Rabu, 31 Maret 2010

Introducing Susannah at "Wanderin' Weeta"

This week for Wednesday Friends Day I would like to introduce Susannah, better known as Wanderin' Weeta.

Susannah hails from Delta in the Lower Fraser Valley. That's part of the Coastal British Columbia mainland. Her blog is called Wanderin' Weeta (With Waterfowl and Weeds). It is aptly named because many of her articles and photographs are of plants and bird life, but you will also find a host of other nature based topics mixed in for good measure.

Susannah's profile gives you a hint about her good sense of humour and positive outlook on life. She says that she's "as weird as necessary for sanity, as sane as kids and grandkids permit, and a lover of birds, green stuff, tiny beasties and oddities generally." Every time I visit Susannah's blog I know I'll learn something new and experience this wonderful land through her outstanding photographs.

Here are some favourite posts I'd like to share:

Five dozen babies (master of the miniature)
Of Old Growth and New Life (book review & forest info)
Why do we call it vacant? (takes time to sees what others miss)
Rock Flipping Day (a fun activity for young and old)
Two-faced Hermit? (Susannah has unusual pets)
Self portrait in a cat's eye (great closeup)

Susannah is an author and has two books available online. The first is Fire in the Bedroll, an autobiographical account of a marriage gone wrong. The second is Susie, a collection stories of her childhood growing up the the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Both are available at LuLu.com. In addition, Susannah can be found on Flickr (her wonderful photos) and Twitter.

Head on over to Wanderin' Weeta for some great photographs and information. I know you will enjoy it as much as I do. -- Margy

There are variations on the standard BMX bike

A DAY LARRY AND A HOLLER SHORT

I totally forgot to put Larry's sick kickflip over the hip in the recent Perryville post, sorry Larry! He did it hella proper. -Worful

Germany Football Body Paint

Tiger Cub, Day 13 - Vet Update

by Dr. Scott Larsen, Associate Veterinarian

Our tiger cub continues to grow. With the supplemental feedings, she is putting on weight and is getting closer to what we would expect for a Sumatran tiger that is 13 days old. While mom, Baha, is in a separate den for treats and training, animal care staff and veterinarians hold the baby and offer a bottle. With a cub, we must be careful to hold the baby in a sternal (legs down) position, while the baby’s head is tilted upward. There is a natural tendency to hold the baby on its back – like a human infant – but nursing on the back is not a normal position for a baby tiger.

As soon as the cub is done eating, we briefly stimulate the cub to defecate and urinate, like Baha does after the cub has nursed from her (except that we use a warm washcloth)……then the baby is put back in the nest box, in the same place that we found her. Each supplemental feeding episode takes just a few minutes and, so far, Baha has been very tolerant of all of our activity with her and her cub. We’ll continue to monitor both of them closely and take things day by day.

Everything is Here, Wilson BLX Tour Federer Super Six Pack Bag

This bag can store up to 6 rackets without covers in two racket compartment. In this bag there are some compartments one of racket compartment is Thermo guard and others one Moistureguard. This bag dimensions are L29.5” x H13” x D14”. Additional feature of this bag is Removable shoe bag. There is a big compartment at the centre can put Rackets or other gear (Towel, Cloths). In this bag contains a Padded and adjustable backpack straps make comfortable when carrying this bag. This bag comes with Red, Black, Gold colors.

Most of good players who using this bag said that this is an amazing bag have everything. Also player said that if there were any water bottle pocket then this bag is perfect.

Other Bags

Pro Players Best Choice, Adidas Barricade II Tour 6 Racket Bag

Selasa, 30 Maret 2010

fly.............

Overcast Mission

Kurt, Zach and I made a trip north in search of some Sunday scum of our own. Harrisburg was dry and low key which helped get the session going. Zach forgot his board and had to ride a cruiser with big gel wheels. He borrowed Kurt's deck for a sec to get this lipslide...

I got a frontside air...

after lots of these...

Corvallis park was brimming with scum... literally. Water, mud, broken glass, BMXers, and a faint stench filled every corner, so we hit the streets heading for OSU.

We checked out the campus for a few hours, constantly on the move and one step ahead of security.

