TassieDevil

Hi all, Just a "drive-by" note of concern from me.. for all my old friends on EK. I know I ain't been around as much as I used to be over the past year or so, but I still think of yas and how everyone is doing. Being inundated with this in the media, my personal "flood" has all of a sudden been a wave of feeling utterly useless, being so far away and unable to help with little more than donations and emotional support to those that need it. I hope none of the Brissy crew have been too badly affected by the disaster, and wish those that may have been to have a timely and trouble-free recovery. Ditto for anyone down in Vic where they're dealing with similar issues. Full marks to all those who have been able to help those in need... I think I can safely state that those of us that live elsewhere in Oz are proud of U and your efforts. Take care everyone, Gary.

Sorry I couldn't make it this time... regret not being able to catch up with everyone and meet the newcomers. I see stunt kites in some pics ! Bugga.. Hope your shoulder is OK, Jolli Glad everyone had a good time.. Gary

Thanks for the replies, guys. When I mentioned a "sewn repair", I actually meant just a patch over the wound.. Regarding Bob Dawson.. A week or two after the mishap, I was happy to learn that a friend was travelling up to Coffs Harbour for a holiday, so I arranged for him to take it with him and to get Bob to fix it for me. I should say that I'm only aware of what happened "second hand", but Bob kindly repaired the Bug free of charge, but only with kite tape, even tho my request was to have a sewn repair (I could have used kite tape to repair it myself - I have some in my kit !). His attitude and response was, apparently, "It's only a cheap kite, it's not worth fixing properly", or something to that effect. My friend questioned it, but that's how it went. Suffice to say, news of all this came as quite a surprise to me. If the kite is worth $120, and the repair would likely be $20 or so (my guess, based on previous experience only), at what point does the kite become "not worth repairing" ? It's still in near new condition ! The "cheap kite" dismissal is a whole other issue that I won't go into here, but I was surprised. Essentially, these kites are the ones we use for raw kiting beginners, or in strong winds, so they're always going to cop a relative beating... hence I wanted the best repair possible. When my friend bought the kite home, I noticed Bob had actually only taped half of the wound. Perhaps he didn't notice the rest, but it was all part of the same cut, all in a straight line, so personally I don't know how he missed it (in hindsight, I should have marked it out, to make the repair area stand out). Anyway, as a result, the kite has not been flown since the accident. Gary

Hey all, Way back before Xmas I was out with a bunch of people flying in Newcastle. The wind was up and it was perfect conditions for the Mighty Bugs (we have 2 of the 1.5s). Unfortunately, one of the less experienced flyers was doing a lot of dragging my kite across the ground whilst trying to get it relaunched. Now, if anyone has seen the beautifully manicured grass in the waterfront park in Newcastle, I expect U would have been as shocked as I was when we found it had about a 6" slash across the top of one of the centre cells. It looked as if it had been scored with a knife, but not cut all the way through the material in places. These kites are the ones we use for raw beginners and in strong winds, so they're always going to cop a beating... hence I want a proper sewn repair. I remember Steve down at KitePower organised a repair on my friend's Imp Quattro (about a 4-inch repair) for about $15 or so. Is anyone aware of a place in the Hunter or Central Coast region that I can take it to that might be able to do such a repair, or am I gonna have to package this thing up and send it away somewhere ? Thanks in advance for helpful suggestions. Gary

Geez Marty, it ain't been that long ! Stay outta the swimming pools up there.. I hear there's some nasty reptiles hangin' around.. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 878021.htm Gary

Heck, Tim.. wished I'd have known.. I could have come out for a fly this arvo.. See U next time you're up, eh ? Hey Bob.. U keepin' those Canberra blokes on their toes ? Gary

