over and took a couple of pictures and spoke with the business owner... They've worked on quite a few of these and they do a really good job.

We talked for a bit, and Im thinking that Im inclined to have them do the rust repairs and repaint the body. Its stuff that I cant do myself and Ill have to have someone do it either here in Oregon or back in Vancouver...
So, I asked about roughly what that would cost and I agree its a lot of labour to remove the body and all the glass, and all the wiring and lights etc... But His numbers are about double what I would have hoped for!

Hmmm, Ill have to think about that for a bit!!

So anyway, I got gas in my mouth and sprayed with hot oil, and covered in mud and grease and dust...
I think that qualifies as being a mechanic for a day :))

All the Little Children

2010-07-25T16:01:00.001-07:00

Another follow-on, with another of my "rants" :))

For many years I have struggled constantly with "the Stupidity!" of people.

... Yes, thats "stupidity" with a capital "S"!!

It seemed to me that the vast majority of people do a huge number of things that are grossly inconsiderate to others and which are completely and easily avoidable...
Like having a chat with someone in the middle of a doorway or hallway and blocking everyone elses path. Or smoking upwind instead of downwind of non-smokers. Or not having made their decision about what movie they want to see when they get to the front of a line-up etc... Just really simple common-sense things that seem so obvious to me!

But.... When I do it, Ive always felt bad about thinking poorly of other people...

Surely they are are not really stupid... They cant be!... Its just my impatience...
... Or, there are other reasons for it that I just cant see...
Why would people be so inconsiderate to others when the world would work so much more effectively if people just paid a little more attention to what was going on around them etc...
But, try as I might, I could see no reason to justify why people who were otherwise very bright individuals would do such thoughtless things so consistently... Sure, I do some similarly thoughtless things from time to time, but some people just seem to do it constantly ... and they get REALLY indignant if you try to point it out to them too!

And that apparent "thoughtlessness" isn't limited to simple things of course, it pervades all aspects of life and in far more complex and subtle ways too... And the simple acts of thoughtlessness blend into acts of anonymous obstructiveness... and on into downright maliciousness etc. And they make the world a far more difficult place with far more stresses for everyone than I think it needs to be...

And Ive struggled long and hard with these things too...

And again, Ive been thinking about it all as I wander along my way... Wondering why and wondering what could be changed or how it could be different... And again, it comes back to my simple little list of "Guidelines"... Pay attention, be respectful, be generous... and essentially "Dont Screw others over for your own benefit!" :))

But people just dont!...
Its as if they didnt learn to be nice or to share properly in Kindergarten or something...
Its like the whole world is suffering from a sort of "Arrested Development"!

And thats really actually what I think is going on.
We think of ourselves as adults after some point because we're old enough to drive a car and buy cigarettes or alcohol etc... But we're not really are we?... We're all just little kids in old bodies...
Weve got the full set of responsibilities of an adult but it seems clear that we dont have the full set of social skills... Were more like adolescents... or in some cases juveniles!

... And thats the only way Ive found that allows me to cope...
Looking at us all as just a bunch of "Little Children".
Otherwise, when I see people doing all these inconsiderate and destructive things to the world and to each other, I find I get really disappointed and angry...
But when I see us all as children who simply havnt learned the basics of living together with others in a considerate way...Then it all makes sense... All the corruption...All the violence... All the acts of pure selfishness and obstructiveness to others...
All so easily avoided if wed just grow up a little and pay a little more attention to whats going on around us and to cause-effect!

So, thats how I find Im looking at us all these days... And I find it helps me think kindly thoughts rather than negative ones :))
And so, Im stuck in a world of little children... And indeed, I must be one too!
Not much I can do about that other than try to do better...

Yes, Its time to grow up! :))

Back in the Land of Excess

2010-07-25T13:22:00.001-07:00

Well, like I said,Im now back on the smooth highways of the land of excess...

Truly, the USA seems to really do a thing when they decide to do it!

I rode through Phoenix Arizona and the highways are all super wide and super smooth and with over-passes and entry ramps and exit ramps and interchanges and well... Its all so clean and crisp and fast :)

Wide highway with almost no traffic ahead of me... Easy going :)

And no traffic behind me either :)

Even the service stations here are super clean and organised... Not even a drip of oil or spec of dirt on the concrete pad of this place... Im glad I fixed my oil leak or Id feel guilty messing it up for them :)

And inside the little shop at the service station, the range of stuff available is amazing!

Literally dozens of varieties of soft drinks in bottles!

And not four or eight varieties of drink at the fountain dispenser... This place had twenty different flavours!

And why not buy yourself a lottery ticket while your getting gas... There were over twenty different varieties of multi-million dollar lottery tickets in this dispensing machine for five bucks each :)

And what the heck... May as well pick yourself up a nice Automatic weapon for "home defence" while your here in Arizona !

Yep, Dozens of machine guns available for the discerning gun enthusiast.

No really! Dozens and dozens!...
And reasonably priced too... Pick up a base model machine gun for under $1000. Or, a shotgun for about $600, a hand gun will cost you about $700, and a huge top-end 0.50 calibre sniper rifle that can "pick off" that "home intruder" at a cool 2.5km range (thats the record kill distance with one of these things!) will set you back about $8000!
And there are suppressors (silencers) for all these guns at about $400 each too... Well, you wouldnt want to keep the neighbours kids up after 10pm on a school night now would you...
All so very civilised !
Civilised as they see it but Im afraid, I seem to have a bit of a different definition :)

I rode on out of the city looking for a suitable camp site (I cant afford hotels in the US so Im now camping till I get back to Vancouver :)

As I headed along the highway, I passed more than a few Cactus plants that bore witness to what happens when you are a poor plant (That is probably well over a hundred years old) and you have the misfortune to be located within about 40m of the side of an Arizonan highway (built long after it sprouted from its seed of course) when an "irresponsible" gun owner decides to have some target practice!! (Hows that for a nice run-on sentence! :)) )...

... And the scars never heal over of course!

