All things Work and Home

It's been a while since I posted here.  As I've commented before, the "micro" blogging tools like Facebook and Twitter seem to reduce the need to write--probably artificially.  No excuses--just saying.

So what's been up?  Too much work.  I have a large project that just hit it's busy stride in May/June/July.  I think it should calm down a bit, but the project wounds are still fresh so much smaller annoyances seem to derail me with greater effect.  It's hard to put so much energy and time in on a thing only watch it flounder.  This difficult enough by itself, but there was about a 30 day stretch where it appeared I was being held personally responsible for a degree of the failures.  I suppose in the Royal We way I am part of the project so I am part of the team.  But this was particularly hard to take as it seemed the customer was quite happy with what was happening.  My own management team was not.  Of course, in business you have to keep your bosses happy and I suppose that was my mistake.  I still find this de-motivating.  But that's business when you work for someone else.

Aside from work we've been shivering our way through a cold winter in Wellington.  I've seen frost on several days this year.  It was even so cold that my motorcycle wouldn't start for a week.

My father-in-law flew in for his usual trip in July/Aug to see us, the grandson, and participate in the grandson's birthday.  I feel a bit sorry for the old guy this year as the weather has been awful! But even bad weather in Wellington is pretty mild.

We took a few days to drive up the west coast to Hawera again.  We visited the museum there with my folks a year ago, but Don (father-in-law) had not seen it yet.  On the way we stopped in Wanganui and Patea.  I can't tell for sure, but I think a hear an unspoken "aw yuck" in front of Wanganui whenever I mention it.  LOL.  I get the impression that most Kiwi's aren't impressed with the city.  While it doesn't offer a ton, it is nice stopping point and does have a pretty fun kid park with great, dare I say, vintage playground equipment and a whizbang flying fox.  On this trip we did make time to see the local museums which were interesting if not huge.

Patea isn't far north of Wanganui, but is barely a spec on the map... and let me tell you, the specs on NZ maps are specs indeed.  I think Patea is all of 6 blocks long.  Its primary feature is the road to its beach.  There is a river mouth here which was one of the first sea ports used in New Zealand, but this port was completely abandoned in 1956.  Patea certainly hasn't thrived since.  What remans is a partially protected swimming beach with massive waves.  Outside the sea walls you have some of the rawest ocean I've experienced in New Zealand.  Waves larger than a man or 2 men.  This stretch is one of my favourites.  The sand here is deep black with sparkling flecks of mica.  The shore stretches north to high vertical cliffs.  The view is even complete with a ship wreck of some ridiculously old vessel containing a boiler.  Another interesting bit was we found heaps of rock with deep "pock" marks in them.  The kind of thing you'd expect to see in a cave that dripped on soft stone over a million years.  Looking at the cliffs I'm guessing there are a few sea caves there and these rocks probably started in them.  Each place we go has so much to discover.

The Tawhiti Museum continues to be excellent.  They even added something completely new this year.  A Whalers & Traders "river" ride.  They built a huge shed and dug a channel through it for a river.  Then they filled it with life sized scenes of NZ whaling themed events.  There was a ship trading muskets to Moari, gun/cannon fight in the bush, and a Maori village trading with white settlers.  The detail was amazing.  Hawera is barely more than a spec itself--maybe 6 specs collectively.  But this is still one of the best museums covering NZ history that I've found.  Of course, I have not tried to fully explore Auckland yet.  I would expect the countries largest city to have something pretty grand.

On the way home we drove through Palmerston and again I was struck by what nice towns NZ has.  Palmerston had quite a bit of stuff to do for being a "small" city.  This really is small in New Zealand.  But they did have a Harley shop and a Steam Museum which we'll have to check out again later.

Amy and I have managed to get out to a couple movies.  I seem to have no lack of pizza in my life so all is good.

We are waiting for the last bit of immigration paperwork and then I think we're clear.  We're talking tentatively about having Chandler come stay with us in 2011 to go to school here and then swap to have Sabrina for a year too.  I really hope that works out, but it all still discussions for now.