Hey all, Been a bit rude of me to "disappear" the way I have.. such is the effects of dealing with depression.. so, sorry about that.. But it's about time I came back to say G'day.. and.. enter into the latest competition, of course.. Hope everyone is well, and kiting safely. I haven't flown that much over the last 6 months or so, if I'm honest. A bunch of contributing factors (that I won't bore U all with) are responsible for my loss of enthusiasm, but I'll get back into the swing of things soon, I hope. The times I have been sport flying of late, I've been practicing a few of the basic tricks.. still trying to master the snap stalls, and can now perform a semi-reasonable flapjack. As much as it would be nice to be able to claim a whole bunch of successes, I've always said it was going to be a long-term project, and so it is.. Still catching up with Michael (motamyk) fairly regularly. He's picking up the intricacies of his Rev SLE nicely, and thoroughly enjoys his Prism Zephyr... loves flying either at every opportunity. Haven't seen Shawn (Stuntman) for a while, tho.. Was sorry to have missed Tim (spotter) last time he was in Newcastle, but look forward to his next visit. Nice job on the site as a whole, guys.. it's looking superb. Gary

Considering that there are shark species in Southern waters that have been recorded as being able to jump up to 20ft out of the water, that seems a little naive. Many pelagic & epiplagic predatory species (many of which are attracted to any floating objects) feed at speeds higher than 20kts.. but it's not a school of tuna that'll have a go at nibbling on your leg.. it's the more evolutionary perfect killing machines that prey on them that might have a go. Gary

One response.. two posts needed to be moved.. oh well.. The only time I didn't write a bloody essay, and I'm censored.. No worries Jamie... you've just hit a sore spot.. Take care in the water, folks.. Gary

Nice post kill.. Thanks mod.. First post doesn't take precedence, it seems ? Gary

Troy.. he's heading down your way on Monday arvo/evening, I believe. Expect a call from him soon.. Gary

Consider it sold. Bryan (Busted) wants it... will probably come down and pick it up. Talk soon, Troy. Gary

Boy, Tim.. did U get out of here in time.. 42.4 deg C here yesterday.. and more of the same today, apparently.. Pretty early in the season for these kinda temps.. hope it's not an indicator of what the rest of Summer is gonna be like.. Gary

I was gonna say, I might have been able to get out for a fly tomorrow arvo with U after work, but it looks like the wind will be up fairly strong by that time.. same as it's been all week.. I got a bit of a practice session in very early yesterday morning at one of my local sites (not on the coast).. but that's all I've been able to do I the past week.. If not tomorrow, we'll look forward to catching up with ya when you're up here next time. Gary

When do U head home, Tim ? Gary

What about your nite job, Mike ? Selling your body on street corners not as lucrative as it used to be ? Gary

Yep, pitch black would be a challenge. Thanks to the floodlights on the beach in front of the Nobby's Beach Surf Club, we can fly 24hrs if we want.. The hard part for me is it's on soft sand, and I need firmer ground to be able to move more quickly for stunt kiting.. heh.. The water's edge, where the hard sand is, is a little further away from the lights, so not as good to fly there. Also, it doesn't help with a straight onshore breeze (ESE) 'cos then it means you're looking DIRECTLY into the floodlights ! But then, at least U can do this.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLEuWEvH5GI Gary

Still trying to master the straight line, eh Jamie ? Looks like some fun... Gary

Hi all, Tim and Shawn and I did get together and have a fly a couple of weekends ago at Sth Stockton.. in pretty good conditions.. but a bit too strong for some decent stunt kiting and the Revs. The lads had the buggy going up and down the park for most of the afternoon with an assortment of kites.. right down to the Mighty Bug 1.5... pretty funny stuff.. We did have an interesting lesson on twisted lines too, but that's a story that stays at the field, ya know.. Thanks for the beer(s) too, Shawn. It rounded off the day nicely.. My shout next time.. I'm really sorry I haven't been in a position to get out and fly more with Tim while he's in the area. I've really had a crappy time with my sleep and hours of operation over the past few weeks.. it's just bad timing, unfortunately. Had a good fly with motamyk on Thurs morning tho at Nobby's Beach. Got to have my first fly on a Prism Zephyr... and his new Rev 1.5 SLE is verrrry pwwweeettttyyyyy... Hoping conditions might be OK for tomorrow.. ? (windfinder showing Westerly until about 1pm.. ) I'll see if I can get some decent sleep tonite (yea right..) Gary