But actually, Im feeling more "forgiving" in my outlook to what others want to do with their money and time these days, so if the Arizonans want to own lots of guns, then thats their business...
And I do acknowledge that there is definitely something very deeply seated within us each that makes guns very seductive... I think its the primitive hunting instinct of "hitting a moving target". And the power and sound of firing guns is also very seductive (You should try an Automatic gun... wow!).
But, the sad part is that shooting things is only ever a "destructive" act!... Its like grafitti or arson or chopping down trees, breaking windows, throwing bottles, or burning things... Its so easy to destroy things and so much harder to create... Like Robbert Openheimer said just after they set off that first atomic bomb at Trinity test site... "Behold, I am become the destroyer of worlds"... Yes, the destroyer... But nowhere near the creator as yet!!
The act of destruction seems so immature or juvenile when compared to the far more mature act of creation... or so it seems to me!
So, the Arizonans have their guns as they want them, but I guess I hope they will figure out that there are a bunch of very anti-social consequences associated with some of their favourite "freedoms" eventually...
... No rush... Take your time :))

Next day as I rode along through the scorching heat, I was nearly out of fuel and Id foolishly just driven straight through the last largish town without even considering my fuel status!
But, there was a little turn-off to a place that wasnt on my map called "Lost Lake", and it said they had gas there... So I guess thats where Im going :)

And I drive in and its a really nice little community of weekend cabins and trailers located on the banks of a river out here in the desert (very eastern edge of California). Its mostly a weekend resort for people from the big city (LA area) over near the coast.

And it seems that what most people want to do on their weekends here is"Play with Power Toys".

Even the little electric golf carts that everyone uses to drive around the place in get the "treatment"!

Every one has jet-skis and power boats! The powerboats are all tiny little things with massive V8 engines driving "jet" units for use in the shallow river.

Not much boat, and lots of engine :)

Big V8.

Jet unit.

Its all about speed and power and loud exhausts... You never have mufflers... Its always just chrome plated header pipes, so you get the MAXIMUM sound volume from your engine!

But a boat is a boat and its for playing on the water... and thats what they are all doing... Blasting around on the river in the middle of the desert :)

And everyone did seem to be having fun with all the noise and fancy toys :)
I got no real problem with it... Its the whole community there so they are not upsetting the neighbours etc, and if thats how people want to spend their time and money here then thats fine. I dont think they were messing up the environment at all (In this case, since the river banks are either all artificial or well protected by banks of reeds), and they were all very friendly and happy.

But, I managed to get gas for my bike, and even got to use their public shower facilities too. So, after a bit of a look around at this little community of weekend "motor-heads" :), I was all clean and gassed up, so I headed off down the highway...

Back out into the desert...

... and on into the mountains...

Route 66

2010-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

In one of the towns I stopped in out here in the desert, I noticed that the old interstate Route 66 passed through the town.

So, I decided that Id like to ride along that road instead of the modern Route 10 that all the heavy traffic is on. I asked a few questions as to where to get onto it and pretty quickly I found myself riding along in the desert on a very nice little paved highway with the road all to myself :))

And within a few minutes of starting along the road, sure enough, a "Roadrunner" dashed across the road in front of me... I didnt hear the traditional "Beep beep" but I did have my helmet on, so I may just not have heard it :)
After that, I kept my eyes peeled... I was half expecting a Coyote to go shooting past me on the highway mounted on rocket propelled "Acme" roller skates!
But, alas, Coyote didnt put in a showing for me... No doubt he was "temporarily indisposed" by another of those frustrating and "uncomfortable" mishaps that always seem to befall the poor fellow! :)))

But I rode along the old 66 for a few hundred Km. It was a bit sad seeing all the little roadside stops that were abandoned and disintegrating along the way... I guess thats how it goes though... Change comes and old things pass away (good bad or otherwise) and new things come along to replace them.

Eventually, it was dark and the air temperature dropped down below 110degF and I decided Id camp... So, I just pulled off the highway on a flat bit of desert (no fences on this old highway), set up the tent inner on a ground sheet and got some sleep :))

Mojave Heat

2010-07-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Im back in the USA again.

And both the bike and I are grateful for that for the simple fact that there are no "Topes" (speed bumps) here. The darn things are every where in Mexico to keep traffic speeds down (which they do very effectively I might add). Actually, they started to fade out there in northern Mexico (Chihuahua and the other North most states) as the highways got better but they were always there.

A rolled-over truck on a highway just South of the boarder in Mexico... Actually, I saw about four of these in the space of about five hours the evening before I crossed back into the USA... Not sure why there were so many but they were "dropping like flies" !

But here in the states, the roads are wide and clean and Suuuuppeerrr Smmoooooottthhh :)

Down in Mexico Im usually about the fastest thing on the road, but up here Im definitely the slowest thing... Everyone flies along here at 120+kph. I go at about 90kph cos Ive still got that 14 tooth front sprocket on and it means the bikes top end speed is reduced by a bit...

No problem though, Im happy to take it easy :)

But Ive come up into Arizona through the Sonora desert and its hot out here!...

Saguaro Cactus

Another cactus..."Prickly Pear" This variety has a nice purple tint :)

And Im heading North and now Im in the Mojave desert and its even hotter!
The thermometer on my bike went up above the old 100degF point at about 10am in the morning... And by about 1pm it was above 115degF and it stayed around 118degF until about 7pm!

Its scorchingly hot!... I spent more than my whole regular daily food budget of $12 just on drinks trying to stay hydrated! The air is so hot that I physically can not ride with my helmet visor up... The hot air whithers my eyes instantly...
And I cant even ride around with my gloves off (which I did for a few blocks while I was in a town)... The air is so hot that with the wind pressure of riding at above about 50Kmh, it physically burns the skin on the back of my hands to the point where I cant take it!...
... Its like standing near the door of an open metal furnace!

Im thinkin Im gonna sit the heat out if its like this tomorrow and ride in the early morning and night!

We shall see I guess :))

The Pain Economy

2010-07-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

... A follow on from the previous post... And its a long one! :))

After I stated my little truth about "Not Screwing others over", I suggested that we probably pretty much all think along these lines:
"Of course, everyone knows that!... We all learn it as kids and we mostly live by it... Some of us are better at it than others its true, but most people are pretty decent folks really"...

... But like I said, I guess I beg to differ... Well, sort of !...

First core idea is that "Life is tough for everyone"...
... And thats one thing that my travels have definitely confirmed for me: People are the same everywhere... All struggling away and doing what they can, sometimes to just manage to survive, but mostly actually "in the pursuit of happiness" whatever that means for them with their available means.

But its still a "struggle" and most people have quite a little collection of assorted stresses that they are engaged in constant "battle" with...

True enough, life is tougher for some than for others, (and Im certainly one of the luckier ones) but more or less, we are all permanently engaged in trying to keep "house and hearth together"!

But, when I think about "whats wrong with the/my world"; And believe me, this is exactly what Ive been thinking about when Ive been puzzling over all sorts of things on this trip!
I look at all these different stresses and problems we all face, and of course I find that by far, the bulk of them are human created...

