Haunting of the znark

Keeping your precious data safe.

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:49:00 +0000

Recently Scott Bourne of Photo Focus, and This Week In Photography and creator of "Cranes in the Fire Mist", launched a new podcast & blog called,

"My Digital Life - Managing Your Digital Life".

The My Digital Life Podcast & Blog is your destination for information on how to deal with all the electronic stuff you accumulate during your daily life. We’re here to answer questions like: What sort of hard drive should I buy? How do I create a backup plan? What’s the difference between backup and archive?
(from the about Page on Mydl.me)

I highly recommend this blog\podcast.

Insane Copyright laws in NZ

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:54:00 +0000

I'm joining in the protest against the insane copyright law in NZ
http://bit.ly/eycr0

West Darling Athletics Carnival

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:55:00 +0000

We are off!

Left Coomie High at about 0735 with about 45 students.

znark - From on the road.

New Photos

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:02:00 +0000

I've been uploading some new photos to Flickr and and have created a Smugmug account where I will be posting higher resolution images.

I am in the process of touching-up my Jan 2008 trip photos now that I know how to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom a bit better. (Brilliant program by the way!)

Hope you enjoy.

Drool!

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:55:00 +0000

I want one!!

The New Telsa Roadster - All electric sports car!

Ewan & Charlie are wimps!

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:31:00 +0000

This puts my wimpy trip into perspective.

Ewan & Charlie did a shorter trip in Long Way Round and Long Way Down fully supported. Robbo is doing it unsupported!

He's survived the Sahara, being held a gunpoint by a drunken cop, land mines, parasitic infections and now some total tosser has flogged his bike and his way of completing his tip and getting back home. He is stranded in Dubai. Help him complete his trip and get home.

9 Days Later

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:25:00 +0000

Well I've been back a work for just over a week now, and I've been enjoying it quite a bit. But I still need to get to bed earlier. That's where I should be now.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to train yourself to get to bed at a reasonable hour?

I took my Nikon D80 in to get the sensor cleaned today. The guy at the camera shop said he couldn't find any crap on the sensor so he didn't even try to clean it. However I tested it and I found there was heaps, didn't matter what lens, f-stop or focus. So I'll have to take it back in and make sure he cleans it this time.

Back To Work Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:33:00 +0000

And I'm not really looking forward to going back. But it is time. Been a long break and I reckon I've gotten into the habit of holidays.

I guess I'd better go to bed considering I need to get up a bit earlier than I have been. (Try 3hrs earlier :-0 )

Road Trip Jan 2008 Photos - Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:58:00 +0000

I just posted 83 photos of my trip around the coast on Flickr.

On most photos I did some minor adjustment in Abobe Photoshop Lightroom, like levelling and cropping for recomposing, exposure and vibrance adjustments.

There are 3 panoramas that I posted as well. The smallest is of Blue Lake in Mt Gambier composed of 2 photos taken in landscape format. The panorama at Coorong is composed of 6 photos taken in landscape orientation. The biggest, at "Mt" Wycheproof (a whole 43 m) is composed of 17 photographs taken in portrait orientation.

There are some obvious artefacts from the joining process. So don't look too close. I used Abobe Photoshop CS2 using the automated Photomerge. To the Coorong panorama I did a bit of manual dodge & burn in Photoshop and increased vibrance a bit in Lightroom.

Enjoy!

Riding Bikes - A Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Came across this on Biker Swag

Distance, Cost & Economy

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:47:00 +0000


Town                                   Cost   Economy
               Dist     Sum       l     /l    l/100km
Merbein
Yamba          117.7    117.7   13.21   $1.539  11.22
Karoonda (U)   152.9    270.6   11.36   $1.456   7.43

Adelaide       207.8    478.4   14.96   $1.409   7.20
Meningie       153.1    631.5   10.74   $1.519   7.02
Kingston SE    151.8    783.3   12.67   $1.499   8.35

Millicent      205.5    988.8   15.37   $1.509   7.48
Nelson         146.8   1135.6   10.72   $1.539   7.30

Warrnambool    194.8   1330.4   13.94   $1.549   7.16
Apollo Bay     205.7   1536.1   13.59   $1.599   6.61

Melbourne      219.9   1756.0   12.58   $1.449   5.72

Bendigo        179.2   1935.3   11.89   $1.509   6.63
Sea Lake (U)   214.2   2149.5   12.62   $1.459   5.89
Merbein        202.1   2351.6   12.80   $1.509   6.33

Totals                 2351.6 km      $250.17
                               166.45 l          7.08

Home Again

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:14:00 +0000

Made it home safe and sound. Left Bendigo at about 10am after getting fuel. I stopped at Wycheproof and bought some apples and Almonds to eat. Stopped at Sea Lake for fuel and at Oyuen for a rest. It started getting warm arounf Wycheproof but not to bad.