Senin, 29 Maret 2010

InterBike Incidentals

Just a few Interbike bits and pieces:

Klaus from WTP / Eclat has a vid up on Ride where he talks you through their stuff. You get a look at the Eclat complex seat and post combo that's looking slick in clear with an anodized gold inner sleeve. Vid here (corporate milk warning!). You also get a good look at the fork prototype below that uses investment cast dropouts. :

Demolition have come up with something new in pegs - though I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Now for the first time the grind friendliness of a plastic sleeve has been combined with the strength of 7075 aluminium. Or is that the softness of plastic combined with the softness of aluminium. Judgement reserved: the proof is in the ledge. You can either squint at the picture below or check this vid.

MacNeil have a 22.2mm pivotal post out. The theory being that everyone runs their seat slammed so why bother with a 1 inch post when you can save weight with a 7/8". Kind of makes sense, but really is it worth it? Jay himself doesn't seem too sure in this vid. Anyway, the rest of the MacNeil range is looking really nice and you can definitely see Harrison's hand in the colourways and textures etc. Apparently there's a couple of new stems. A front and top load of similar design:

Thomas Goring from KHE talks you through some of the Shola stuff in this vid (Milk warning). Including a nice looking new stem that looks to use a similar clamp to the KHE Anchor bar / stem combo and he also goes over one of new KHE Shola street completes that seems to have a very slim set of Shola pedals on the bike that the camera is trying to check out, but Thomas doesn't touch.

Dallas Face and Body Painting | Japanese Body Painting

Canned Pickled Beets

Six weeks ago I pulled the last of my beets and put them in storage. I was checking and noticed some were starting to dry out so I decided to can what was left. For a recipe, I used my favourite canning reference book, the Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook.

Canned Pickled Beets

24 small beets (2-2 1/2")
water

Cook beets well. Cool, peel and slice.

1 large onion sliced (if desired)
2 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canning/pickling salt
1 cup water
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Tie cloves and cinnamon in a cheesecloth bag. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spice bag to a boil. Add sliced beets and onions and simmer for five minutes. Remove the spice bag.

Fill four sterilized hot pint jars (I used two quarts instead) with beets and liquid to 1/4" from the top. Remove air bubbles and clean the jar rims. Place sterilized lids on top and secure with rings.

Place jars in a boiling water bath that covers the lids by at least 1" and process for thirty minutes. Begin timing once the water returns to a full boil. When done, remove the jars and allow them to cool undisturbed. Once cool, check the seal. Keep your jars in a dark, cool place until needed.

This is a lot more work than the simple fresh pickled beets I make in the summer, but it's a good way to keep the last of my crop from spoiling. - Margy

Paraguay Football Body Paint

NEW BOARDS

Two new graphics have been ordered, so we'll let you know when they arrive. And as always our good friends at Infinity will be carrying them. Thanks Jason!

Minggu, 28 Maret 2010

Greyhound Painting by Terry Albert

I have recently finished a large (16 x 20 is large for me) acrylic painting of two greyhounds for Greyhound Pets, Inc. in Woodinville, Washington. My relationship with this group goes back to 1993, when I did a series of black and white drawings that I donated to their founder, John Hern, for a brochure they were developing. Like most greyhound groups, they rehome dogs that are retired from racing.

The main drawing I did for them way back when ultimately became their logo, and they still use it today (See it at left). A few months ago Jack Richardson, an executive assistant for the group, contacted me about doing a color version of the drawing. Greyhound Pets, Inc. has grown to the point that they have their own kennel facility, and the painting will hang in their lobby.

Jack is donating the painting to the organization, and plans to make limited edition signed prints to present to major benefactors and board members. Greyhound Pets will also sell smaller prints of the image for fundraising.

I am thrilled and honored to be a part of this project. I volunteered for rescue groups and served on the board of directors for the Humane Society of Seattle King County and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue when I lived in Seattle. In California I helped found Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue, and volunteered as a foster home for Southland Collie Rescue. So as you see, rescue is dear to my heart.

The number of homeless greyhounds is incredible. Greyhound Pets will drive to a track hundreds of miles away and bring home dozens of dogs at once. They need medical care and are not trained to be housepets. It’s a big challenge, but the dogs adapt quickly and go on to make wonderful pets, as the thousands of dedicated adopters can tell you.

I hope someday we won’t need greyhound rescue and that racing will be a thing of the past. It may not happen in my lifetime, but one can dream.

BMX Freestyle

Sundown on the Amazon

Kurt still wants some even after darkness sets in,

the concrete says it all...

BEEZ!

If any of these things interest you...
1. avant-garde skateboarding
2. a wizard deer breastfeeding
3. man-hogs violently convulsing
...head to Infinity and pick up a copy of the work of genius which is Beez. It's probably the most confusing and surreal experience you can have for $10.