Now sure, there are earthquakes and floods and droughts, but these seem to be minor compared to the overwealming supply of difficulties that are created "By people, for people"!
Just look at the news headlines every day... War here, starvation there, suicide bombers over there, geurilla warfare in that place, economic crisis over there, drug wars here, political corruption, pollution, etc. etc. And those are the really big obvious public-event type problems...
They only actually account for a tiny fraction of the day-to-day struggles we all face.

And when I "dig in" and look at any of these issues (large or small), it always turns into a long chain of "Someone does something because they want something... And someone doesnt like it, so they do something back... And someone else retaliates"... And on and on it goes!
And its all inter-linked and we are all basically spending most of our efforts actually sort of "anonymously fighting each other"! ...

... Well, Id actually guess that about half our problems were directly created by ourselves, and the other half were created by other people for us... But we also created the same number of problems for other people ourselves if you know what I mean!

And Im no different...

When I look at my own behaviours and I see that when someone does something I dont like, even a little thing, I get frustrated... And I then go do something as a result of that (though Im usually only peripherally aware of the connection)...
It happens on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and even "spiritual" if you want to take it too that level... Pretty much all my "negative" experiences result in me doing something negative in response...

And thats the biggest problem...
We are all feeding our negative energy back into the world where it goes round and round in its own little "pain economy" and causes an endless trail of suffering...

And of course it seems that with all this "pain and suffering" in the world, we have really "dug our selves a very deep hole" so to speak and we are clearly having a very hard time of getting out of it! :))

And so, despite "most people being fairly decent folks", we are all constantly contributing to "unpleasantness" for each other and it seems we are powerless to free ourselves from the "pain cycle". We are all constantly "doing unto others as was done unto us".
Its part of what I mean when I say we are not as "good" as we each like to think we are.

We all desperately need a big change! But it seems impossible to make the change...
... But thats what we need to do!

Now there is no big surprise in any of this, and its tempting to say, "Well, thats just human nature... Its always been that way and it always will be"!
... But again, I guess I "beg to differ" there!

I think I can do better than I have been doing!

So, again, I believe that the only person I can truly change is myself.
And again, Since I truly believe that, then how can I change myself to effect this so called "pain economy" ? ...
Well, specifically, I can "absorb" some of that pain that comes along in my own life and not put it back into the world where it effects others; But to do that it means that I have to learn to "Forgive"!
I need to try not to "retaliate" when "bad" things happen!
I need to accept that its happened and understand that when I react or retaliate in a negative fashion, that its just feeding the system and its gonna come back in the long run!...

Its obvious of course!...
... But Im just one little person in a world of over six billion other people, who are all caught up in the same cycle...
And so, of course it also seems kind of pointless objective with so many many other people who will simply swamp any good efforts I try to generate.
Yes, I know, it sounds like the classic Quixotic "impossible dream"!
But I choose "hope" and I actually do believe that its worth doing and that every bit makes a difference! ... and of course the biggest difference I can create will be in the circles that I move in, so the advantages, small though they may be compared to the effort, are close to home :))
... And so, Im gonna try and be a better me...

But I know too that Im just like everyone else and that I too have my fair share of "human frailties" and that I make mistakes and cant live up to "impossible standards".
And I know that life is long and that I cant possibly absorb all the "pain" that will come my way on a single day let alone the rest of my life without letting lots of it back out into the world!

... But I still do believe that I can try to put out less than I take in...
In the long run, over a whole life time (though I dont know how long that will be) I honestly think I can manage that! :)

And as for changing others... Well, I cant force others to change... I believe that any use of "force" to try to change others in the long run is flawed and so evangelising and preaching about this stuff are just not effective in my opinion.
As I said, I think the best I can do is to live by example... And, if I get asked "Why" did you do this", or "Why didnt I do that" in response to some negative experience/situation then I guess I can try to share my point of view in an honest and open way that encourages the other person to think about it... just a bit :))

... And, flawed as it may seem to others, that is some more of the "The wisdom that was gotten" for me.

It seems sort of appropriate to me that as I myself am coming full circle back to where I started my trip three years ago, that all my mental wanderings have also more or less come full circle too :)
Back to the simple premise of "Be Considerate" that we all knew all along :)))
It sounds so simple and is so obvious...

Again, I really dont know if my ramblings here have done it any justice at all ?
All I can really say is that its a simple enough idea thats virtually impossible to live by in this world!

And again, I dont expect anyone else to "get it" nor any thanks for it.
But Ive written it down and shared it with those few of you who read my blog.
So now, Im just gonna continue to "go about my business" and try to live my life as best I can :)

So, to borrow lines from John Lennon... (Though I think he was commenting on "Religion")

You may say Im a dreamer,..
But Im not the only one.
I hope some day that you'll join us...
And the world can live as one :))

My Inconvenient Truth

2010-07-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Like I said in a recent post there; The scenery of Mexico just isnt managing to captivate me as I ride through one more time. Both literally and metaphorically, having been here before; I more or less know "Whats around the next corner" before I get there :)
And rather than enjoying the changing scenery (which is still nice) as I ride along, I find instead that Im spending most of my time "in my head" so to speak, which in truth is what Ive been doing for large portions of this trip anyway.

But this is a little different...
In these closing days of both this long ride, and effectively my little Odyssey of the last three years, I find that Im again "looking for something"... Something that "ties it all together"... And maybe makes it all make some sort of sense for me ?

Its been a long long voyage thats absorbed me for three whole years and one way and another has cost me about one hundred thousand dollars (Yep, Real spent money!... and not including lost income) Ive visited about fifteen different countries and driven my motorbike for nearly one hundred and fifty thousand kilometres.
Ive ridden on good pavement and bad, and Ive ridden plenty of places where there was no pavement at all; Through sand, mud, stone and loose gravel, on eight lane each way highways and tiny little foot trails.
Ive ridden through torrential downpours where I could barely breath for the water in the air, and Ive ridden in howling winds that I could barely keep the bike upright or on the road. Ive ridden through frozen mud and snow and through bakingly dry deserts where again, I could barely breath from the heat. Ive ridden below sea-level and at altitudes of over 5000m.

And for all that riding, Ive seen many many things too...
From grizzly bears, lynx and wolverines to sea turtles, dolphins, monkeys, penguins, and bright green lizards.
Ive seen wild Arctic tundra and beautiful white Caribbean beaches festooned with coconut palms. Ive seen tropical jungle rivers and endless desert wastes with not a single living thing as far as the eye could see. Ive stood at ground zero of a nuclear test site, seen flowing molten lava, and walked in the footsteps of Charles Darwin.
Ive seen and met many many people from grubby little kids on the roadside playing in the mud in the middle of nowhere to gun toting drug dealers in the back alleys of big cities...