I couldn't resist. I had to run the spiders web when I hit Red Cliffs.

Fueled up in Merbein at about 1540. I'll calculate the distance, fuel, fuel prices and accommodation costs soon and post them.

I'll post some of the better photos from mt DSLR up on Flickr when I've had a chance to shrink and upload them.

Where to next? :-)

Last Night On The Road

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:33:00 +0000

I decided not to stay in Melboune. Mainly to reduce the travel time. But also because I'd had enough of the city. So I continued on to Bendigo and am spending the night here.

I stopped at Peter Stevens in Elizabeth St for some thing they didn't have but it was an experience seeing a motorcycle dealer that size. I also found a good shop for digital camera accessories.

So to bed for the last leg. 405 km till home.
--
Brad (From on the road)

Melbourne

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:52:00 +0000

Before I left Torquay this morning I stopped off at Bell's Beach. Looks like a very nice surfing beach.

Coming into Melbourne on the freeway I saw the sign for the RAAF museum at Point Cook, so on a whim I decided to check it out. Glad I did! Got to see a aerobatic display of a restored P51 Mustang. I took some pictures of the static displays.

--
Brad (From on the road)

Last of the GOR

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:44:00 +0000

Riding again was fantastic, though not of the caliber of the Otways. Speed limit for the whole distance has been dropped to 80 km/h even for the well maintained long straight sections. But it didn't really matter most of it was corners.

Some corners need to be posted at lower speeds because of the nature of the corner. They should put up a sign like ''45 km/h, surface'' or ''radius'' or "camber'' or ''decreasing radius''. You get the idea I hope.

--
Brad (From on the road)

Torquay

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:43:00 +0000

I arrived here about 20:00. Kitchen closes at 20:30 so I'd better hurry.
--
Brad (From on the road)

Apollo Bay

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:19:00 +0000

Just a quick stop here and then on to Torquay. What more can I say that I haven't already said (or not said) about riding in Otways. More of the same pure riding bliss. Again no photos.

--
Brad (From on the road)

Trees and Silurians

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:03:00 +0000

Took a 2 hour detour to see the tree top walk 19 km out of Laver's Hill. I'll let the pictures speak.

--
Brad (From on the road)

Words fail me

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:55:00 +0000

And I took no pictures. The ride from Port Campbell to Lavers Hill ... Riding paradise!

Sweeping bends, well made roads bathed in dappled sunlight, the aroma of ecalyptas and damp undergrowth filtering through my helmet as line up the next series of seemingly endless perfection of bends. My bike is made for places like this. I barely have to change gears.

But this realy doesn't convey the moment, the feeling ...

--
Brad (From on the road)

Loch Ard Gorge

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:34:00 +0000

The site where the Loch Ard was ship wrecked at 4 am on the 1st June 1878.

--
Brad (From on the road)

The 12(11) Apostles

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:34:00 +0000

Words are not enough and pictures do not suffice. They are all I have ...

--
Brad (From on the road)

The Grotto

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:32:00 +0000

A few kilometres up the coast ....

--
Brad (From on the road)

The London Bridge has fallen down

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:32:00 +0000

But I guess u all knew that

--
Brad (From on the road)

Bay of Islands

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:30:00 +0000

First stop after Warrnambool is here at Bay of Islands. Pictures, by no means do this place justice. But I had a go anyway. Weather is perfect. Sun shining, light costa sea breeze. This is what I come for.

--
Brad (From on the road)

Warrnambool

noreply@blogger.com (znark) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:05:00 +0000

It was a much better day today. I think the modifications on my helmet worked. The wind wasn't as strong today but it still made it tiring.

Getting here took about 4 hours longer than the distance would indicate because I was stopping so many times for photos. I feel like a bloody tourist! Oh wait! I am.

I took the wrong turn off coming out of Mt Gambier and so added about 50 km to the journey but the connecting road from the Princess Highway to the Portland Nelson Road through the Lower Glenelg National Park was worth it. Excellent road, beautiful scenery. The coastal road was much more interesting than the highway too.

As I was getting ready to go get some tea I checked the tyre pressure because the bike had been handling poorly I thought it might be down a bit. The rear tyre wasn't, it was down a lot. Almost flat! Judging by the state of the tyre I'd say it had been like that all day. I think the life of the tyre had been shortened to one half or a third of it's expected life. One of the angled valve stems I had put on before I left had vibrated loose and let the air out. Brand new tyre too. ''All's well that end's well', my old gaffer used to say' (pick that reference)

Time for bed I think.
--
Brad (From on the road)