First fitting

I'm sorry, I really didn't mean the title of this post to be a pun on first footing. I'm writing about the first fitting session for my son's kilt. But 'first foot' in my dialect of Scots would be pronounced 'first fit'....
Anyway, here's the young man trying on a sample kilt to see how his own kilt is going to be shaped at the waist and over the hips. We learned a lot about how the pleats would be sewn, and how the kilt would be made to sit slightly higher at the waist to allow for any last extra bit of upward growth. And because our son is very slim, any filling out in later years will be catered for by extra hidden pleats that will wrap under the flat front of the kilt.
The tartan of the sample kilt is Nicolson. Our son's been deciding which of our family tartans he wants. Probably the only time in his life that our engineer-to-be will be seen poring over swatches.

Cascade River Waterfalls

Here are a couple of waterfall shots during our outing to Cascade River State Park earlier this week. We had a perfect day for exploring the river and looking for flowers. The sky was overcast which makes for ideal photography of waterfalls and flowers.

Illuminated Camellia

A camellia flower at the UC Berkeley Garden.

Sweetest Little Pea

Beaker is our parakeet (budgie). I don't have a lot of pictures of him, because he's usually pretty camera-shy. This past weekend he was in a mood for it, though.

Pretty bird!
Descriptive, but also one of his favorite things to say.

Man oh man, does Beaker love him some bananas.
He's very happy about the banana. Budgies' pupils shrink when they're excited. (Compare with the eyes in the first picture.)

The skin is actually his favorite part.
I am so totally nuts about this bird!
It takes a little while to teach budgies to speak, but it's definitely worth it. Beaker does a few tricks too. "Gimme a kiss" gets you nose kisses, and he'll fly to you when you say, "C'mere". If he feels like it.
I've been bad about not teaching him new things to say lately. But he picked one up anyway. He's got a little Ferris wheel with bells that he loves to throw to the floor. We got in the habit of saying, "Excuse me!" when he does that... and now he says it too!
Notes on parakeets/budgies:
If you ever buy a parakeet, I can't recommend this enough: find one that will sit on your finger in the store. I probably traumatized our first budgie by trying so hard to make friends with an unfriendly bird. There are all sorts of taming techniques, but none worked on poor Mr. Jitters.
When budgies are first delivered to the store, they are usually fairly tame. But it only takes a day or two for them to learn (from the other birds) to flee from the hand. So plan in advance and ask your pet store to call you when the birds first arrive.

New beginning

Getting totally forked on the weekend may be the catalyst for a new beginning.
My hybrid bike, which has toured in three countries, and which I haven't yet got around to naming is probably going to be replaced. I have had a quick search of possible replacement forks on the Internet, and they aren't cheap. In fact, when I consider the things I'll soon need to replace on my current ride (I've only changed a single gear cable in over 8,000km), it may work out cheaper to just buy a new machine and have done with it. The best news is that I have the option to rand sack the current bike and keep the parts that still have some value, some of which may be of some use in getting The Black Magic back to a standard at which it can be used for centuries.
I think there is a lesson in this incident. While my hybrid is (was) perfectly capable of handling dirt roads, it probably wasn't up to being consistently ridden to hell and back. If I apply the old 80/20 rule, I should be able to utilise the more robust frame and forks of The Black Magic and eliminate much of the wear on the new steed, which can then be used as a touring machine, handling the occasional dirt road, but predominantly riding sealed/paved surfaces at home. I may even restore The Black Magic to a permanent commuter role, so good has it's performance been this week.
Sometimes the darkest hour can be the catalyst for a new beginning.

• In other news, I'm getting a little tired of hearing/reading reports of road "accidents", hearing the police complaining about having to deal with so many of them, before reading the old "no charges will be pressed" line. Wake up. If the police are really tired of dealing with these incidents, they are the ones who are in the best position to do the most to stop them. How about actually enforcing the traffic laws? It's not bloody rocket science, but would probably halve the road toll within 12 months if it was actually supported by some magistrates who might actually apply the penalties written in law. Either way, if the police aren't prepared to do their job, they should resign and leave it for someone else who will.

Thatched Mushroom

I have got a busy day ahead of me and probably won't have time to post later, so here is a lovely thatched cottage which we saw yesterday. One of the little treasures of Lincolnshire.

No reaction

Haven't been on much the last couple of days. I figure it's about time for an update. In my last entry I referred to a punch-throwing/car-throwing yobbo that I encountered on Sunday evening. However, the surprising thing has been the total lack of reaction to this incident from the cycling advocates whom I've contacted (Bicycle Queensland, Bicycle Gold Coast, and anyone who read the thread over at bikeforums). Especially when compared with other "hit and run" incidents which weren't quite as blatantly deliberate (albeit quite suspicious).

Granted, I wasn't hit, however, a less experienced, less cynical and less judgemental cyclist would have been. And while such incidents (fortunately) are relatively rare, this is proof that they still happen. Admittedly, the muted reaction may be partially my own fault. After all, I didn't have a pen and paper with me to record the details of the vehicle (a registration # would have been all I needed), but it does still raise one or two questions about why there is so much more focus on the supposedly "accidental" incidents than the blatantly deliberate ones. Have we just accepted ths sort of behaviour as something that can (and will) never be changed? Are advocates so wrapped up in the "building things" ideal that they pay more attention to the incidents they expect to give more credence to this mantra?

In something more positive, it hasn't stopped me from riding (why would it after Sunday night?). Yesterday morning was particularly pleasant with the low-lying cloud near Hinze Dam. That place seems different everytime I go out there, and it does serve a purpose for quick hills when I need them (and right now, I need them as much as ever!).


I'm still a little undecided about where to go this weekend. "Officially" I'm supposed to be leading the Tweed Mystery Ride to cover for Martin, but I'm not expecting anyone to get in touch now that I've taken over. If they don't, it leaves me with options. I could head for O'Reilly's (I usually do when I've had it with the world). Alternatively, I could say sod it all and jump on a train to the Glasshouse Mountains. I just don't know at this point.