Yes, Ive been a long way, Ive seen a lot of things, and met a lot of people.
But what have I got from it?
... What is the wisdom that was gotten ???

And thats what Ive been thinking about for the last few days...
As I ride steadily back toward Vancouver I can feel the trip already starting to "dissipate", as I head back to the world of daily work and taxes and income and mortgages etc...
... And I find Im looking inside again...
Seeking some singular treasure that I can "hold on to"...
Something that Ive "won" for my self with all my literal "blood sweat and tears", that Ill value in the future...

... And Yes, I believe I have something, that works for me :)
... But actually, I dont think any of you are going to like it much!...

... And so I sit me down to write...

I can see this could easily balloon into an enormous post...
Its such a "pervasive" topic and there are so many sideline explanations that Ill want to elaborate on...
But its just too big, so I'll simply state my truth and maybe do a couple of subsequent posts on topics that Ive been thinking about recently...
So, Ill try to "contain" it and hope that it makes some sort of sense :) ...

... But; Really!... I dont think your going to like it much!
You see, its such a simple and obvious and cliche thing...

... But, in the end, I dont actually care if you like it or not... Its true for me and thats enough :)))

Note here: You see what happens when we invest that much time money and effort into something... We get really attached to the results... Even if (or perhaps, especially if!) the results are just "ideas"!

OK, So here goes...

So, if I take the sum total of all my knowledge and perceptions and experiences of my life before I started this trip...
And I add to that all the new experiences and multitude of new perceptions and associated thinking and insights etc. from this trip...
And I distil it all down and I find within it all, some "core ideas" that really matter to me and capture my "Knowledge" and my "Truth"!
And I write down those ideas in a simple little list, on a single piece of paper...
And then I metaphorically take that piece of paper and I fold it into a little paper cup...
... What "Truth" would that little paper cup hold ?

Well, you can see a lot of it in my "Navigation Guidelines" post of a month or so back... And, its no mean feat to "distil" it down even further, but in the simplest of terms, it all boils down to this...

Dont "screw others over" for your own benefit !

... "Yep, hes right" I hear you thinking... "I really dont think much of it!"
But thats because it means something different to me than it means to you!... Maybe Ive distilled it too far?

I expect you reaction goes something like this:
"Of course, everyone knows that!... We all learn it as kids and we mostly live by it...
Some of us are better at it than others its true, but most people are pretty decent folks really"...

Yes, I agree, but, well, I guess it seems to me that were just not as "good" as we like to think!

It seems that whatever "troubling" topic I turn my mind to, After Ive thought about it long enough, I eventually end up back at the same conclusion... And that is that we people are not really doing a very good job of living together! And its not for inability to do it, its due to simple lack of effort... Although the "whys" of that lack of effort are many and various.

And try as I might, I always come back to that same conclusion...

The end result is that I believe that the only person that I can really change, is myself; And that that is true for everyone else too. And, the only way I can truly, effectively, bring change to others is if they "want" to change themselves as a result of interacting with me... And that mostly comes back to one of my core beliefs that "I should lead by example!"

So then, If I truly believe that, (and I do) Then how can I change myself to have a positive effect on whatever "problem" Im currently thinking about? Answer is simple, I have to truly espouse the changes that I think are good for others and then respect that others may or may not want to change too...

Believe me, Id rather not... It will be very "Inconvenient" !

I dont think that people are gonna thank me... I dont think others will believe the things I believe... Itd certainly be far easier to go about my life as a more or less "fine upstanding pillar of the community" that I otherwise am, and lead my normal life as an average person doing what we all do in more or less the same way everyone else does...

Yes, Itd be nice to keep behaving just like pretty much everyone else.. Very "Convenient" indeed!... But, I just cant do it any more... Cos Ive thought about it and I SEE the consequences...

So, now I have to try to be "nice" just like mum and dad tried to tell me to be, but now its for real!...Bummer, cos I had my sights set on becoming a "Grumpy old man"!... And I just about had it down too! :))
And everyone else is gonna keep just "pretending" to be nice (which is how it seems things really are) and so they are all gonna keep trying to "screw me over" (Well everyone really;...Rarely specifically ME) one way and another, and I have to resist that but not do it in return...
Not gonna be easy I dare say!

I know... Im sounding like some sort of righteous religious freak or something! But its not like Im saying it because Im religious or something like that... God doesnt come into it at all!... Its just plain rational thinking... An unavoidable conclusion!

But, in the end, it is a selfish choice (Just like everyone else in the long run :) ) The simple fact is that I will feel better if I try to live as a better person... Its time to grow up!

So, Here it is again for anyone who is interested...

Dont "screw others over" for your own benefit !

...... And that, is the wisdom that was gotten!

Now I just have to do my best to live by it... And Im sure Ill fail regularly cos Im just a person like everyone else and we make mistakes... But Im really gonna be trying to do better anyway...
Wish me luck ! :)))

A few Pics

2010-07-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Not much goin on, but I figure I should at least post a few pictures to entertain while I spend my time ¨pulling in the miles¨ as I ride along.
Im spending lots of time in my head at the moment as usual :))

Last view of Lake Atitlan as I ride out :)

Bike fully loaded with a guitar and a spare helmet too... Nowhere for a second rider to sit though... Let alone play the guitar as I ride along :))

A recycling program at least partially implemented... Theyve collected the bottles... Now they just need to do something with them all!

Resort city (Acapulco I think)

Pacific coastal fog

Fighting Cock breeding farm

Big sculpture of ¨Dancing Dogs¨

Duck on a Stick :)

Trucks full of mangos

Dodging thunder storms in Northern Mexico

Now thats a set of horns!

My Own Back Yard

2010-07-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ive been riding North through Mexico for the last four or five days now.
I decided to take the pacific coastal rout since it´ll be easier than going through all of the mountains of the central route. Ive done both routes before, so it makes little difference on that front :)

And so, I started off in Guatemala and wound my way to the boarder and then headed down toward the coast on a bit of road Id not seen in my previous travels... But that was "not to be"! it seems because within an hour I started to notice a strong earthy smell in the area as I rode along, and fifteen minutes after that, I knew why... There was a large land/mud slide that had cut the road... Actually, it was still very actively flowing with mud and rocks being washed down of the jungle hilside in a continual stream of slurry... All of course being fed by the torrential downpour that I was currently riding through!
There was simply no way through, and not likely to be any for at leat a day or two...

