sk8brding.com

Pretty snow = pretty slow...

2012-01-24T10:48:00.000+09:00

Lego Mac

2012-01-11T21:01:00.001+09:00

A picture of our MacBook Pro from my iPod with the Lego app!

It has come to this...?

2012-01-08T07:22:00.000+09:00

Sushi for one...

2012-01-07T17:13:00.000+09:00

My dunn-iPod

2012-01-07T17:10:00.000+09:00

ASUS connected to the TV

2011-12-31T19:17:00.001+09:00

Choppy road ahead

2011-10-21T01:08:00.000+09:00

I took this photo in mid August (16th) on the way home from work. Love some of the stuff you see in Japan like this. Oh yeah, the two bikes behind him were mounted by chicks... yep, gotta love it!

Recycled DVD drive

2011-10-19T07:31:00.000+09:00

My RIP Fujitsu was a real donor...
HDD & RAM to Smiley's NEC. Now I found a use for the DVD drive we pulled out... a USB drive for the ASUS!
I wanted to burn home movies to DVD from the driveless ASUS so after remembering I had a power unit and connector for a USB HDD I also recalled that it could be connected to a DVD drive, it just did not encase it all pretty like it does a HDD.
So with some hard foam and aluminium tape I custom rigged the kit to the back of the drive. Presto!

Windows7 update

2011-10-18T23:41:00.000+09:00

Well it has been a good month for my PC. After getting so down on the Japanese OS I decided to install the English MUI (Multilingual User Interface) and boom! It was all systems go from there. So the update:
1. Added English MUI. Now I am in full control of my stuff. Even the speech recognition got updated to English. Oh... one's native language, you just can't beat it!
2. Changed desktop to large icons with disappearing taskbar to give a Mac Dock type of look.
3. Added 2GB of memory so now my machine is working on 4GB of memory.

Join the Linux club

2011-10-18T23:23:00.001+09:00

I joined the Linux club in September 2011. Why? Because it is free and I could. Highly recommend Ubuntu and Puppy.
It is not all smooth sailing but definately the challenge is worth it. Can not get my Mic and Web-cam to work though, so Skype is not an option. But it is quick and functional.

The rims on the Prius.

2011-05-12T22:25:00.000+09:00

The pram racks on the Prius.

2011-05-03T13:26:00.000+09:00

If only there were waves. Then if only those waves were not radioactive. I could have called these photo the board racks. Unfortunately the only thing they have ever carried is the baby pram (stroller).

Rippin' it up

2011-02-17T16:15:00.000+09:00

Another one bites the dust around the vicinity of our main station.

Land Cruisin'

2011-01-30T17:26:00.001+09:00

This baby was parked out the front of our condo. Sweet, you do not see many of these revived old school cars over here, but when you do... they are top notch. I have even seen a Kingswood - once - before the cell phone with camera era!

Burgers today!

2011-01-28T17:45:00.000+09:00

Had a double decker burger (total 300g) for lunch and snuck a bite of a McDonalds Idaho burger for dinner. Bacon, hash brown, burger and cheese.

Smooth

2011-01-26T09:29:00.002+09:00

This is my daily breakfast... banana, kiwi fruit, strawberry, blueberry, orange juice, plain yogurt and green tea smoothie.

Nice small waves

2011-01-21T11:21:00.000+09:00

It snowed today.

2011-01-16T10:50:00.001+09:00

Snow is all well and good until you have to drive in it. This minor inconvenience happened in an hour from 630am... Yep, mother nature is definately running the show. Luckily I have studless (snow) tyres. on my car. You can still drive around like 50 km/h and feel safe but there were other people sl
ipping at sliding at 15 km/h. Dangerous stuff.

going potty

2011-01-15T16:41:00.002+09:00

These two plants really appreciated the new pots. There was basically no soil in their old ones, just roots! And another bit of preparation...

gunnin' up...

2011-01-13T15:44:00.001+09:00

tonight's main course

2011-01-12T19:29:00.001+09:00

Sake Labels...

2011-01-08T00:06:00.001+09:00

Yummy yaki-niku

2010-11-20T19:10:00.000+09:00

Today's lunch was the 580yen special yaki-niku course from 1130-1200 in the morning.

iPad Software Update...

