Yak Flying over Tokoroa (but Only Just "Over")

I'm finally getting a chance to do some Yak flying. Our syndicate chief pilot, John Parker, has been monopolising the plane in practice for the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow. He's back now and I'm putting in some time.

I'm scared of heights so this picture shows the preferred altitude for cross country flights.

BTW, No it isn't me doing the flying... I'm not that good! (yet)

San Francisco Stopover 2006

On my way home from BrainShare in Utah, I had an overnight stop in "The City on the Bay", San Francisco. I was determined to do all the tourist traps I had seen on TV and movies over the years. I arrived early on Saturday morning during some grotty weather. Luckily for me the showers soon cleared and I was able to enjoy the city in sunshine. I took a bus tour which purported to show the "City Highlights". The double decker bus was crowded but the views were good. The main reason for choosing this tour is that it crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

This view is looking back across the bridge towards the city of San Francisco. The image was kindly snapped by a couple from Connecticut I met up with (I swapped seats with the wife so that they could sit together) who were very familiar with New Zealand as they travelled regularly to visit friends in Akaroa. The bus driver was an amateur poet and writer named "Welvin" who regaled us with his poems and pitched us to buy his book about San Francisco (US$19.95 with autograph included free - I didn't buy one). If you go to San Francisco, go to the hills called "Twin Peaks". You get great views of the city from there. Unfortunately, my photos just show a hazy blob of city in the background.

The other big tourist destination in S.F. is Alcatraz, so I booked a tour for the Sunday morning. The day dawned fine and cool. perfect weather for a boat cruise to a prison (which is now just a tourist attraction run by the National Park Service). Getting out on the Bay was well worth it. Got to see the cells of Al Capone and "The Birdman". They were just cells, no biggie. The self-guided audio tour was well worth it though, telling the story of Alcatraz up until it was closed. It was quite neat seeing everyone looking in the same directions and knowing what part of the tour they were up to.

NB. You'll notice a fair few photos in my blog featuring my ugly mug extra large in the forground. As a solo traveller I developed a one handed self-protrait mode of photography so that I wasn't constantly bugging strangers to take photos for me. I need longer arms to get more scene and less me.

Other places I visited were "Fisherman's Wharf" where a colony of sea lions hang out at Pier 39 (just behind all the restaurants). I suspect that even though it is illegal to feed the sea-lions, the restaurants do it anyway to keep the sea-lions there (and attract the hungry crowds who come to watch these pinnipeds at play... mostly sleeping actually). You can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background if you look closely. I recommend the "Seafood Chowder served in a Sourdough Loaf" speciality dish at Fisherman's Wharf. Yum.

I spent most of Saturday night trying to catch up with some other Kiwi BrainShare attendees who were also staying in SF for a few days, but had no luck. They didn't get my messages left at their hotel until Sunday. So I ended up dining alone (sob..)

A trip to S.F. wouldn't be complete without a ride on the cable-cars. (Ding!-Ding!). The streets of San Francisco (a Quinn Martin production) were layed out in a square grid regardless of the terrain. Therefore there are a lot of long, steep, straight streets. In NZ we would just build roads to the contours of the terrain (e.g. Wellington). To navigate these streets they had to invent systems like the cable-cars. I walked from Fisherman's Wharf back to Union Square once just to show how tough I was. I was knackered at the top of the hill and kind of staggered down the other side. After that one time, I stuck to the public transport.

Another well known feature of SF is Lombard St. This is a street with one section near the top of the hill being so steep that they had to build switchbacks to allow horse-carts to negotiate it. I don't think it is quite as steep as Baldwin Street in Dunedin, but it would be close. On Sunday, it seemed to be a very popular pastime to drive down the twisty section of Lombard St.

After finishing up my touristy adventures, I shuttled out to the airport allowing 3 hours to get organised for my flight. The airport was pretty much deserted and I was through the check-in and security procedures in 30 minutes. Wow! I will never travel through LAX again if SFO is an option. It was just so much better than the zoo that was LA. I also met up with yet another group of Kiwi BrainShare attendees who had also chosen to travel home via SF. This gave me someone to talk to for the next 2 hours before boarding the Air NZ 777 fo the trip home. I had a row of three seats all to myself so I actually got some sleep and arrived home at 5:30am in good old NZ. Cleared baggage, customs and immigration in 20 minutes. Excellent. Welcome Home.

Utah trip (BrainShare 2006)

Last week I returned from a 10-day trip to the United States, primarily to attend the annual Novell BrainShare conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. I've never been to Utah before and all I knew was that it was the origin of the Mormon (Latter-Day-Saints) church. We have a well-known Mormon temple in Hamilton so I had at least an inkling of what the LDS church was all about.