So, it was back the way I came and through the mountains for a while longer before I could get down to the coast on roads I had already traveled :)

And, once I was there, I rode quietly along my way.
For the first half day or so, it seemed I was in "The land of a thousand Topes" (speed bumps) and progress was slow and tiring with a constant supply of roadside dwellings and thus speed bumps every couple of hundred meters... For three or four hundred Km!!

Then it slowly changed and the Topes faded out and I was now in "The land of a thousand curves"... I remembered this section of road from my previous trip andf it was REALLY nice riding :))
And it was this time too, but I have to say it was a little less enjoyable because I was all tired out from the speed bump riding... It was at the end of a very long day (12 hr in the saddle), and to top it off I was on the edge of running out of gas!... But it was never the less great fun, and there were no "chicken strips" left on my tires at all as I carved my way through the curves with barely a glance at the surounding coastal views...
Id have to say this is the second most enjoyable section of road riding in the whole trip... Several hours of very "sporting" curves :)))

And the day finally came to an end and I managed to find a road-side gas stop to get me through to the next town where there was a gas station... And then I found a dingy little hotel to flop my spent body down in and spend a sweaty and uncomfortable night getting only mediocre rest for the night :) ... But it was a good day none the less :)).

And this morning I was up and on my way again.
And now the curves were finished and Ive moved into another region Id call "The land of a thousand Plantations"... Plantations everywhere, with all the "usual suspects" of coconut, banana, mango, papaya, and lemon etc.. Its actually mostly pretty dull riding today, but its made more so by the heavy haze of sticky salt fog that is all along the coast here. It makes everything clamy but not actually wet, and the clammyness is exagerated by the hot tropical feel of things anyway... Visibility is down to about four or five Km, and I have to stop and clean off my helmet shield every two hours because it just becomes a blurry mess with the salt.

And so, I am making good progress along Mexico's Pacific coast... Actually, I think they should probably call it Mexicos "Resort" coast since there is a constant stream of large resort towns/cities every few hundred Km for its entire length. Huaitulco, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zehuatenejo, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas...

But, Im not particularly interested in the resorts or the beaches at the moment...
But then again, Im finding that Im not that interested in much of any of it!... It seems that Ive been sort of "inoculated" to just about all of it for the time being... Ive been through here more than once...
I remember when I was first heading South from Canada, and then I crossed the US/Mex boarder for the first time into this "exotic land of the unknown"... It was all very exciting and challenging back then.
But, now, on the other end of three years of riding my motorbike through the Americas and visiting fifteen different countries, each with its own "colours and flavours", I have to say that "good old Mexico" seems pretty ordinary to me... Almost like its "my own back yard" :)

Yep, I think its time this trip comes to an end... Im ready for a change :)

An Interesting Morning

2010-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Ive been having an interesting morning with my bike...

Its basically running well enough, though it definitely prefers me to use the higher octane fuel that the lower octane stuff here in Mexico...
When I use the low octane stuff, the motor sounds very clunky and Im sure its bad for it in the long run.

But, more importantly, the bike has started leaking oil again, quite badly!
Its coming from the same place it always does which is an oil seal behind the front drive sprocket for the chain.
Now, in the past I have found that the oil leaks from here when it gets very old (the oil), and so a change of oil does the trick... But not this time! You see, its the original seal and its now done about 150,000Km and the seal really has had enough... Now, I did ask the mechanic shop to change this seal befor I started this trip, but they forgot, and so I just got given the seal and figured Id do it when I changed the front sprocket on the trip...
But, when I did that in Bolivia, I had such a challenge building the sprocket and replacing it that I too forgot about the seal.

and so, its finaly caught up with me :)))

Now, the problem with this seal is that I dont have a socket big enough to get the front sprocket nut off... So, I have to go to a mechanic to do it...
Which is what I did this morning, after the bike used almost a litre of oil yesterday!
OK, so we got the front sprocket off easily enough, but getting the old seal out after that took about an hour with all sorts of pliers and wires and hooky bits etc... It was way harder than it should have been!

Old seal out!

But, once it was out (and totaly destroyed!), it was all good and I started trying to seat in the new one... after 15 minutes of trying to tap the new one in, Id bent it and it was also destroyed!... Not Good!

... But fortunately, I had a second spare...
So, after about an hour more of "gently" trying to get this one in without damaging it... and another 20 minutes of the mechanic trying (with me making sure they didnt use force and damage the new seal...
We were all out of ideas...

And, it was then that I noticed in amongst all the caked on greasy mud that there was an extra little bolt!... No, two of them...

... You IDIOT!!!...

And once the mud was scraped away, the solution became obvious :)
There was a thin metal bracket bolted over the top, holding the seal in place and we had not yet removed it!! Sounds obviouse I know, but all I can say is that it definitely wasnt!

Front sprocket drive shaft with seal removed...

But with seal retaining bracket still in place... Can you spot the hidden bolt head under the muck??

Anyway, after removing this bracket, the new seal went in easily and the bracket was put back on, and then the clutch mechanisme was replaced (along with a search for missing ball-bearings with a magnet... Succesfull thank heavens)... and it was all back together.

So, I spent about three hours today working on the bike.
Hopefully it doesnt leak oil any more, but I wont know till this evening...

So, its back on the road to find out! ;)))

Tribulations

2010-07-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I think Ive dealt with all the details here at Lake Atitlan that I needed to, so now I can hit the road at last.

But, I have to say that Im not particularly pleased with the way things went with selling the little motorbike... And Im gonna have a little "vent" about it here, so you may want to skip this griping self indulgent post and just "move on"... Which is exactly what Ill do after Ive written it :)))

So, I ended up "taking quite a bath" on the deal!
As I mentioned, finding a buyer was being difficult because I didnt have the papers for the bike.
The papers had been left in a box with some spare parts for the bike with my other boxes of stuff.
But when I left my boxes of stuff with a friend (before heading back to Vancouver to start this trip) he decided that box was motorbike stuff and should be put in his workshop.
Then, six months after I had left he decided to sell his mechanic business and through casual neglect he just let the new owner have everything in the shop... Including the little box of parts and several other items of mine that were worth several hundred dollars to replace!... Now it was mentioned to the new owner by the friend in question and by the owner of the rental space where the workshop was that there were some things that were not to be taken (though not that particular little box)... But it didnt matter, everything was taken by the new owner and moved to his new workshop space.
So, when I got the bike cleaned up and going, I approached the new mechanic about my things, and specifically about the bike papers...
This got "stone walled" with "No, it was all mine, and there was lots of junk that I just threw out"!
I stayed polite and tried again... Describing specifically what the items I wanted looked like! ... And got the same answer... No Joy!
So, then I wrote to my friend who had sold the mechanic business and he sent the new owner an email as well.
... And I tried again... And I got stone walled yet again!

