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Decenber January 2008 archive

Welcome to our world little fella

January saw not only the welcoming in of the new year but also the arrival of our son, Jasper, on the 3rd January. A happy and healthy baby boy...a three hour, natural labour that lost nothing of the amazement and wonder the 3rd time around. I remember someone telling me that the moment of birth is filled with a host of emotions...love, pride, happiness, fear, uncertainty, worry, joy and total adrenalin driven elation that all seems to hit this amazing chord in a split second as you see this little soul enter the world...and that pretty well sums up exactly how it was for me. I absolutely loved every minute of it and was lucky enough to be quite 'hands on' this time, thanks mainly to Wilga, our midwife, whose warm nature, experience and no nonsence approach had me right in there..and guys, if you're ever lucky enough to find yourself in this position, get involved! One of the 'birthing highlights' for me was going over the placenta with Wilga and her explaining what a remarkable piece of designing it was...It's just not something you see everyday (unless of course you're a midwife). How this blood enriched supplier of everything the baby needs to develop and grow for 9 months can keep the mothers blood and the babies blood from mixing, I found simply amazing and think it should be up for some sort of design award...there it is, my nomination for amazing apparatus design of 2008...THE PLACENTA!!!
His two brothers are very impressed with their new playmate and to see them all happy and healthy doing their own thing around our home..being bright, creative and energetic little boys makes me feel like the luckiest bloke alive at the moment and has really reinforced my view of what's important in my life.

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I know this can't begin to compare to the placenta, but we constructed a baby hammock/swing that we now refer to a the 'happy camper' because that's what he is when he's in it! It has acheived noticeable results in settling the little fella and getting him to sleep when he's got pains, wants to party when everyone else is chilling out or is just having a shit of a day. The design is pretty simple and has been used for thousands of years by many cultures around the world. It basically simulates that rocking swaying bouncing motion I imagine they experience in the womb. It's basically single bedspread tied up to a wooden bar with a large cushion in the bottom attached to an anchor point with a spring out of a 'jolly jumper' that hangs a few inches off the ground. Due to length of the hang, a small push can keep the motion going for a few minutes and you can rock him to sleep without having to put much effort or thought into the action. This along with the Jolly Jumper are two baby products that we have found make a big difference to us...and would recommend them to anyone with fresh borns.

Old Skateboarders never die, they just...

find a like minded bunch of guys and girls whose primary aim is to stay young and have as much fun as possible...and join an old school skating group like NACCOS (or Newcastle and Central Coast Old School)

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these 3 pics by John Harle http://www.myspace.com/johnharlephotography

The irony of this little story lies in the way I got in contact recently with the Naccos crew. A casual glance over the local rag (the central coast express) front page a few months ago revealed a story about some mobile home residents who were complaining about the proposed Skate boarding facilty being considered for an area relatively close by. You gotta love the stereo typical photo that goes along with a story like this..you know, the one with a few of the 'concerned' residents, arms folded, scowls on faces, images (possibly) in their heads of skateboarders skipping thier way through the village to the tune of 'the devils music' throwing needles and condoms into the air like confetti ..sarcasm aside, I had a bit of a chuckle to myself and didn't think much of it till next weeks edition contained a story of a few guys, not wanting to be 'tarred with the same brush' explaining rationally how skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports and they were involved with a bunch of guys in their 30's, 40's and even 50's with respectable jobs, kids, morgages and how they deserved as valued members of the community and rate payers to be considered in the equation...

All right!!! These guys sound like me..here I was at 35 thinking am I too old for this shit??..am I kidding myself?? Can I still learn stuff at this age? so I got in contact with Paul Carey who was working at the Slam Factory, and was warmly invited to the next Naccos slalom session. Fin and myself rocked up and were greeted by the coolest, down to earth, enthusiastic bunch of guys!! who were giving us boards to try, laughing and basically getting stoked on how much fun they were all having!!!..And there I was, fully addicted within a few hours, and grateful that if it hadn't have been for a bunch of anti skatepark whingers, I wouldn't be boosting the ranks of the Naccos by two members. So Paul(s), Nick, John, Boyd, Imi, Shads, Glen and all the other Naccos guys that we plan to get to know a bit better over the coming months and years, thanks hey...let the good times roll!

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post script..caught up with Boyd and Imi on Sunday arvo for a session and quote of the month has to go to the young witnesses of a recent crash that befell Boyd in Melbourne during the MOSS Jam get together.

He had a rather nasty slam after encountering some unexpected water part way through..and supermaning several metres before hitting concrete...the quote from a few little kids camped out at this particular spot went something like this immediatly after the accident..

" you're the fourth one....but mister... you were the best !! "

good to know you can still command some cred with the kids Boyd...gave me a good old laugh out loud anyway thanks..

Slalom 'MOSSJam' youtube video by Jackson Shapiera http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B7IQdD2Yxo (Boyd and some other Naccos guys are on this video.Paul Carey is the guy with the green helmet)

Skateboarding forum http://www.charliedontskate.com

Australia Day 2008

Spent an inpromtu Australia Day with a good friend Welby and his daughter Ella..after all the friggin rain and cloud we've been subjected to this summer....it was just great to feel the summer sun and calm breeze on a shirtless body down the beach. Missed a photo of a few guys starting festivities early with beers and chairs in the middle of the main roundabout in Umina but these couple sum up what a great 'Aussie' day it was for us.

Welby on the 6'6 VanStraalen.........................Ella stoke...............................gotta love the foamies

Movin' with the times

Not so much a case of 'out with the old and in with the new'...as 'embrace the old with the new'. The birth of Jasper (and his off the richter scale cuteness factor) finally justified a purchase of a Digital camera, a Nikon D40x. I've gotta say I'm quite exited about my little friend and feel enthusiastic about the fact that it feels to me like an old manual SLR.One of the things I've always liked about Nikons, and what sealed the deal for me, is their lens compatibility..a standard fitting across the board ..too friggin'easy! Although the D40 can't meter through the lenses. they do fit and i've been really pleased with some results..soon to rock up some landscapes and seascapes again!! and test out this babys time exposure capabilities.I'll keep you posted...

For the majority of shots i've taken in the past month I've used a brilliant old 50mm 1: 1.2 lens(that's probably around 40 years old). Set the thing on manual and loved having to think about light and exposure again!! The set up just screams for willing portrait subjects..here's just a few.

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