2010-11-12T01:06:00.001+09:00

rubbish 2010

2010-11-09T12:52:00.001+09:00

no more fujitsu pc

2010-11-08T14:20:00.001+09:00

The new pet...

2010-11-03T09:24:00.001+09:00

Tortilla making!

2010-10-31T00:43:00.001+09:00

Never buy them ever again!

The latest batch...

2010-10-28T13:02:00.001+09:00

Got the meat sauce getting better! Tortilla shells (soft) are next challenge.

homemade family pie

2010-10-24T10:41:00.000+09:00

with potato on top

"fence & tap"

2010-10-24T10:38:00.001+09:00

i like the erosion of the soil bank.

yep... its is monday

2010-10-11T12:30:00.000+09:00

Unwanted...

2010-10-07T17:32:00.001+09:00

I wonder how many more homeless tube tv's there are/will be?

carrot juice & stew

2010-09-18T11:38:00.000+09:00

Anything to sell a soda!

2010-09-17T17:43:00.001+09:00

Feed them and they will come...

2010-09-17T17:41:00.001+09:00

ANA Gundam tie-up

2010-07-28T17:57:00.001+09:00

ANA is selling a tie-up model of Gundam for people who fly on the ANA Gundam painted flight. I got some postcards so a friend could buy one!

home away from home

2010-06-11T08:12:00.001+09:00

This RAMEN rocked!

2010-05-26T20:10:00.001+09:00

This is the student stamina ramen with added extras from by friend's ramen shop - GanGan Bouzu - in Chiba. It has garlic, seaweed, egg, thick noodles, bean sprouts, thick gooey soup, and spring onion. YUMMY! 6 bucks fools!

sumo up

2010-05-21T13:37:00.000+09:00

i was just in RYOGOKU to get done over by the chiropracter... and did they do one intense job on me. i had 3 guys on me, bones crunching, and finally i had 4 seven centimeter needles stuck in each leg and 2 in the abdomen... yeah, right in, all the way.
freaked me out. and then outside was a huge sumo tourney going on. wow... that is a nice place.

donut economy

2010-04-05T18:46:00.000+09:00

man... costco got wise to it.
they have krispy creme quality donuts and forever they were selling 16 for 698 yen... 43 yen each.
they were so cheap they were selling like... hot cakes... till it got to the stage that people were just going to costco to buy the donuts, and the line was an hour long.
finally someone had the brainwave to reduce the amount, and up the price! 12 for 798... 66 yen each. still cheap, but still sneaky!
hopefully the lines will disappear now.

KURTLAND

2010-03-18T20:20:00.001+09:00

dear costco,
with all due respect i request that you change the name of your generic brand "Kirkland" to "Kurtland because i have a buddy called Kurt and he rocks!

Erika Sawajiri - google her!

2010-03-18T17:42:00.000+09:00

Giant Tokyo billboard.

surfable?

2010-03-13T14:54:00.001+09:00

wind swell in the bay and there was totally some decent looking lumps - if u like 15m/s winds!

KT got T-Mobile

2010-02-24T16:52:00.001+09:00

Very solid mobile bro! We need to get it blinged out with the right software.

No Flying?

2010-02-24T11:13:00.001+09:00

Don't see this everyday...

2010-02-23T10:06:00.000+09:00

I was driving down a one lane back road between some rice paddies and saw this wake up call... the old lady in the field said the person pulled in there to do a u-turn. Uh-Oh... that is gonna ruin your night.

multi monitors rock

2010-01-21T09:04:00.001+09:00

if u own a pc, and u obviously do, then i highly recommend a extra monitor or two.
i just set mine up because my main monitor broke, but it joined the party for a special visit with the other two monitors last night.
7 inch usb monitor and 15 inch usb plug in adaptor.
these are seriously good fun. your mouse scrolls across each one like one big wide monitor.
so much for down tech-ing!

