Lost my younger cousin Bud yesterday. We had a lot of good times together throughout his too-brief life on this earth, from our earliest years doodling a summertime afternoon away to our later years with some unforgettable trips to Savannah. I never met anyone who didn't like Bud, and on the very, very, very rare occasion Bud didn't like someone, you knew for sure that person was no good. He was a radiant presence wherever in the world he was (and he has certainly been all over the world), and he gave his life to everyone around him.

Bud was also one of the most talented artists I've ever know. Below is a small sampling of his work. These capture his work on the page, but he was also a very talented sculptor as well.

Bud was always one to give of himself and not ask for anything in return. He was a wonderfully unique individual. He was one of the kindest people I'll ever know, and the fact that I'll never know more of him is something that is completely unfathomable to me right now. I miss you and love you, Bud.

Spaceboy, I've missed you...

Drag Coefficient?

        Midway through my ride this morning, I thought the bike started to feel a little sluggish, but thought it might just be the snow accumulating on the road. I guess all the ice accumulating on the bike probably had more to do with the added drag.

 

Or maybe not, it kind of makes them like bladed spokes. Kind of....

Two of me from two swells ago at Beach One. Fun swell, more fun than Friday's, if you ask me.

     At the end of my ride today, about 1/10 of a mile from home, a big schoolbus that was painted bright green and had the words "FUN BUS" or something like that written on the side decided to turn right in front of me as I was coming down the hill into Tuckerton. The driver definitely saw me, because I saw her start to go, see me, hesitate, then go anyway. So, anyway, this is the first song that comes to mind. The Who, of course, with "Magic Bus." I want it...

Blissful Evening in the Woods

     As long as I live, I will cherish all of these cold mid-winter night rides with Henry in the woods. They get me out in the cold when I might be more inclined to stay inside after working all day out in the cold, and they give the little man a workout he would never otherwise get. But on top of that, there is something pretty magical about the woods at night, especially the hour after the sun sets and and darkness seeps in and engulfs the fading light in the West. It is generally an exceptionally still time, and I sometimes stop and just listen and look at the silhouettes of the trees, dark against the dying light. That is, I stop for just as long as Henry will allow.

    I got out in the water last Tuesday for the swell the mighty blizzard Juno kicked up for us. Some really fun chest-head speedy lefts down at WJ. Basically, my favorite kind of swell at my favorite place. It felt really good to get in the water again, it felt like it had been forever since I had caught a real wave.

By the time I got out, the swell had faded a little bit, but there were still some really fun waves coming through. I had to get out because my leash broke and I had a pretty long swim, so that combined with surfing for the first time in a while pretty much killed my arms. That, and I didn't have another leash with me. Really beautiful evening though.

Selfies while riding in the snow aren't the easiest thing, but at least I got Henry in the picture too.

"Moonshine," by Bardo Pond, off of their exquisite album Ticket Crystals.

I'm Back, Baby!

Well, it's been a really long time since I posted here, the longest lapse ever, and it's something I can't explain. I have yet to figure out why my brain can sometimes switch from one thing to another so quickly and so completely, but for some reason my interests strayed from this blog, and from the original subject of said blog, surfboard construction. Although I have been doing some SF stuff here and there, and here's proof:

But the truth is, my creative output has been pretty slim. Generally, in the past, when I find myself slacking on creative endeavors, I get down on myself and start to feel like I'm wasting my time and talents. But that hasn't been the case with this latest lapse on the creative front. In fact, it's been quite the opposite. Basically because I've been riding my bikes, a lot, and I have never been on my bike and found myself wishing I was working on some project. Maybe because I have a lot of different bikes to ride, which equals a lot of different types of riding. And riding bikes is just so much fun.

Basically, my life philosophy is pretty hedonistic. Not in a way that puts my pleasure before everything else, but in a way that if I feel like riding bikes is going to give me more pleasure than, say, sanding a hotcoated board down, or surfing mushy south wind swell, then I'm going to ride my bike. And when I try to force myself to do otherwise, then that's when the projects don't come out as good as they should.

That being said, I will admit I've been a little lazy as far as creative projects: surfboard construction, music, writing, building things, etc., but to my credit, my laziness has taken the form of , which sometimes includes riding hundreds of miles at a time.

But enough about bikes, this blog started as a blog about surfing and surboard construction, and these are still things that I do and love doing. So I'm going to try and make boards more, because there's nothing like the feeling of a brand-new, just-sanded board. And there are waves tomorrow. So go surf, and I promise to keep up with this blog more often from now on...

...and this is how much Henry cares about that.


Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra

New Board and Other Photos

     Been a while, but when there's no news, there's good news, as they say. The good news comes in twos, because A) there has been quite a lot of swell lately, and B)I finished this board, 012, a couple weeks ago, the night before it got really good one morning.

     This board, like Henry, is literally stronger than the storm. As my shop flooded during Sandy, the shaped blank for 012 took float and got a few good gouges, dings and dents, and took on a good amount of water . I let it sit for quite a while and almost abandoned it entirely before I looked at it one day and figured I'd better finish it. So I did....

....And I'm loving it. The low rocker, the big twin keels, the flat bottom to V out the back all translate into fast fast fast. It holds a high line on steep speedy barreling waves, but it also maintains a lot of speed in mushy flats to connect to inside sections such as those the south end has been exhibiting at certain tides lately.  And it goes backside pretty nicely too!

 Here's the only picture of it in action so far. See, I love it so much it makes me dance!

 Beautiful lugs on a classic Carlton. Not mine, unfortunately.

 Indiana's geese are NOT to be crosssed!

GET BACK TO WORK!

Everyone is aware of few of the things that are constantly present on construction sites. Beer bottles and cans strewn about? Absolutely. Lewd pictures of scantily clad pin-ups adorning the walls of the port-o-potty? You bet. Obnoxious neanderthals who act so crudely that passing women go around the block to avoid walking by? Of course. But you may not have known this: Oftentimes the waste from the material we use ends up making the cutest creatures, and they are motivational to boot.

 But they aren't quite as cute as this guy here:

Mexican Axolotyl. The most peacefully happy creature on the planet that also has the ability to regenerate limbs, parts of its heart, it's brain, and neurons. WILD.