I'm guessing you meant "would have", not "would of".. Wasn't trying to be truly critical. If so, I would HAVE asked which Enterprise you were talking about.. 1701 wouldn't cut the mustard, but perhaps 1701D or E. They could HAVE tried it in "Relics" whilst Jimmy Doohan was on deck.. he would HAVE gotten the job done ! But they chose to play with the Dyson sphere instead. Clearly a missed opportunity.. Gary

Will be looking at getting out over the weekend for sure. Tim, PM me your mob number if U like.. I'll try and organise something. Gary

Well, we can salvage something from the wreckage... Brisbane water is clearly no longer safe to drink ! Gary

I can see it now. "No, it's not a lance with flags hanging off it.. honest !". Was the man with the rubber gloves surprisingly gentle ? I'm keeping an eye on the weather. It ain't being too co-operative at the moment, as U can probably see.. great for power kiting.. no good for stunters, tho.. Gary

It kinda depends on where U get your information from, doesn't it... but I know what you're saying.. Whilst we've learned so much over the centuries, you'd think we live in a time when myths and legends might not spread as readily, but thanks especially to the Internet, it isn't so. Thank goodness for Snopes.com, WikiPedia, and sites like them, I say... (..altho you've also gotta be careful with WikiPedia sometimes, too..) Having seen all of the 6 seasons that have currently been broadcast in the UK (Season 7 starts broadcasting in early December, apparently) I wouldn't say "more often than not"... but every now and then, certainly.. The audience wins are few and far between, yet somewhat predictable.. As I said... a comedy show like no other.. Gary

YYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hi all, It is with great pleasure I notice that QI, the British comedy panel game show "for the discerning couch potato" has finally come to Australian TV screens. Hosted by "The Human Google" Stephen Fry, it's without a doubt my favourite show, and I'd have to say one of the best shows I've seen in many, many years. This show has been the most popular show on BBC2 & 4 for years, and it became so much so that they moved it to BBC1 last year. In 2004 the show even had it's own building at Oxford that included a library, club, bar, restaurant and bookshop. Tune to ABC1 on Tuesday nites at 9.30pm. Fry plays a role a little like a school teacher, keeping his "pet student", show regular and audience favourite Alan Davies (the thick kid who tries very hard in class) and all his other comedian friends (the other 3 panellists) in check. One of the show's primary goals is to eradicate urban myths, and the scoring system, mostly invisible to the viewer, reflects this by contestants often losing more points for obvious answers than for wrong ones. Since many of the questions are impossibly hard, points are gained just for being "interesting" (which often means being funny as well), even if the answers have nothing to do with the topic of the question ! I know, it sounds mad, but it works brilliantly... just don't be surprised when the scores run into negative numbers.. Also, if you're a Top Gear Fan, you've probably seen most of the panellists on that show in the "Star In A Reasonably-Priced Car" segment. Other returning panellists are Bill Bailey, Sean Lock, Jimmy Carr, Rob Brydon, Jeremy Clarkson, Phil Jupitus, Johnny Vegas, Rich Hall, Joe Brand, Clive Anderson, David Mitchell, and John Sessions, to name a few. It does seem a little unusual that the powers that be have decided to start things off with the 3rd episode from Season 6, but I guess it's better than nothing. The show started originally with 30 minute episodes, but as of Season 6, it has now grown to 45 minutes with the broadcasting of QI XL in the UK. It looks like we're only going to see the 30 minute versions, tho. Again, it's better than nothing.. Here's an outtake.. ... and a promo.. http://www.qi.com/movies/QI_Chat.wmv http://www.qi.com/movies/QI_Chat.mov This is a comedy trivia show like no other. You'll laugh a lot, but be warned... you're bound to learn something at the same time. This particular "opiate for the masses" is good for U ! Tune in, and enjoy ! TassieDevil