2010 surf 002

2010-01-18T21:16:00.000+09:00

happy birthday

2010-01-18T08:51:00.000+09:00

10 bucks

2010-01-18T08:41:00.000+09:00

i'd always wanted a remote control car, and thanks to the wacky world economy and baffling logistics i got my wish, all be it 35 years late!
how can some factory in china make a 4 channel radio remote control car, assemble it, box it, freight it to japan, freight it domestically in japan, and then have it go on sale in a shop for 10 bucks?
i mean, as happy as i am, this is wong... i mean wrong.
the crazy square 9 volt battery for the remote cost me 4 bucks!!!
at this price it is worth buying just to play with it for 15 minutes!

2010 surf 001

2010-01-08T17:04:00.001+09:00

warm water, light winds, good waves, no crowd... i could have stayed in for another 2 hours!
this was the best first surf of the year i have had by a country mile.
2010... cleaning my act up.

2009 surf 043

2009-12-11T16:42:00.001+09:00

Well I am gunning for 50 surfs this year but it is NOT gonna happen... 7 more and only about 4 "surfable" days for me IF there is actually any surf!

But what a year hey! Breaking in the quiver, breaking in my head, bringing Marvin home, surfing Rusty, Marvin and Blu-Ray for the first times.

Surfing with my Jedi Master Smiley, holding down the fort when he couldn't make it, checking his sessions when I couldn't make it. Kurt, Masa, Ricky, Stevo, Randy, Haru, Takeshi and countless home boys at the localS.

2009 surf 041 & 042

2009-12-09T19:03:00.000+09:00

Dec 7th... What a day. Bumped into Randy who I had met at the HBR a year or so (2?) ago. HBR was just firing. I promised a buddy I would mail him when I got there... the mail:

Subject: Perfect

Body: Giddy

That is all I had time to write. Surfed the HBR on the Warrior. It rocks and had several solid waves including 4 or 5 set bombs.

After the crowd got outta control Randy, Hama, Shige and I decided to hit it a bit further... XXX.

OMG, we were greeted with uncrowded perfection on a day that is glazed into the memory card.

2009 surf 038, 039 & 040

2009-12-04T17:56:00.000+09:00

Perfect single fin surf....
Sent from Smiley's iPhone

nov 26 hbr solo
nov 27 sunrise smiley, masa
dec 4 hbr smiley

SYD <> LAX

2009-11-24T12:50:00.001+09:00

JAL EcoFly - what ever that is?!!

2009-11-23T11:18:00.000+09:00

このメッセージには「手書きメール」が添付されています。

Wax off, wax on.

2009-11-21T10:16:00.001+09:00

What better to do on a sunny Friday afternoon when there are no waves than drink coffee, skype friends, watch nfl replays and clean your quiver and apply cold water wax?

Chillin... literally

2009-11-20T20:40:00.001+09:00

Literally... Or is that physically? And do i need a spell checker on this mobile device? Waiting at the local...
Wow... Spec of rain on mobile device screen has this fantastic pixelic magnification groove goin' on... Pity I can't get that on the screen shot.

Dancer... by Smiley

2009-11-20T19:38:00.001+09:00

Well after waiting 3 weeks for wheels and another week to clear customs... It's finally here! 55" of V-lam bamboo and torsion boxed in linen.
Break out the dancing shoes it's time to set the streets on fire!
Sent from Smiley's iPhone

wetsuits are my favorite suits

2009-11-20T17:56:00.001+09:00

formal? black tie? 12degC water?
these bad boys will do you right?
psycho 2 (left) and my new psycho freak.

Boomerang Fins

2009-11-20T10:42:00.001+09:00

Look what Kurt can get from Hawaii...!

Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you're up to on Facebook.

2009 surf 037

2009-11-19T21:52:00.000+09:00

Well first time I got wet (11/19) since 10/27. Definately wore the Gath.

Speaking of GATH... I am plugging 'em... and full disclosure - I am getting NOTHING - just saying they are an investment and will pay for them selves the first head injury you "would have sustained".

My bill was:

* 9200 yen for 5 staples with local anesthetic and a CT scan.

* 1000 to get the staples pulled out with no anesthetic.

* A 70km round trip and a day to get back the difference between the 9200 yen and the 33222 yen I payed cause I had no insurance card on me. Lucky we got a Prius.