That's the update from the South! Talk at y'all later.

Suzuki DL650 V-Strom

My head was turned by this tourer style bike on Hutt highway the other day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_DL650_V-Strom

I love how wiki has everything...

Anyway, I liked the upright yet still slightly forward position, I was envious of the windscreen, and I thought the whole setup looked versatile.  It is only in hindsight that I see the VStrom is in the same niche as the Multi-Strada although heaps cheaper and probably not as techno as a Ducati. (I looked at these last year).

I hopped down to Welly Motorcycles and checked one out.  I can't ride one until I get a Full Licence of course, but I was just looking anyway.  I am far too broke to even think about $15,000 motorbikes, but I still like to look.  At first glance it was too big to me.  The ferring is wider than I'm used to (by "used to" I mean none) and it seemed too tall.  I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to stand up with it.  But once all the shop mooks were out of view (so they couldn't mock me), I got up on it.  I was very surprised to feel how what looked like such a big bike from the side turned in to "no big deal" when I was on it.  I had no problem with the height and I could instantly see the appeal of the riding position and instruments.  So I guess I have to officially add "tourer" bikes to my "must check out" list when I think about the next one.

I still go back and forth deciding if I ever need a bike bigger than 250cc.  I know I would like such a bike for special roadtrips, but those opportunities are so rare that it seems silly to go for a "road bike" when 99% of my use will be commuting.  The DL650 would be a luxury commuter, but still a good commuter.  Something more "harley" like a V-Star or Boulevard would sure look cool, but not sure they would be "better" commuter bikes. 

But then I have nothing but time.  My L licence is due in March.  Then I'm on Restricted for at least 3 more months (probably 6 unless I pay extra).

Hope all is well in the great white north.  I keep hearing about the snow, but I just can't seem to care! 

Micro-Blog

I have so much I want to write about that I am paralyzed with it.  So in an effort to dislodge I'm going to blast out micro-blogs on each topic.  Hopefully I can expand again later...

My Dad:
Dying, but looking pretty good.  Chemo was stopped so that makes you feel better.  Visit was emotionally complex, but ultimately good.

My Kids:
Totally awesome to see them. Great to spend so much time just following them around from school to home and such.  Good to talk with their teachers.  Field trip with Sabrina was one of the best times I've had.  I put 2000 miles on the car I borrowed from my in-laws (Thanks Judith and Cindy!)

Vegas:
Still the same.  The Bellagio may be my favorite hotel of all time.

The US:
It was actually hard going back.  Vegas didn't help as it is an exaggerated version of all things excess in America.  I was battered by it somewhat.  Everyone I visited with was working harder than before, more stressed, and generally stretched.  It was an incredible favor to be able to stay with Carey and Graham while I was there (thanks!).

Wall Street:
I read an article about how fundamentally illegal market manipulation may have collapsed 3 of the 5 big banks in America.  The article was posted in Rolling Stone which I found odd.  But despite the most glaring and flagrant manipulation no official investigation was underway.  Most concerning is that if you looked at who had the most to gain such an act you would see the other 2 banks.  There were many suspicious dealing by these 2 leading up to the collapse.  I am appalled to now think these crooks will never be held accountable and the money they stole from Americans will never be given back.

NZ History:
I have been reading "The Penguin History of New Zealand" (Penguin is a book publisher here) by Michael King.  It is insightful and well written.  I am delighted to read about the amazing journey NZ has taken.  I am surprised to discover that for at least a generation, NZ did not teach this history which is rich in culture and identity.

NZ Stock Exchange:
I have begun to write letters to the NZX to ask if the scheme above could happen in NZ.  I would push them to make sure it is not.

NaNoWrMo:
Yes, it is coming up.  But I again don't think it is something I can push for.  But I am sure to write some.  I will likely work more on Threshold--the projected I started last NaNoWrMo.

