Kiwi Bird

CLICK ON PHOTO TO GET BIGGER PIC!

Thanks to Michael St Mark (http://thebogblog.blog.co.uk) for the inspiration!

This loo is in the north of the North Is in NZ - created by a local artist - and it is a work of art! It reminds me of Gaudi's work? V organic!

Kelly Slater DID win the last comp at Trestles in California. Now
it's the next leg of the world tour - this time in France - there's the link to the webcast. The time difference is good for you in the UK.

http://2005.profrance.quiksilver-europe.com/?CC=en&RID=home

Check it out - it's a blast!

I have been notified that there is someone in this community (I know who and it's not one of my friends), who is using my name and login to post semi-pornographic comments. This is NOT me. I have reported it, but if you see any puerile, disgusting, or otherwise offensive comments on any blogs with my name and photo attached please delete them if you can, or ignore them if you can't.

Some people lack the maturity to handle the freedom the net allows. It's probably a twelve-year-old with a warped sense of humour masquerading as an adult but it's irritating nevertheless. If he can do it to me - he can do it to you.

I'll get off my soapbox now. :-)) Thanks everyone.

This guy - Kelly Slater - is not wiping out - he's doing an 'air'. He will land upright on the wave and carry on surfing.

Kelly took the moves of skateboarders and transferred them to the waves. He radically changed the way people surf - especially the pros. Essentially he invented modern surfing.

In the old days they would ride a wave standing upright - maybe through a tube and walk up and down the board a bit. Now it's about very athletic gymnastic tricks on a much smaller board. Plus a bit of the old stuff of course.

Kelly Slater has 6 world titles and this year will make it 7!!

The latest comp on the World Tour is on at Lower Trestles in California. So far the breaks have been teeny and hard to surf. Today the breaks are great but they made today an off day. ???!!!

Check out the action at http://www.boostmobileprosurf2005.com/ and select the live webcast. It's cool fun! Just like being there!

The pic is not of the comp - it's tow-in surfing where the dudes ride the giants. They tow them in using jet skis and let 'em go! There's no way you could paddle out in that surf.

But the comp is still good viewing - what those guys can do on a wave is amazing!

Go Kelly Slater!!! Make it 7!!!! (This guy literally walks on water!)

Nature - even when she is destructive - is magnificent - yes?

We've had so many natural disasters in the last year - all 'once in a lifetime' events. It's like the earth is saying "enough!"

I'm beginning to think we're in for a rough ride. Maybe the end of life as we know it? Am I being paranoic? Or doomsdayist?

Every time I watch another catastrophic disaster (manmade and natural) on the news, I wonder if we've passed the point of no return and just don't realise it yet.

Or has it always been like this; but now we have better access to the images with improved news services etc? So we are more aware of it all?

Waddaya think? Armageddon or same old, same old?

Last March I went to the Quikie Pro at Snapper Rock on the Gold Coast - Queensland OZ. It's the first comp of the ASP world tour.

Before the boys had their comp the girls did their thing and this local schoolgirl (Stephanie Gilmour) won against all the big name women surfers from the US and Hawaii and OZ.

She rides at least 6 hours a day as well as going to high school.

Smart sheep aren't so woolly after all
Sydney Morning Herald August 31, 2005 - 8:35PM

(See also my story on "Animals I have known") Yes. Okay. I have a sheep fetish!

Sheep are not renowned for their intellect, but an Australian researcher has proven they are smarter than most of us think.

And some are smarter than others, leading scientists to believe they carry a specific "smart gene" that once identified will allow farmers to better select their livestock.

CSIRO research scientist Dr Caroline Lee tested a group of 60 Merino sheep by putting them through a complex maze.

Dr Lee found the sheep not only worked out how to navigate the maze but got better each time they did it.

"We actually showed sheep were smarter than people previously thought," Dr Lee said.

The results had dispelled the popular belief sheep were mindless animals, she said.

In the test, individual sheep were placed at the start of the maze, which measured 18 metres by eight metres.

Dr Lee used the sheep's strong flocking instinct, largely blamed for their brainless reputation, to entice them through the test by placing their "flockmates" in sight at the end of the maze.

The test was done over three days and repeated after six weeks with the time taken to complete it and the number of errors made recorded for each animal.

"We showed that sheep on average took two minutes on the first day and then they really significantly improved their time and were down to around 30 seconds on the third day," Dr Lee said.

"In addition, we actually measured them six weeks later ... and we found that they had retained their memory and were at a similar level to the previous test."

To show this was the result of a thought process rather than instinct, some of the sheep were given a memory-impairing drug.

Dr Lee said the drugged sheep performed worse then their drug-free flockmates.

But overall, some sheep were just smarter than others, she said.

The CSIRO is currently screening 600 sheep of different breeds to determine whether they have a smart gene or genes.

This could take up to five years, Dr Lee said.

The ability to genetically select flocks of smart sheep was important as farming became more technological advanced, she said.

Farmers for example now use automated scales which sheep need to walk across.

"Smarter sheep are more able to deal with the new systems," Dr Lee said.

© 2005 AAP

I've spent the afternoon watching the webcast of the Men's World Surf Champ Tour - the latest competition is in Japan.

Kelly Slater looks like he'll win again! This guy is amazing! He walks on water - literally!

Go Kelly! You are da man!

(I know there is an uncomfortable juxtaposition with this story and the one below - sorry :-(, but it's the ASP World Tour dudes!!!!)

PS Actually he lost the comp in the end! But I still reckon he'll take the overall championship. There's a few more comps to go - it concludes at the Pipeline in Nov 05.

Guess the last few days proves what we all suspected - the US authorities are totally inept!

To think these same people are essentially running the world is plain scarey!!

How long does it take for help to arrive from a hundred miles away??? They knew Katrina was coming. It should've been there on the same day.

The US has clearly demonstrated it is not fit to lead the Western world - it is like watching a very sad tragic black comedy.

Shame on you George W Bush et al! You are a fraud! Your vanity is costing your people and country too much.