* 3 weeks out of the water!

So what is that, $150 plus a wasted holiday and 3 weeks of no surf... Umm, I am wearing my Gath from now on.

And to top it off, look at their rider!!!

the new interior

2009-11-19T15:32:00.001+09:00

i redesigned the inside of the ride...
more room for boards and stuff.
but less room for masa!

絵

2009-11-11T13:24:00.001+09:00

Pastels on paper...

Beer at Burger King?

2009-11-08T09:28:00.001+09:00

Haru just sent me a photo from the new burger king in Shibuya, Tokyo and that my friends looks like a beer in a bk cup. (Aussies... burger king = hungry jacks).

Rusty's operation

2009-11-07T12:19:00.001+09:00

The Rusty Gun's operation (nose job) is scheduled for this week. We are expecting a full recovery fro Rusty and expect him to arrive home safely on Sunday 15th of November. All flowers and well wishes will be passed on to Rusty.

experimentate

2009-11-06T12:07:00.001+09:00

Is that a word? Anyway...
McCoy Gull Wing Straight Tip fin - meet Wonderbolt!

wonderbolt

2009-11-05T23:04:00.001+09:00

Mate, I took rusty in for nose repair and the shop had a wonderbolt so I grabbed it. They only had one in stock so I asked them to get another one for you. These look like they will be perfect for in the water adjustment and good old fashioned... Ummm... R&D (seriously just took me 5 minutes to come up with that word and it is not even the word I am after, man, I have been in Japan for way too long to back up any kind of credible English vocab! Call me win3.1, nah actually, just call me dos.)
Dos > dah! Just got it... Good old fashioned experimentation!!! Sheesh... Knock on the head did me no good.

Sticky notes!

2009-10-26T09:42:00.000+09:00

The first seeds are planted...
You up for a new stick?
No hurry but I'm thinking about it already.
The small wave quad!
6'0"*15*21*18.

Sent from Smiley's iPhone

Windows Mobile Update

2009-10-23T12:39:00.001+09:00

Had a fiddle with the Pocket PC for the first time in ages last night and found 3 great little APPS.

1. Google You Tube Player

Looks good, but the search function kind of lacks a bit. I can't search a "Channel" which is weird.

2. Google Maps

Self explanatory and it also lacked a bit because I wanted the English version but it auto-downloaded the Japanese version.

3. Easy Today Launcher

This sets up icons on your today screen like the i-phone. Gottsa love that. Easy, light, works a treat. I mean, why isn't it on there from the start???

2009 surf 034 & 35

2009-10-23T12:36:00.000+09:00

Smiley and I were a good bank away from breaking the bank on Wednesday Oct 21st down south so had to head east for some clear water punch pits.

For some reason I thought I could get some peelers at crowded KTK on the BluRay the next day on the 22nd and payed dearly in thick surf made for 60kg light weights! Geez, I need to get back down to 76kg again!

2009 surf 032 & 033

2009-10-23T12:25:00.000+09:00

Well Ricko and I scored MAJOR on his layover on OCT 8. Just insane waves all morning. Bit crowded but still got a bag full on Marvin.

Then on the 10th Smiley, Kurt, Hiro and I scored again 95km Nth in absolutely uncrowded perfect Friday conditions on the Warrior.

How sweet it is to drop into a b0mb without having to look over your shoulder... or scream at some flotsam in front of you.

2009 surf 031

2009-09-25T10:47:00.001+09:00

Sep 25 at the HBR

with still cam video!

Nice, clean and

glassy early morning.

Out for about 150min

and decided I was lucky

enough to call it a day.

Wind ended up kicking

in and ending the show.

LUCKY!

2009 surf 028, 029 & 030

2009-09-24T15:30:00.000+09:00

Sept, Monday 7th: Surfed HBR on the warrior MLB on the Demo followed by cleaning some glass off the beach, then driving Stevo Devo to the airport for Indo.

Wednesday 9th: Surfed uncrowded post Phoon MLB on the Demo. Heaven.

Friday 18th: Checked HSR and MRA and then drove to MLB. Killed it on the Demo first round and then Marvin went carvin. Sweet.