Now, this all took over a week to unfold, and by this time I was figuring I wasnt gonna get anything out of the new mechanic, and I needed to sell the bike somehow, and sitting around here was costing me hundreds of dollars each week!
So, I lowered the price and eventually made a deal with the original owner of the bike whos name the "lost" papers are still in... Its far easier for him to get new papers issued than for me!

But theres another story with that too...
The guy wanted the bike but didnt want to pay much for it, and fair enough, he had not seen the bike in a couple of years and I dont blame him for assuming the worst! (Though it was in actually in really good condition!). But I also offered to add two good motorbike helmets to encourage the deal as well... And I offered to drive the bike into Antigua to help with him picking it up too.

But whatever the case he told me stories about having only $200 himself, and borrowing $200 from his brother and $200 more from his mother, and $200 more from his sister... And that was all he could find...
To whichy I said... "Look, I hear you, and Ill come down a bit but Im not moving till I get $900...
... There was more humming and stories about borrowing from someone else too...
And after a couple more calls, he finally commted to the $900 deal, but not before I mentioned that Id basically had enough and had a local offer for $900 that Id take instead (Which was in fact 100% true too!)
But he commited and so I stuck with the deal Id started first and thus rode the bike into Antigua to make the deal...
And when the appointed hour came, I was alone in the appointed public location... Half an hour later the buyer shows up (how typical for Guatemala!) and the transaction goes off without further issue...
... But my gripe here is that the guy shows up in a sparkling clean, late model pickup truck that would cost at least $30,000 - $40,000 in Canada and probably about $60,000 or more down here... And he, and his son who accompanied him, were all dressed up in expensive clothes too... He peels off the $900 from a pile of notes which he says are "straight from the bank" (cos Im checking them for fakes) and proceeds to tell me that after this they are going to have some pizza at one of the expensive clubs in the town!

Now, I dont know the actual facts of his finances, and the stories he told me may have been true but it sure didnt seem like it from external appearances!
... But, what can ya do!....
So I go back to the lake today, and as I get off the shuttle bus, I walk past the new mechanic shop and decide to go ask about my stuff one more time...

And the mechanic and his father are both there, and I start to get the same story as before...
But I interrupt this time, and without shouting, but being very clear and assertive, I say "Look, I KNOW the stuff I want is here because I SAW IT here when I first came in here to charge the motorbike battery over a week ago... And I KNOW youve moved it cos its now not where it was!!!"
Then ensues a very rappid babble of responses from them both about "stuff gets moved around all the time here" and "we're very busy and havnt had time to look" etc, but while the father continues with the babble, the mechanic trots off around the nearest corner and comes back within ten seconds with my pile of stuff, AND the motorbike papers!!!!

ARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

So, their little game "keep it if you can" has deffinitely cost me about $500 in the sale of that motorbike! And that stuff that I could have posted home with the other boxes I sent (posted the last one yesterday!) will now have to be strapped to the back of the bike instead!!

... And now that I have them, I could hold the bike papers "ransom" and ask for more money from the guy with the shiny pickup...
... Or, I could just throw them out and make the guy incure the cost delay, and inconvenience of getting new ones issued...

But really, that just makes me as "small" as they all are and why would I do that to myself?
No, I think Ill just let the past be the past, give the guy his bikes papers and "be done with it all"!

Honestly, this sort of thing just makes me feel so tired, and so "sad" for people in general... Why do we do these things to each other?
I just dont know why we are all so "small"!

But, thats enough of my griping... And now Ill let it go and get on with riding North...

I hit the road tomorrow morning :))

Whats Happening at the Lake

2010-07-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Ive been here at Lake Atitlan for about a week now so I guess I should update anyone out there who reads my ramblings...

Well, Im basically here to "clean up" my stuff from when I was living here... More than a year ago now!
I left four motorbikes, a guitar, about four boxes of "personal stuff", and some other assorted bits and pieces here. And now that Ive burned through quite a few thousands of dollars worth of credit with my motorcycle wanderings for the last year, I need to go "get a real job" to pay off the debt. And given that thats gonna take a while to do, I cant leave my stuff here any more...
Its been cluttering up other peoples space for far too long as it is.

The guitar Ill take on the bike with me since I cant post it and I find I dont want to sell it for a pittance down here. (I guess we shall see if it survives the trials of "Adventure Touring!")
The boxes of stuff Ill repack and post back to Canada, though it will cost me a pretty penny! But again, I find I want it so Ill absorb the expense!

The bikes are not as big a problem as they might have been...
I came to the conclusion that I should sell them off at some point while I was riding down in South America, and one of my friends here at the lake helped me out a lot and managed to sell three out of the four rental bikes while I was away. I paid him a commission of course, but its still a huge help that I now only have to deal with one.

But thats actually being a bit of a pain..,
To keep a long story short, one way and another the bike and its papers have taken long circuitous and independent paths for the last couple of years, and now that I go through my stuff, the papers are nowhere to be found... Not too surprising since there are quite a few things that I know I had here that have either "disappeared" or been "given away" while I wasnt around!... And I think the papers were accidentally in one of those categories...
So, the most likely outcome at this stage is that Ill sell the bike back to the original owner (In Guate' city) at a big discount; just so the papers issue is out of the way (The bike is actually still registered in his name) and so I can sell it quickly and be on my way North...

And I find that I actually do want to go North pretty quickly for several reasons...
Not least being that Ive ridden through the same country (Mexico and USA) three times already and its not so new and exciting to me any more :)
Apart from the fact that its also rainy season down here and is very dreary!... And that all the people I knew that lived here are either on holiday or have left the lake permanently!...
And last but not least, itd be a shame to miss all of the Northern summer and ride from one wet season straight into another ! :)

So, Im keen to be on my way back North.

But, what of the lake here in the six months that Ive been away?

Well, things at the lake are more or less as I expected... If you recall, last time I wrote about the lake, it was to describe the "disaster" of a very strong algal bloom turning the once pristine blue lake into a putrid stinking yellow-green mess... And my view of why that was and so on...

Well, things are more or less as I expected...
Its wet season now and so its cold and rainy compared to dry season, and this has basically dissipated the bulk of the floating algae... But it certainly has not removed it and Im pretty sure that when dry season comes around again the algae will be back in force.
Even though the waters are for the most part pretty clear at the moment, its still very clear to me that the algae is there because the lake now has a far stronger tint of green rather than the blue that it had when I first saw it about three years ago... And thats never a good sign when it comes to bodies of water!