After a 12 hour flight to Los Angeles via Air New Zealand, I arrived tired and haggard at LAX. During my 5 hour layover, I took a taxi (US$25) down to Venice Beach and took in the sights. The brisk sea breeze was quite refreshing and the lifeguard towers look just like they do on "Baywatch". The guard on duty didn't look anything like David Hasselhoff (or Pam Anderson, dammit).

I walked along the beach where there seemed to be a preponderance of blue surgical gloves abandoned in the sand (I didn't ask...) and globs of tar and oil. I stuck my hand in the Pacific Ocean so I could see if was any different on the eastern side. It wasn't.

Got on a short (1.5 hours) jet flight from LAX to Salt Lake City (first experience of shoe removal before boarding) and arrived after dark. I checked in to the Sheraton City Center hotel and dived into bed. I woke up the next morning to find that it had snowed overnight.

Luckily, Helen had just bought me a new possum-fur beanie and gloves just in case this happened and I appreciated the warmth.

I had a walk around downtown S.L.C. on the Sunday. Not much happens in that town on a Sunday. Perhaps we are all supposed to go to church or something.

There are all these statues around the big temple which are supposed to portray wholesome images of the joys of LDS church membership, but some of them are a bit creepy and all figures are distinctly whitebread if you know what I mean...

This one looked particularly funny in terms of the snow globs. The boy looks like a cotton-tail rabbit and the woman needs some famous NZ possum-fur nipple-warmers.

The conference itself was particularly well organised (with 6000 attendess, it has to be) and they just threw food and drink at you the whole time. I don't think I paid for any meals between arriving and departing which means my MasterCard bill was quite spartan for having been away for a week to an overseas location. I won't put in any images of the conference as the official ones are so much better than mine.

However the conference parties were a bit different. I partook of the oxygen bar at the "BrainWash" party. The gas was bubbled through all sorts of different "flavours" with different properties. Perhaps I'm just not in tune with my physiological responses but I didn't feel any different for having breathed any of the flavours of oxygen. Having the nasal-cannula stuck up your nostrils wasn't that comfortable either. It's not something I'd rave over but if you get the chance, give it a go... You never know, you might feel some "buzz"...

The weather did improve over the week and by Tuesday I was happily walking around in just a t-shirt (and trousers of course, hey, this is Salt Lake City, you know). The views of the Wasatch mountains became quite spectacular.

The conference session were mostly pretty good but aimed at a more infrastructural audience. Got to talk to a few product managers and learned some interesting stuff about future directions. However by day 4, I was ready to jump ship. So I took a trip to the Great Salt Lake itself.

I tasted the water and I can confirm it is very salty. Nothing lives in it except brine shrimp (AKA "Sea Monkeys" from the adverts at the back of those american comic books from the '60s & 70s)

That's enough of Utah.

Next stop, San Francisco...

Apple Fragrance Parody Ad

Apple Fragrance Ad
Originally uploaded by Kotukunui.

This is pretty funny. There used to be an actual product called iSmell which allowed scent tags to be embedded in websites and the device would mix and evaporate chemicals to imitate the scent specified in the tag. It never took off and the company went under. This is a funnier use of the term iSmell

Taupo Trip

taupo_landing
Originally uploaded by Kotukunui.

Flew an aero-club Piper Archer (ZK-FWS) down to Taupo for the 2005 AgriQuality Leader's Conference. Co-pilot was Mike Gilbert from HO and the photo was taken by Richard Leong from Hamilton who was sitting in the backseat. Lake Taupo is to the right of screen and the snow-covered eastern slopes of Mt. Ruapehu can just be seen in the far background.

Just got back from a short holiday in Ohakune having a play in the snow on Mt. Ruapehu . The kids loved tobogganing and we built an awesome snowman. Stayed at the Ohakune Court Motel which was OK. The kids also loved the big carrot and throwing stones into the Mangawhero stream from the little swingbridge near the motel.

On the return trip we stopped in at the AC Baths in Taupo which was fun. The hot water left us all a bit tired for the journey home.

Despite the high price of petrol it was well worth the trip to get away as a family.

Trolley GP Team Photo

TrolleyGP_Team
Originally uploaded by Kotukunui.

My brother-in-law Andrew took a few photos of us at the Trolley GP. I'm the one in the "pram" (Awww.. wot a cwute widdle man...)
The other team members are: (from left to right) Barry, Chris, Steve, Mike.

Having gotten the trolley grand prix over and done with, I now turn my attention to an aviation project. Getting my Yak 52 rating. I have just bought a share in the Te-Kowhai Yak Syndicate which owns and operate ZK-TYS. I've had a joyride in it previously, but this time I'm going to be a part owner. I'll probably be broke and disillusioned within 12 months but, by crikey, I am determined to enjoy it while I can.
Chief pilot, John Parker will be guiding me through the rating and teaching me the ins and outs of this aircraft. Can't wait. (But I will have to, as the aircraft is up in Whangarei with some of the northern syndicate members for a few weeks.)