HBR typhoon beach break

2009-09-08T16:00:00.001+09:00

Another victim to the HBR

ショック...ショアブレイクでボードが折れた... トホホ

Quiver in pantry

2009-09-04T12:21:00.001+09:00

Where else would you keep your boards?
From rear to front then side.
1. Rusty gun 76 single
2. Carvin Marvin 70 tri
3. Rainbow warrior 66 single
4. Green meanie 66 tri
5. Blue ray 60 tri
6. Day tripper 62 twin
7. Demoralizer 80 single (covering all)

2009-09-04T11:10:00.001+09:00

2009 surf 024, 025, 026 & 027.

2009-09-04T08:19:00.000+09:00

24: Aug 27th. Family surf at KMS on wifey's longboard.

25: Aug 28th. Family surf at KMS and solo session at the WDA on the Meanie (6'6" tri). But the best thing about this day was daughter finally got over her fear of waves. Was diving under them, then bodyboarding a piece of foam and then even taking it on the longboard! WOW.

26: Sma and Smiley hit the MLB on Monday Aug 31st for typhoon 11 action. Smiley was on the Peril (6'5" single) and got gaping Japanese tube of his life. Sma was on a mission before early shift and was on Rusty Gun (7'6" single). They paddled out in the dark and sma got 40min of light and two nice waves for rusty's induction into the world of waves.

27: On Thursday Sep 3rd Sma, Masa and Masa's buddy Taka took the show for scraps at the HBR. Sma was on the Blue Ray (6'0" tri) and ;ucky we got there early cause the wind kicked in at 9:30 and that was all she wrote. Lots of waves, just no real good ones. One guy in green/black (green lantern style?) wettie who was possibly the best surfer I have seen in the water in Japan!

Stage 2

2009-08-31T11:27:00.001+09:00

smiley is fin-tastic

600ml

2009-08-25T20:32:00.001+09:00

Yes, that does say $3.50 and no, they are not 2 liter bottles. They are simple 600ml bottles in a robbing... sorry... "vending" machine at Sydney.
Since when did Australia get so expensive and why would people even pay this price? It is getting too expensive to visit that country. Come on people, if you don't buy it, the prices will drop...

Smiley's BPBB.

2009-08-23T23:16:00.001+09:00

My attempt. Now unpacking. Hope it worked!
Did it?
Yep... it did!

BPBB

2009-08-17T12:22:00.001+09:00





	My version of the Bullet Proof Board Bag. Made to withstand baggage handlers. Specifications: 7'0" Transporter brand travel case. Originally designed for three wafer boards with removable fin systems. Re-engineered to cater for one 3" thick Geofff McCoy design with glassed on fins. Weighs 10.0kg with 7'0" board packed.

2009 surf 022 & 023. Avalon rocks

2009-08-14T09:16:00.001+09:00

Sydney's northern beaches were on fire from the day I arrived - surfed Tue & Wed (11th & 12th). Just a joy to be out there. Psycho Freak is great, The "Sky Diver" is great, pies are great. LG! Tues was well over double overhead.

Just a sidenote... Sharks

delivery

2009-08-09T17:49:00.001+09:00

when it rains, the zany delivery bikes come out in japan. dominos pizza and gusto restaurant!

'Phoons rock!

2009-08-09T16:50:00.001+09:00

このメッセージには「手書きメール」が添付されています。

2009 surf 021

2009-08-06T11:10:00.001+09:00

Rick-o, welcome to sth-chi baby!!! Rick and Sma score rockin' HBR. Sheeeeeeet, even the MLB was breaking.

2009 surf 020

2009-08-05T11:05:00.000+09:00

The McM's found flat HBR, super junky ICY, then near perfect fun KTK(ST).

2009 surf 019

2009-07-31T08:55:00.000+09:00

Didn't look great but Smiley and Sma found a very respectable right hander on the RHS of the left pier at the ICY.

All to ourselves for the first hour. 0415-0600, just got a bundle on the Peril and Warrior.

Turned around a bit after 5 to look for Smiley and there were like 15 guys paddling out!

Re-use your old wettie!

