Thursday, January 22, 2009

Rules for visiting the South Island

Got this from my cousin - had to share as I think it is spot on...

1. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
2. Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
3. Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road.' I drive a Ute because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.
4. They are cattle. That's why they smell like cattle. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? SH1 goes north, find it and fuck off.
5. So you have a $80,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 Harvesters that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
6. Every person in the South waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/quail are coming in during the season, we WILL shoot it outta your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time..
8. Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and duck. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.
9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of duck season. It's a religious holiday , we will observe it.
10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham and turkey.
12. When we set a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and Watties Tomato sauce! Oh, yeah - we don't care what you folks in Ponsonby call that stuff you eat . . IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!
13. You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.
14. College and High School Rugby is as important here as the All Blacks, the Highlanders and the Crusaders and a heap more fun to watch.
15. Yeah, we have golf courses - but don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.
16. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't music. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers! Refer back to #1!
17. For role models refer to the "Mainland Cheese" and "Speights" boys ..... 'good on ya, mate'!
18 A true South Islander will send this to at least 10 others and a few new friends that probably won't get it, but we're friendly so we share in the hope you can begin to understand what a real life is all about!!!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Nurburgring Nordschleife - one day, my friends, one day...

This place is the Holy Grail...

Finally Road and Track has done a class article on it, and all it's ins and outs. Brilliant stuff.

Take a look at it here:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=10&article_id=7370

Also, take note and memorize the Anatomy of a Lap. You will be tested on it. Please put all your knowledge to the test when watching this vid:


Enjoy!

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking

First post of the New Year. Whoop-de doo. I'd like to thank Sydney, Australia for the great picture. Even though it's Australia, it still looks better than anyone else...
Now we have the celebrations out of the way, let's get down to business.

I think 2008 was a rough one. Not just for me personally, but for pretty much everybody. So let's all try to get along, shall we?

Oops, too late. The Middle East is back to its usual shit. I suppose I am pro-Isreali on this, as there is a need to defend themselves, but I would also like to be (at least in some way) pro- Palestinian as well. Like I said, pro-Isreali because what would you do if Thunder Bay started raining rockets down on Grand Marais? What would you do if Nuevo Laredo started bombing the fuck out of Laredo? Yeah, that's right, you would want it to stop, right? Maybe sprinkle in a little counter-battery fire here and there, but just quit it huh? But, on the flip side, you think of the poor Palestinian civilians stuck in the middle, Hamas using their cities as a sheild, then using the omnipresent power of the media to try and win the propaganda war.

Ooooh, there's another touchy subject of mine - the Fourth Estate. Fuck Anderson Cooper and his "AC360" from the Palestinan border. Fuck Wolf Blitzer and all his douchebag cronies he rolls out every time something goes on. Fuck Al-Arabiya, Al-Jazeera and Al-Imaraghedfuchwit (okay, I made that last one up...). In short, fuck the one-sided portrayal of this whole conflict.

Slideshow: Civilian Casualties
Live Report: Doctors claim no militants, only civilans, women and children brought in...
"Morgues are overflowing... precise figures of civilan casualties unknown..."

Meanwhile, the fact that Hamas is still lobbing roickets into Isreal gets two sentences:

At least five rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in Israel on Tuesday, including one that hit the town of Gadera, 28 km (17 miles) from Tel Aviv, police said. A three-year-old girl was wounded.

Apparently that's all that needs to be said on the flip - nothign about how Isreal has faced extinction as a nation for the last 60 years, ongoing persecution, terrorism etc.

Anyway, enough said, or I could go on for hours. Also, I don't want to be portrayed as totally one-eyed, so I'll leave the political discourse up to those peace-brokers out there...

Okay then - wishes for 2009:

1) The US and the rest of the world would get their collective heads out of their asses and realise that the "woes" of the economy are cyclical - even though one or two assholes have betrayed our faith in the system, the system is still there. Let it correct itself.
2) Barrack Obama actually makes a difference. Maybe not in 2009, but at least set the foundation.
3) Leave the automakers alone - they don't need more money because they fucked up. If they want to sell three different sub-species (so to speak) of cars, and they fail, tough shit.
4) My knees stop hurting. Arthritis sucks.

I have a lot of other minor ones that I won't bother you with, but those are some of the biggies.

Also, I have one final thing to share with you all at the beginning of this year:

My name is Chris, and I'm an addict.

I'm addicted to reality TV. I just finished watching the "Ax Men" marathon on History the other day, and last night watched a marathon on A&E - "Intervention", got totally hooked by "Ski Patrol" on TruTV, loved "Whale Wars", miss "The Amazing Race", am jonesing for summer and "Big Brother". want to go tornado-chasing through Kansas with the dudes from "Storm Chasers", shall I continue??? Oh well, at least there's YouTube:



The next one cracks me up - who woulda thought you could get a ticket for skiing too fast? Apparently not this "Yo Dude I'm a Black Diamond douchebag". Best part is at the end when the Ski Patrol fella gives him shit about his tuck position, ha ha ha....



Oh yeah, and don't forget to "BAAAAAAAACK UUUUP!!!!!"



Peace and happy new year.