And its been a very rainy season here too... With tropical storms coming through and dumping huge amounts of rain in the area... There have been dozens of smaller land-slides all around the lake, and several quite large ones too; with one destroying quite a few houses here in San Pedro (Though taking only one life it seems).
So, the lake is full of floating pumice and plastic litter that has washed down of the hill sides with all the rain... But of course, thats how it usually is at this time of year :)

And what of "changes" that would help fix the algae problem???
Well, the main source of the problem was undoubtedly the use of artificial fertilisers in the catchment, and the flushing of untreated sewerage into the lake by several of the larger towns on its shores...
Well, sadly, I have to say that this too is (at least for the time being) pretty much as I expected it would be...
There was much talk...
There was much good intent...
Apparently there were even new laws passed in various municipal, state and federal bodies to make changes (Though this is only hear-say for me... I know no facts)...
Im told the use of artificial fertilisers was banned or at least limited in the lake catchment.
Im told there was a law passed about any structures or agriculture being prohibited within 10m of the lake shore.
Im told Several sewerage processing plant building projects have been initiated.
Im told the washing of clothes in the lake (and use of detergents) was banned too.
... All good stuff :)

But I see NONE of this in actual effect...
There are still plenty of women down at the lake every morning washing their clothes and ploughing more detergent into the lake.
There are several new buildings on the lake shore, and farming and agriculture go on right down to the water line as usual... Despite there being a "red stake" here and there marking the official 10m boundary margin!... So, the laws were passed but they are not being policed at all (sadly predictable !)
Neither have I seen any evidence of municipal sewerage treatment plant projects (though these do take time to build).

But, I have seen that over in Pana' (one of the major sewerage offenders) that they are very actively fixing and burying their sewerage line so its no longer visible!... Still goes straight into the lake though!
And when I rode into the lake, I came along a different road and I rode right through the middle of the larger catchment area of one of the biggest tributary rivers to the lake... And the fields were full of lush growing corn... And the corn was very tall, very dark green and very closely spaced... And Im absolutely sure it was very heavily fertilised!

And, Ive also seen that pretty much every town on the lake has a very nicely built brand new municipal dock... They look great and are clearly the result of recent government or perhaps international aid group spending... But they dont effect the pollution problem one jot!

And so it seems that at least so far, there are no changes at all to the problems... Like I said... Disappointing but not at all surprising!

But, it will not "kill" the towns on the lake...
On the contrary, San Pedro still appears to be growing quite rapidly... There are a few restaurants that have failed and closed, but for every one that has closed, there seem to be at least two more new ones that have opened. And there are more hostels and hotels, and more little tourist nick-nack shops than ever before... The place is alive and growing...

... And so, in short, "Life goes on as usual with no real changes"... Just as expected.
And the local people have learned very quickly to accept that the lake is now greener ... And they go about their lives doing what they always do... And so I think the algae problem will persist.

But the fact that the lake is greener is not why I have decided to sell off my little motorbike enterprise and go "get a job" back in Canada.
Its more that I am just not "engaged" enough here, and I need something more! Though specifically what that "more" is, is tricky to define!
But regardless of the uncertainty of what Ill do when I get back or what "more" Im seeking, Im feeling ready to "re-engage" with life back in Vancouver....

... Well, at least for the time being anyway... Until I figure out how to finance another big motorbike trip :)))

A Glimpse of El Salvador

2010-07-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

Another photo story-board of the few days of riding from Nicaragua through southern Honduras, through pretty much the full length of El Salvador (its little over 200Km long in its entirety!) and then North into Guatemala and back to good old Lake Atitlan

Nice colonial house-become hostel in Granada Nicaragua

The "Fat Cat" at the Hostel!

We gave it the nick-name of "The Obeist" :)

Nice place to sleep:)

Went past the same place on the road where they were selling captured wild birds as pets again... Still the same... Still makes me sad :(

Then on into El Salvador for a very quick visit... But Ive not been here before so we'll just see what its like... Actually its pretty much the same as Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua as far as I can tell... maybe a little wealthier though... But thats likely just due to the small size of the place and the higher effective population density?
Whatever the case, as far as I can tell, there is virtually zero land that is in its natural state... Its all being farmed.

Current model bullock cart that they use down here!

Another Customs line-up at yet another boarder crossing... Seen so many of these now that I dont remember one from another!

And more "wildlife sellers", but this time its Iguanas and Armadillo... I feel sad again :(!

All through the Pacific coastal region of central America there is lots of evidence of very recent flooding and rain damage ...there were several really big bridges that were "just gone" and constant evidence of recently cleared mud slides on the roads (like every 100m for several hundred Km!) It seems that this rainy season is a "strong one"!

Big bridge completely gone!

Coast in El Salvador

Mangroves

Bullock carts are still a very relevant means of moving stuff around down here :)

More road work repairs

Church in the middle of a wash-out/flood zone

Mud slides on the road

But, eventually, I made it back to good old San Pedro and now Ill rest up for a bit and deal with some of my stuff that I left here :)

Second Infraction

2010-07-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

I got up earlyish in Granada Nicaragua and headed off along the highway toward Honduras...

Now, Id received an email from Greg (the other rider I was travelling with for a while) a couple of days ago, and he told me he was up in Guatemala now, but he also said he'd had a bit of a "drawn-out" interaction with a traffic cop on his ride out of Nicaragua...
The policeman had apparently given him a bogus ticket for an offence he didnt commit, but hed also spotted Gregs copied license and insisted on seeing the real one... which he then pocketed and wouldnt give back till Greg paid a $15US ticket at the bank in the next town!.... Needless to say, I was duly warned about the possibilities!

... and actually Id had my own little incident with a traffic cop on my way back here from Bluefields... Id very nearly got myself a ticket, But the fact that the cop had had to "chase me down" in his car rather than deal with me at the road check that I "blew through", meant that the policeman had inadvertently left his ticket book back at the road check... And I ended up just getting a "stern talking to"!!

So, in fact, I had been "doubly warned"!

... But, it made no difference, when I came to a certain piece of road where there was a long straight down-hill followed by a long straight up-hill, and there were some cars ahead of me... But they were moving OK, so no issue...
But then they were slowing down quite a lot and so I pulled out into the lane for the opposite direction (no traffic at all coming the other way) to "see" what was going on...
And, I saw the orange pylons of a road check up ahead, so I pulled back in to my lane and kept my place and waited...