The Ex:
While in the US I also had to work on a new agreement with my ex.  Such things are always stressful, but we worked really well together.  As a result of the compressed schedule we had to spent more time together than we have in probably 10 years.  It was weird, but it was also good to demonstrate how much we had both changed and moved on.

Motorbikes, Trains and Automobiles:
We bought a small cheap car to replace our leased car.  This will give us more cash back per month.  With the motorbike option I can actually commute cheaper than the the train.  But NZ weather can be unpredictable so I keep a 10-trip pass handy for the worst of days.  Overall though, the new set up looks good.  Amy drives the car to work and I take the bike/train.  Gabe goes to good kiwi gal's house after school 3 days a week.

US Shopping:
I did take advantage of US shopping to get a few goods.  Mostly bulk Ibuprofen and Asprin.  But I did stop at a western outfitter and pick up stuff you truly can not get in NZ... I got new boots with silver tips, several western shirts, and new jeans.

Work:
Busy as, but doing well.

Kiwi Spring:
Cold as, bro.

Party I want to have:
I want to host a Battlestar Galactica party featuring a few episodes, a BBQ, and some play of the BSG board game.  Not sure I will... but I think of it fondly.

Motorcycles in Kiwi-land

So yeah, I'm looking at motorcycles.  I get so used to folks following me on instant messengers, twitter, and Facebook that I forget I don't talk to everybody all the time.

This whole thought process started one Friday night at the Wellington Main Station during yet another outage.  They are upgrading the old system with a planned completion date of June 2010.  So I predict between now and then that the failure rate will increase from 1-2 per month to at least 1 per week.  Then I saw that commuter bikes go for about $1500 NZD.  My train pass is more than $100 per month... Also when ever we have a need to be in two places at once, the single car is a bit of a hindrance.  So for nearly identical dosh, I could be riding a motorcycle.

The next boost in this process was a visit from my father-in-law, Don, who has been an avid biker for many years.  One of the more fun things we did while he was here was visit bike shops and shop around.  Apparently we have some pretty remarkable motorcycles in NZ.  A lot you wouldn't see in the US.

Thus encouraged by wisdom and thrift I set out to see what it takes to get a bike license.  Well, as it turns out, it takes a heckufalot.  I think someone with some seriously intense safety issues got a hold of the motorcycle licensing system.  In the same country that will let non-english speaking yuppy college kids go on 7-day hikes over volcanos you must go through 3 stages of motorcycle licensing and devote at least 1 year to qualifying.  You will be required to sit through expensive instructor led practical training, secure three different certificates, take three different written exams, and three different practical exams (where they ride behind you and observe).  I have now determined that while NZ may be a very dangerous place to tramp... it might be the safest place on Earth to learn to ride a motorcycle.

This last weekend, I went to take the first required handling course.  I wasn't completely clear that the class was also an official test--a test on 7 different basic skills.  Now the last time I was on a motorcycle was probably about 1994 and I only really practiced in a parking lot.  I was a bit surprised to have master 7 test techniques in one 6 hour class.  You have to complete this course *before* you get your learner's permit.  I did pass thankfully.  Next I have to go take a short written test and officially get my learner's permit for motorcycles.  I have to drive on that license for 6 months.  After this I have to get another certificate (another instructor led class), take another written test, and go through a practical test.  Then I can get a Restricted license!  Not even a Full license.  The Full license requires another course, another written test and two practical exams!

Technically, all I need is a Restricted license to be a commuter.  But dang...  If all goes well, I'll have the Learner Permit this week.  Then I can stop taking the train.  This lets me be more flexible to watch Gabe (saving daycare costs), commute for roughly the same cost, and add the utility of a second vehicle.

I need to hit 100k/h on the motorway, so I need a 250cc bike (the max a Learner/Restricted license allows).  The most economical I've seen have been the Suzuki GN250's and GZ250's.  Yamaha also has some good bikes in this price range.  Once I get one of these picked out, I'll post pictures.

Drive safely, y'all!