2009-07-28T20:51:00.000+09:00

If you look after your old wettie there is always life left in them. Take my 4/3 from 2003ish... Too cold and old to get me thru a Japanese or Aussie winter, but when this year just got out of hand on the southern winds making the summer water cold front, a pair of scissors brought it back to reality in the form of a seagull.

Instant savings of WHATEVER, and no need to buy a long john anymore. No I can go ahead and stay "warm" in the summer, and buy that new Psycho Freak for the winter.

By the way, just how cold is this summer... try 10degC colder than it should be!!! 18 deg yesterday, then I have clocked it at 28 in previous years at this time. I wanna wear boardies!!!

2009 surf 018. Welcome the family!

2009-07-27T21:41:00.000+09:00

Took the Meanie out at freezing 18degC summer HBR (wassup with that? persistant south winds for two months, that's what!) and got the waves I wanted. Looks like the working out is paying off.

The best part of the day was that it was family day for the first time in quite a while.

楽天オークション発送！

2009-07-23T10:09:00.000+09:00

このメッセージには「手書きメール」が添付されています。

Degraining YouTube (The HQ comparison)

2009-07-22T10:58:00.001+09:00

Wow... hasn't that YouTube site come a long way?!!!

I have just re-up-loaded most of my creations... "Degrained" them so to speak.

sk8brding.com on youtube

That's a wrap

2009-07-16T00:10:00.000+09:00

I am happy with this... For now...

UPdated sk8brding.com

2009-07-14T00:02:00.000+09:00

Well my yearly revamp of the website is almost over... and actually i like where it is going.
I can see the next generation looking even super simpler... like my phone almost. So i will let this live for a month or so, then go for it.
Posted from my w-zero3.

2009 SURF 017. Welcome to the family!

2009-07-05T23:44:00.001+09:00

Well... after 18 months I finally rode the 6. The "Blue Ray". And all I can say... why did I wait so long?
So it is a crappy days surf, but I was invited by some friends who were coming over for dinner, so I was just gonna ride the 6-2 twinny. But it is way down the back of the quiver, and hard to get out. So I was thinking how do I get this out when right infront of me was the ray... sheeeet, all of a
sudden I am like hell yeah, I wanna ride THAT. If it surfs well in today's crap, it will be a day well spent. And perform it did. Now I have another dilemma every surf... Meanie? Warrior? Demo? The Ray???
Smiley sums it up... "Why do people sell their McCoys?" Lucky for me I guess.

FW: Korean Air Warning...

2009-06-29T20:44:00.001+09:00

Subject: Korean Air Warning...

Need a reason not to fly with Korean Air? Check the pics...
I'm upgrading my travel cover to Bulletproof Kevlar for next trip.

SMA COMMENTS:
Well, any airline that wants you to pay over $250 USD from Tokyo to Denpasar is obviously just collecting the price of the board to buy you a new one upon arrival back home. What a job they did on the dialers board. I am taking Smiley's buddies advice... Ply wood on the top, bottom and around the sides inside the carry case. EFF THE MF's.

便利！ケータイへのHotmailアラートはこちらいますぐ使ってみる。

this is why you need...

2009-06-26T11:50:00.001+09:00

a turntable and vinyl... cause it sounds right.

Windows Mobile 6 Software Intro and Update

2009-06-26T10:02:00.001+09:00

OK, two bits of news. S2U2 has a new version and finally a weather (wx) APP that we can use... Weather4me. S2U2 is on it, and Wx4me is a gem for a first version.

Both are working well on the w-zero3. I had held off getting a weather application for the 03 but this one seemed to be a no brainer.

Finally, isn't there always something:

RIP Michael Jackson... Doesn't matter if you're black or white...

2009 SURF 014, 015 & 016

2009-06-26T09:57:00.000+09:00

Yippee... finally getting wet. Monday 22nd at HBR, Wednesday 24th at KTK and Thursday 25th at ICY with Masa. It is that time of year when the banks at the ICY are actually working!

Left: Photo of the HBR after I got out. Surfed the Demo cause it was a bit thick, but the foam on that bad boy makes the thickest waves surfable! Fun.