Here are the 2005 Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix Results. Team "Four Men and a Baby" came 29th overall (or 25th according to my calculations). Our trolley was the 13th fastest down the hill but two of the judges absolutely HATED our dance number.

Well the Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix has been and gone. We didn't win, place or show.

Our race actually went really well. Thanks to a good pushing effort from Barry, Chris, Mike and Steve, I got out ahead of my opponent and took off. The trolley just flew down the course. Everything went to plan right up until the "hairpin" where I turned in a bit early and the understeer scrubbed off a bit of speed before the finish line. I didn't see my elapsed time and they won't publish the full results until Wednesday 16th Feb. However, I'd put money on it being about 48 seconds.

What really annoys me is that we put on what I thought was a great pre-race stage-show and got rubbished by the judges. One judge gave us only 1 out of 10! To say I'm a bit disappointed is an understatement. We were race team 74 out of 82 so perhaps the judges were a bit jaded by the end. Another team had done a "Greased Lightning" number and a team before them had already done a pram racer. Ours were different (and better, of course) but I'm just dumbfounded about how bad our scores were.

The event was won by the Wanganui Motors team in a machine shaped like a trollified Ford Falcon racing car. They were heavily sponsored by Ford and must have spent thousands on the build. Second place went to the Porsche International Racing Team in a miniature Porsche racing car trolley. ( ditto sponsorship and budget ). I guess our off-beat concept and miniscule budget just couldn't compete...

I think our trolley would have been competitive in the 2003 Trolley GP but we were 2 years behind the times and this one was the year of the big-budget teams. Special thanks to Team Thomas (driving a "Thomas the Tank Engine" kart and doing "The Locomotion") for their support. As team "Rubber Duck Racing" they had won they previous GP in 2003 in their rolling bath-tub. They expressed their sympathy for what they saw as the injustice inflicted on us.

Will I want to be part of another Trolley Grand Prix team? I don't know. I'll make a decision later when the all the bile I have built up has drained from my spleen.

Steve and I took the Prambinator for a test run on some deserted back roads last Sunday. Found some twisty hills out the back of Huntly (Pukemiro, Glen Afton way). Sat in, strapped on the seat-belt, took a deep breath and pushed off. The trolley handles like a real go-kart, cornering flat-out with no worries. In fact I chickened out before the trolley reached its adhesion limits. Luckily the brakes seem to stop the machine quite well.

I got up to 65km/h on the steepest bit. I could feel the wind putting the brakes on as we are not the .. ahem... most streamlined design. (Well, strictly speaking it is my bulky ass that is the biggest wind resistance factor).

We tried to pick roads with no traffic, but inevitably I met up with vehicles going the other way. Everyone smiled and waved and no cops turned up looking for us. Phew! The biggest worry was cars coming up behind, but Steve shadowed me with the van flashing his hazard lights so we were OK.

The "Prambinator" rolls
Originally uploaded by Kotukunui.

Did a fair bit of work on the "Prambinator" today. Got it all painted with primer and all the bits attached. We slide in under the 80kg weight limit by 3 kilos. Had a test attach of the bodywork but due to some shonky measurements on my part, poor old Helen will have to remake the camouflage panels.
Took the kids for a ride down the driveway. Yeehah!! We sharpened up the steering ratio and it is now about two turns from lock to lock. Handles really well. We need to test it on some twisty real-life roads.

My next project is the 2005 Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix

Our team is called "Four Men and a Baby" and our trolley is called the "Prambinator". As the name suggests it is a giant pram and I will be dressing up as an oversized baby (complete with bonnet and nappy) to drive it.

My brothers-in-law, Steve and Barry, are in charge of building the mechanicals with help from my wife's cousin, Chris. Mike and his wife Jenni are helping with musical and dance arrangements for the grand entrance. My wife Helen is creating the costumes.

It has been a good project to manage so far, with the trolley rolling, the music recorded and the costumes under way.

Me and David Beckham

Me and David Beckham
Originally uploaded by Kotukunui.

Just testing the whole Flickr to Blog thing. This is a photo of me with David Beckham that I took using my Sharp GX10 CameraPhone while attending the Man. U. training session in May 2003 while on my SportsCafe prize trip.

I've been on jury duty this week. Haven't made it on to a jury but seeing the people in the jury assembly room got me to thinking. If I were accused of a crime would I trust twelve of these "peers" to be able to decide on my guilt or innocence?
This brought me to a moment of startling clarity. If you were guilty of the crime you were accused of, you would want a jury trial so that your lawyer could use emotions and appeals to human nature to sow the seeds of doubt in the jury's mind. On the other hand, if you were not-guilty, you'd want a panel of judges to assess the evidence and make up their minds from a (hopefully) more logical and rational point of view, see you were not-guilty and send you on your way.
Therefore all we need to do is ask the accused if they want a jury trial or to be assessed in front of a panel of learned judges. If they pick a jury trial, they are guilty and you can bang them up in gaol without the cost of a trial. Simple, innit? This method has hostorical precedence as any Google search for "Spanish Inquisition" or "Salem Witch Trials" will show.

