.Joel Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Life's a journey...It's 2003, I'm walking past a park in Elwood and there's a guy in a "three wheeled thing" going back and forward doing 360's and having a blast. The interest of a insistently curious 19 year old was sparked and one of my life's best friendships started, with both kiting and the person who would introduce me to nearly everything I would learn over the next few years. Less than a year later I would meet someone through chance who would become one of the largest foundations of my life, together we would start life's journey without any fixed destination other than knowing we loved our work, our leisure and most of all each other. Along the way through kiting we would meet people whom today are some of our closest friends, some who will fly from the other side of the world to stand with us on our wedding day a decade later. Looking back it's this journey, this making of real friendships has always been the biggest reward of Extreme Kites. The vortex of kiting...Somewhere in 2005/06 I started with Extreme Kites by hosting for Gav a simple Gallery using the resources of a small business I had started that was running out of the corner of my lounge room. My involvement would grow, indirectly and unintentionally so would Melissa's and soon enough we would be involved month to month with meets through Extreme Kites and the local kite club. We were young, incredibly naive in some areas but always made sure we were having fun along the way then things changed a bit. Running Extreme Kites would also make you a target for people, however being young and hot blooded it was also something to thrive off an provided endless hours of entertainment. Looking back, I learned some of my life's greatest lessons so far through this community and when it comes to business some of the people I despised the most at the time taught me the most. I'll always be thankful to those who took their time to help grow me from a teenager from whichever standpoint, those experiences were invaluable to me. Things come full circle...Fast forward a decade, pass 30 and life has started to become clearer for us. Between Melissa and I we're now responsible for over 50 staff spanning three companies and wishing that a day was really 36 hours, our love for work, leisure and each other has not changed. We're as enthralled today in what we do as we were a decade ago, it's just that to pursue some challenges we need to sacrifice others. We've been at this intersection before. For Extreme Kites to go forward again it comes down to either a decision being made or something breaking the status quo. That decision was made some time ago and I've been working towards it steadily the past 6 months.A new fire burns...So with a decade of journey and emotion briefly squeezed in to three paragraphs it's time to pass on the responsibilities of managing a great community to John Holgate ( @jhn.holgate ). I've shared some amazing trips with John over the years, his patience, his intriguing views, his approach to life, all incredibly different to my own. However unequivocally equal or greater is his passion for kiting, his self-confident individuality and the one thing to really present is his solidarity towards Extreme Kites. So I expect John's approach to be very different, however I'm also confident looking back it will be seen as the right decision at the right time. I ask that you support him, it's a journey and time changes things, his at the helm starts tonight.In to the shadows...Hardly, I look forward to re-engaging with the community and sharing my opinions freely again. In the back room however i'll be looking after the geeky aspect of maintaining/improving Extreme Kites and focusing on us having a small club again. Personal Mentions...Terry ( @sinbad ), thank you for helping grow me from the "kid" I was. Without having met you I wouldn't be whom I am today, neither professionally nor personally. The trust you gave me presented more opportunities than either of us could of envisioned.Jason ( @Jason ), years of your unconditional, unmoving, self-less support for both this community through your kite shop and Melissa and I personally is something that we'll always appreciate, try and return and never forget.Jason ( @koma ), for just being a friend. For being that friend I can trust and that friend that always challenges me. For entertaining my harebrained ideas and dismissing them. Damn your cleverness.Jamie ( @Goz ), thank you for being my wingman on Extreme Kites, my sounding board on those long nights, a friend who despite my "wonderful" late night "charisma" has always been there. Nigel ( @nigel ), for being that prick-son-of-a-b#%@h in that park that day, oh I have more kind names for you. For always making sure you don't put your kites away until you pip me by at least half a km before turning the GPS off. But most of all thank you for preventing an overly ambitious 19 year old from mauling himself on a kite, spending what seemed like endless weekends kiting and finally being one of my closest friends more than a decade later. To others i've not mentioned, apologies there's too many of you. To the team that was behind Extreme Kites, both those still with us today and those whom life has passed, thank you for all your help and support over the years. It's now in @jhn.holgate's hands and for him to shape a team to work with him.Someone told me once that "forums are a sport." See you on the field.Kind Regards,Joel Goz, bobalooie57, Spartan and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goz Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Nice right up Joel, you managed to compress a fair bit into a couple of paragraphs. I guess you had a bit of free time while waiting for things to process over the last 24 hours or so. Best of luck to John and the rest of the team moving forward with a new Extreme Kites website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyrewaves Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Oops did you forget S.A. in clubs and events section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Oops did you forget S.A. in clubs and events section? /john cleese voice...... "you know nothing" It's there now Bug Tracker will be up within 24 hours for reporting errors and issues as well. Edited June 8, 2015 by .Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Woohoo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Woohoo!! Does this mean no more pesky messages "so when's the site up?" Edited June 8, 2015 by .Joel riotflyer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysmith Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Great work Joel, best wishes in all your future endeavours. Welcome, John to your new role. even though I've only been a member for a few years I have gotten so much out of EK. Thanks to you both. Jay .Joel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 A new EK Top effort to all those behind the scenes, and the ring leader. Thanks for the memories, and here's to many more, on and off the kite field!! Slower than a tortoise??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoutherlyBuster Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Woo hoo the new EK is finally up and running. It's been a cliff hanger ride, with those moments of falling over the edge, with a long bungee cord saving the day. Great write up Joel, some universal truths there that I can easily relate to. Congratulations John, you certainly have my support. Now to snoop around the web site to explore the new look. Like the "my attachments" list, to see what pictures one has attached to threads and where they are attached, like a photo album to browse through. Regards, Norman Edited June 8, 2015 by SoutherlyBuster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBEwan Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Wow it's nice in here! Shiney n stuff. .Joel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 As things come online there are lots of new features and gizmos to play with, I have been lucky enough to have a play behind the scenes in "the brewery" to test, suggest and try to break things as @.Joel developed and built them, if I get chance later I will try to show you some. Joel has been working behind the scenes for the last 6-12 months putting this all together and then the stress and emotional roller coaster of the last 24-48 hours bringing it all on-line. I wish I had got a screen shot of this, but I did copy and paste it... Extreme kites... What's happening? 07.06.2015-12:00PM Website & Forum taken offline for upgrades... 07.06.2015-12:50PM Lunchtime, Subway being delivered... 07.06.2015-01:34PM Files finished transfer to new server, upgrades starting... 07.06.2015-03:35PM Breaking or fixing things? Undecided yet, but it "feels" productive... 07.06.2015-05:22PM Stage1 conversion, 78% complete. Stage2 not far away... 07.06.2015-06:26PM [====== STAGE 1 : 100% COMPLETE ======] dinner options?07.06.2015-07:29PM Food, Caffine, Pandora. Stage2 conversion starting...07.06.2015-09:16PM Processing a decade of info... 3.61%07.06.2015-10:27PM Oh crap need UTF8MB4, this'll add time...o07.06.2015-11:56PM 2hrs-27mins-41secs, i want that part of my life back...08.06.2015-12:40AM Conversion done, Rebuilding Indexes, Topics & Posts...08.06.2015-01:47AM Eyes not keeping up with fingers, running out of caffine...08.06.2015-02:51AM 18900/137238:13.77% Time to stick myself on recharge... Zzz Zzz08.06.2015-07:48AM Leftover Subway breakfast, now the home stretch... good morning.08.06.2015-10:20AM What's slower than a tortoise? Nigel in a buggy... still working.08.06.2015-11:49AM Updating permission sets, nearly at the fun stuff...08.06.2015-01:28PM Murphy's Law? He must be sitting right next to me... issues.08.06.2015-02:18PM "Guest, Posted 20 Sep 2011" Found it... lunch? Caviar on crusty bread..08.06.2015-03:37PM "To infinity and beyond" - Buzz XK Lightyear... so close.08.06.2015-07:02PM It's that last 20% that chews 80% of your patience...08.06.2015-09:26PM Less than an hour away... a little emotional... you'll understand why soon.08.06.2015-10:16PM Nearly there.... .Joel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 A big Thank You to everyone for your support (and friendship!). A huge Thank You to Joel for the incredible amount of blood, sweat and tears that you have put into this. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to hand over the control of something that has been such a big part of your life for so long - suffice to say, I'm humbled and will endevour to help grow this fantastic community that is ExtremeKites. I'd also like to ask everyone to welcome GumNuts to the team as a global moderator and a big thanks to Mark for his help in the behind the scenes work leading up to now. Because of the huge amount of work involved, not everything (Gallery, Blogs, Calendar, Bug Tracker) will be available immediately, but they're not far away, so stay tuned. Did I mention the competition? No?, Ok give me a few moments and I'll get it up and running. Did I mention that I'm really looking forward to this? .Joel, bobalooie57, Mez and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 As things come online there are lots of new features and gizmos to play with, I have been lucky enough to have a play behind the scenes in "the brewery" to test, suggest and try to break things as @.Joel developed and built them, if I get chance later I will try to show you some. Having you help with testing out as we developed the soon to be released sections was invaluable and appreciated. I wish I had got a screen shot of this, but I did copy and paste it... It's here for the next day or so until the old server is shut off. There were some colossally bad decisions from a coding/database view when we rolled out the old site in 2009 that I paid my dues for over the weekend. The largest chunk of that time was migrating and repairing a decade plus old database that had gone through three other updates and had so much crap left behind in it and kept breaking during the upgrade. I'd also like to ask everyone to welcome GumNuts to the team as a global moderator and a big thanks to Mark for his help in the behind the scenes work leading up to now. Touche Did I mention the competition? No?, Ok give me a few moments and I'll get it up and running. I'm f#$%king entering for once! Did I mention that I'm really looking forward to this? You... Me... Mez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger37 Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Joel, Great write up and thanks for the history of EK. I sometimes feel a bit remote living in Canberra and not being able to get to all the meets but I still feel part of a community that enjoys kiting thanks to EK. It was a real pleasure to meet you, John Holgate and all the others at Kingston earlier this year and I am now enthused to attend more meets! Thank you for all you have done for the sport and the very best of luck to John in taking over responsibility. As others have said, now to have a look around the new site. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Great write up and thanks for the history of EK. I have been putting together a write up on the history of Extreme Kites, which is by far in depth and feature soon enough on its own page. About 3,000 words in there already It'll be interesting to see John's extension of this in years to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhn.holgate Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 You... Me... Geez I'm slow sometimes....I just got that! Need more coffee.... Mez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thank you Joel and Mel for your outstanding efforts to keep us buggers in line over the years. This forum has been invaluable to me, while struggling/teaching myself to kite on the western end of the Great Australian Bight. John you have my full support and a big hat to wear. You should do it with pride mate. Gumnuts thanks for stepping up to the plate. I look forward to the continuation of the BEST forum out there. Cheers Guy's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull31 Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Hi Guys , I'm Brenton and Kiting is a hobby for me as kids have all flown the nest. I'm certainly not a speed freak just a cruiser but have heaps of fun socialising with those that travel to Kingston every year. Good luck with the new venture John , it couldnt be in better hands as the site moves in to the future . Good luck for the future Joel and Mel and don't think you will have more time now because that just doesn't happen. See you all again in Kingston and dont forget John if you need anything regards Kingston get together, Jen and I are only too happy to do what we can. Cheers Bull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssayre Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 The new site looks great and I really like all the upgrades. Thanks to all who were involved. .Joel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 I've setup the new "Bug Tracker," if you come across website anomalies please use this to submit them opposed to PM'ing them. Having them public will mean someone else whom is having the same issue may notice that the issue is already submitted and reduce duplication Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gum-nuts Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Great job @.Joel it's all working very smoothly, with only minor glitches or to quote @jhn.holgate - Gremlins! Edited June 9, 2015 by gum-nuts .Joel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oooo Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 A huge shout out to Joel and Mel thanks so much for the ride that's been extremekites the way u both have done so much for the sport that is awesome, on a personal note I miss our late nite phone calls Joel when u have been going to get a feed as u have been fixing things to do with the site or other computer malfunctions, you and Mel are awesome it's been hard due to work for me to b fully into it and kiting in general has taken a back seat but a job change an not working away this will change soon look forward to getting back on the kites once a couple of things are out of the way hopefully next summer lol or sooner and to getting back in contact with all the great people iv come to meet and kite with over the years on here all the best Joel for the next chapter in your lives And John hope you have a great ride too good onya Regards Wolfie gum-nuts and .Joel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riotflyer Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Nice write up Joel, good luck with your new ventures and thank you for all your hard work enjoyable or otherwise you'll be unaware of this but you starting Extreme Kites had a huge impact on my life I was flying kites back in England however due to my location I was somewhat a lone entity teaching myself from the internet and the many painfull mistakes anyhow during 2007 and our preparation for emigration to Australia I curiously checked out kiting forum's to see if there was going to be anyone in the area we were planning to move to, that was when I found Extreme Kites I soon began talking to member's and once we had an arrival date I arranged to meet up with them at a park in Murrarie those being MartyJames, Mick Hall and Jason Kitchen these friendships and others since have developed and grown so thank you as you're responsible for far more than just the things you can see. Regards Tony jhn.holgate and .Joel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Joel Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 @wolfie tyvm. @riotflyer ..... it ain't so bad.... Mel and I are coming up to QLD again, hopefully we see you. riotflyer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123matt Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Hi, with the history being put together of extreme kites it would be great to put together a family tree of kiting to immortalise some of the legends in the sport that have introduced it to so many others. It would be cool to track up through the tree who introduced who to kiting, and also to look down the tree to see the knock on effect of taking the time to show just one person how to fly a kite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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