But, as I came to the road check, the policeman pointed very clearly for me to pull over and stop... I knew I was in trouble though I had no idea what for!

And so, the policeman and I began our "dance"!

First off we stay polite but dont volunteer anything...
And the policeman asks for my papers for the bike... Which I have on hand and give to him happily.
Then he asks for my license, so I dig that out and hold it out so he can see clearly...
He tries to take it from me but I dont let go...
He asks me to let go but I say "No, you can see all the information you want and spend as long as you like but Im keeping hold of my license thank you" :)
He doesnt like this and he clearly wants to take it!... But he stays polite and tries for the verbal approach...
So then he `spills the beans` and says "you committed an infraction"...
And I said "I dont think so!"...
And he says "Oh yes you did"
And I say "What was it"...
And he says "You pulled out across the yellow line to pass and it was on a bridge too"
And I say "I didnt pass, I was just looking ahead at what the obstruction was"...
And he says "It doesn't matter, if you pass or not, its an infraction".
And I say "Im sorry, where I come from you are allowed to do what I did"
And he says... "Not here you arent!"
And I say really, can you show me the law"...
And, like a good little traffic policeman, he pulls out his little book of traffic laws and starts leafing through it...
And he finds the appropriate articles and shows me them....
And indeed I read the articles, and I look back at the section of road, and Yep, he has got me on a technicality...

Because "every man and his dog" down here (meaning all the local drivers as well as me ) passes at these sorts of places weather there is a yellow line or not, or a bridge or not... Yes, its clear that this is exactly the same spot that Greg got "nabbed" and its also clear that this is one of those police check-points that is specifically put in place right here so as to generate the absolute maximum number of tickets and thus the maximum revenue for his police department/office etc.... Weather there is any danger or not!

... Oh well, what can ya do, Sometimes the law gets abused in the opposite direction too!

Back to me and the policeman...

Well, the guy keeps wanting to take my license but I wont let him have it...
I stay very polite and calm and I be as nice as I can, so there are no tempers involved on either side yet :)
So, now I have to agreed that there is indeed an infraction, and that the policeman has the right to write me a ticket..
OK I say, "Write me the ticket"
But the policeman says "No, I need to take your license and then you go pay the ticket at any bank and come back with the receipt before I give you your license back"...
To which I say "Well, sorry but its not actually mine, Its the property of the Canadian government and I cant give it up"...

... stalemate!

He pulls over a few other cars while he waits for things to "change" with me, so its clear that he is not going to let me go with a warning, and he is going to give me a ticket and he is prepared to wait all day, and he is not going to proceed till he gets my license!...

Hmmm

I ask to see the article that says he can take the drivers license...
It takes a while but he eventually looks it up and hands me his little book to read while he goes and books another driver!
I see him write infringement tickets for two other local Nicaraguan drivers while I wait!
(At least they are not just "picking on the tourists!" :)...

... But Ive read the article in question, and even though its in Spanish, its pretty clear... yes he has the right to take my license...

So, when next he comes back to me (after about 15 minutes) he asks again for my license and this time I hand it over...
He is happier now and though he has a bit of a detailed look at the construction of my license (and his facial expression is not completely satisfied), he accepts it and proceeds to write me a ticket.
Im then given instructions of how to pay it and allowed to go (he still has my license)

And so, I ride off in the direction I was originally heading... Ostensibly to a bank in the next town to pay my ticket, thence to return for my hostage license...

But I decided to not stop and pay the ticket today.... I rode on to the boarder with Honduras and proceeded across the boarder on my planned way!

So, I admit that I have an outstanding traffic infringement ticket in Nicaragua. There is no denying it... He got me on a technicality... But, I have elected to NOT pay it immediately as most people do :)
... I can do that at a later date :)

... Actually, that reminds me, I believe that I have another outstanding traffic infringement ticket in Nicaragua from the first time I rode through over two years ago!... Guess I can deal with them both at the same time... At a later date! :)))

I hope the little policeman with his deliberately obstructive and "revenue generating" road-check enjoys the memento I left him of our little 45 minute interaction !

... A laminated colour photocopy of my license :)))

Frozen Moments

2010-06-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Im starting to get back into photographing things again, and I think I have an insight into why so many of us like photography, and almost everyone likes good pictures...

I was without a camera for a bit over a month there I think, and initially I missed it a bit and when I saw something pretty or interesting, Id wish I had the camera there to ¨capture it¨. But that passed fairly quickly, and I got used to just looking at the nice stuff and then moving on... I didnt even really feel the need to try to ¨remember¨ it or ¨hold on to" the nice feelings and thoughts that the image evoked... Id just move on with my day.
And I could borrow pictures from the guy I was travelling with if I felt the need to put pictures in my blog posts too, so it was no real problem.

And then when I finally got to Panama, I bought a new camera as Id told myself I would from the day I had the other one stolen back in Ecuador.
But, once I had the new camera, it took me a while to get back into the habit of using it, and during that time, it seemed to me that Id actually forgotten ¨how to see the world¨...

And that gave me the insight...
You see, I actually do think Id stopped ¨seeing¨ the pictures! Id gotten back into the ¨just move along¨ routines of life... and I was thus missing out on all the beauty that is around all the time!

You see, I think what photographs and photography do is they actually help us to see the beauty and ¨poetry¨ that surrounds us in this life in every moment and every place. I think its absolutely always there and available to us at any time, but that we just stop seeing it!

But these images in our lives are very fleeting as we move around and they change with light and position... They are momentary things and thats what makes them ¨hard to spot¨ when we are absorbed with our daily lives and our internal thoughts.

But photographs ¨capture¨ them!
Well at least aspects of those fleeting moments anyway... And they preserve them and then they are available to us when we are not distracted by our thoughts or duties of daily life... And they are not so fleeting either... that gives us the time to ¨see¨ them.

And I think thats why we all love good photographs... They are pieces of the momentary beauty of life that is constantly surrounding us but is too fleeting for us to otherwise see. :)

And that too is why so many of us like taking pictures and why so many people fancy them-selves as good photographers and aspire to make a living from the profession...
Photography helps hone our ¨image instincts¨ into looking for and ¨seeing¨ these moments of beauty!

But weather we see them or not, and weather we try to capture them with cameras or not, One thing I am absolutely sure of is that they are always there... everywhere, all the time!... And the more you decide to look for them, the more you see them... And then the more we give our-selves those nice thoughts and feelings that the images evoke in us :)

... But there in lays the trick!.... You have to ¨decide¨ to look for them!
... and photography just gives us a reason to do that. :)))