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Congratulate me!! I won the SportsCafe "Sporting Trick" video competition on 30th April. My brother Tim and I flew out to Manchester on Thursday 1 May. Business class trip on Singapore Airlines. We stayed at the only 5-star hotel in Manchester (The Lowry). We were taken by coach out to the Man United training ground at Carrington where we watched the team train and then got autographs and photos with some of the players. I got my ManU souvenir football signed by David Beckham, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Ruud van Nistelerooy. The photo I got with Beckham wasn't that great but the vodafone people back in NZ seemed happy with it. vodafone treated us to lunch at the Red Cafe in the grounds at Old Trafford, Dinner at "The Gaucho Grill" steak restaurant and a slap-up breakfast (including black pudding!!) at the hotel. On Saturday 3rd May we went to Old Trafford for the match versus Charlton Athletic. 4-1 victory to ManU. Goals to Beckham (1) and van Nistelerooy (3!). Good fun. Took some digital photos with the Sharp GX10 phone's built in camera and recorded some crowd sounds to send back as well. Next day (Sun 4th) we hopped a train (first-class) to London and moved into the Trafalgar Square Hilton for the next 3 days. Mucked around a bit, had a ride on the London Eye ferris wheel. Expensive place to live though. Spent NZ$600 in 3 days and didn't do anything particularly expensive. Tim and I both bought gifts for our spouses at Harrods. Wednesday 7th flew back to NZ via Singapore. Business class travel is ceratinly the way to do sucha long trip. Watched several recent movies including "Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers", "Gangs of New YorK", "The Recruit", "Chicago". Arrived back in Auckland on Friday 9th exhausted but happy. Sportscafe want me to make another appearance on the show and talk about the trip. What a hard life!!...

Once again, Lion Red Sports Cafe features in my life. They are running a video competition "Film Your Best Sporting Trick" and win a trip to Manchester to meet up with the Man. Utd. football players including David Beckham. I entered a "Mouse Trap" style chain reaction machine. It starts with a golf ball being putted down a tube, triggers a swinging boot which kicks a rugby ball into a fishing net, which pivots and hits a suspended tennis racquet, which sends a tennis ball down a set of tracks, around a corner and dropping off to upset a balance beam, which drops a tea candle into a bowl of petrol, which burns through a string tethering a model Possum Bourne Subaru Impreza to a ramp which runs down the ramp and activates an electric fan which blows a model boat across a small pond, where a needle mounted on the prow bursts a balloon which releases a cricket bat which hits a ball into a wicket, knocking it over and the middle stump triggers a basketball to roll down a ramp, hit a soccer ball which pivots a lever releasing a golf club which knocks a golf ball into the hole, right back where we started. Whew!! It took me 30 hours straight with no sleep to build and film the stunt. There was hard deadline to work to so it was all a bit miraculous. The audience at "Float" gave it a long cheering ovation so I guess I'm in with a good chance to win the trip to Manchester. All I need now are some details and I can get organised. (I am absolutely physically shattered!)

Haven't posted to the blog for a while. Busy, busy, busy. I'm currently developing a Web based GIS enabled information system for managing the the Animal Health Board's possum killing (vector control) business. It's very interesting. A Cold Fusion web client interacting with a text based SQL Server database and a GIS built around ESRI's ArcSDE and ArcIMS software. Cool, but hard work to make everything work properly.

Also I've moved house and the chaos has not yet settled. The new place has some great views. We've been watching the hot-air balloons in Hamilton for the Balloon Fiesta. They rise up out of the early morning mists and float across the city. We can watch them from our breakfast table. My little girl, Samantha, is crazy for hot-air balloons. When she is a bit older I'll organise us a hot-air balloon ride.

Had two "Its a Small World" experiences recently. This is quite common in New Zealand. (1) Was invited to a board gaming session at the home of a friend of Michael Switzer's. Turns out that Gordon (the friend) had purchased the house from my wife's best friend, Jenni Murphy-Scanlon and her husband. It was strange to go to a house that I had previously visited regularly and seeing some one else living in it. (2) Was out at dinner with some work colleagues and made a humourous disparaging remark about the time when I worked on a project in Tokoroa. Hayley, (next door office at work to mine) defended Tokoroa as she had grown up there. It soon turns out that her husband is the best friend of a guy called Darren Hepple whom I used to hang out in a group with at university. She says that he visits them regularly from his home in Wellington and will put us in contact next time he is up. Weird! but it happens a lot in NZ...