tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90098200520748095912010-07-19T08:04:42.591+02:00Irrelevant happenings on the dark sideRia & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-673699918214216412010-07-18T08:50:00.000+02:002010-07-18T08:50:24.846+02:00

After many years of absence some of us have decided to return to the brilliant sport of rock climbing.  For us, not having done this for a number of years, it was excellent to see that most of the technique that has been built over years and years of playing, climbing and having fun has not ended up in the trash can.  Only the strength and endurance components are vastly reduced. Reminiscing

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-71174016881213475982010-07-04T14:45:00.001+02:002010-07-04T14:46:42.805+02:00

Most people love a road trip.  Just pointing the car in a direction with a few things in the back and heading out.  Whether the trip is planned or whether the trip is an impulsive ride does not matter.  The idea of new places, new environment, new experiences, new people and new memories is just too impossible to resist. For every person the reasons for the trip is different, with different

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-15224153822245323022010-07-01T21:00:00.000+02:002010-07-01T21:00:00.580+02:00

All of us has people in our lives that we turn to for inspiration.  In the mind's eye these people are all kinds of wonderful and just plainly superhuman.  This is mostly the case cause we have never actually met them.  We have read a book by them; a story of them; or watched a program on them - whether it be people that dive the deepest depths, climb the highest mountains, changed the course of

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-65400513923659589242010-06-30T19:00:00.001+02:002010-06-30T19:00:01.945+02:00

Yes - of course you guessed it already if you have even read one of my posts in the past. This post has nothing to do with planes or wings of planes of flying for that matter, but it does have something to do with something that looks very close to it. All Mountain Bikes come out with standard round tubular grips on them. They are thin and very basic and if you get a decent set on the

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-36190165830962313582010-06-29T22:09:00.000+02:002010-06-29T22:09:23.657+02:00

Of all the brave things we have done over the years, there is nothing that sticks out more in terms of being memorable than rock climbing. Different adventure activities has different elements that draw people to it. Scuba diving draws people to it cause there is such a massively unknown element to it. You can float underwater for about an hour or more (highly dependent on the depth of the

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-4435887989994367482010-06-28T20:29:00.000+02:002010-06-28T20:29:42.928+02:00

A given fact about Western civilization as we know it is how much choice we have. Does not matter where you are or what you buy, you are quite literally overwhelmed with choice. This weekend, for example, standing in the hardware store, I was again quite surprised, but mostly amused, at the number of nuts you can get for a 5mm bolt - wing nuts, self tightening nuts, lock nuts, normal nuts and

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-16905182096227787512010-06-27T11:02:00.000+02:002010-06-27T11:02:37.004+02:00

Most of us has some kind of fetish. For some it is shoes - lots of shoes. For others it is ties (weird as that may sound). For others it is books. The list here is endless and is really limited by the imagination. For some it is stamps, small dinky toys, socks (seriously!), watches, cars, wine, etc, etc... The issue with these fetishes is not so much the fetish itself, but it is really

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-84223616680727207372010-06-21T21:54:00.000+02:002010-06-21T21:54:42.926+02:00

Everyone wish for something. These wishes can take many shapes and forms and in some cases can consume the lives of individuals entirely. Some has expensive wishes, others more basic wishes. Some wish for something to happen and others wish for something to not happen. The list can be long and downright weird. But then you get those few idiots out there that wish for the bizarre and really

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-3623815750209630342010-06-19T16:56:00.006+02:002010-06-19T19:51:34.186+02:00

It is now almost two months from the end of the JoBerg2c race, which has been one of the most amazing, scenic, difficult, mind stretching, challenging and utterly awesome experiences of my entire life to date. The vibe of that nine days are slowly starting to move into the archives of the mind from more real time memory and I am trying to focus on what is coming up next.But in the past two months

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-9292958322290714202010-06-19T16:19:00.006+02:002010-06-19T16:52:03.091+02:00

Living on the Southern side of this great ball of dirt that we call Home, means that right about now we are hitting the lowest of the low temperatures which makes the body shiver and the mind sharp. Problem is there is limited use for a chilly body with a sharp mind and it means that most individuals just retract back into their homes and hibernate as far as possible for a large part of the

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-204044995596460642010-06-13T08:30:00.006+02:002010-06-13T09:17:52.592+02:00

Recently I read the legendary story of Lance Armstrong - one of the (if not the) all time legends in cycling. Even though he has written many books since the first defining one - It Is Not About The Bike - this one must have been the source of inspiration for many amateur cyclists out there (including myself).Even though the title of the book in the purest of the sense is completely true, in

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-54193961177878136382009-09-02T17:35:00.009+02:002009-09-02T17:55:07.637+02:00

Working in Information Technology always carries with it the need to balance things. Balance keeping projects alive when all around you is going up in flames because of another project that... well... stuffed it all up. Resources have to be pulled from places where they are already thinly stretched, etc, etc... No technology organisation is immune to this...And yet, in the darkest hour of the

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-90798114911435681512009-08-30T17:50:00.004+02:002009-09-01T15:28:48.973+02:00

For years I had no particular qualms about Bill and his company. They made great software, period.From the nights at varsity being wasted away on one of the all time classics (which I believe has now been stopped due to the business case) with Flight Simulator to the various forms of O/S's I have seen over the years, there have been no issues.Yes there was the need to fiddle around with a few

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-7009277186807339172009-08-30T17:05:00.002+02:002009-08-30T17:10:46.561+02:00

This is one of those Ads that someone mailed to me recently. After long deliberation I decided to publish it. Naturally the fact that I do not drive a Merc but the other one played some part in the decision.Have a great week out there.And for the Merc drivers - I hope your week improves - radically

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-65220485869082162562009-03-06T16:25:00.004+02:002009-03-08T10:27:23.143+02:00

Five days without a fag...Apologies to those who didn't who that I stopped smoking and felt the wrath of Kahn...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-76222676506370130792009-03-01T18:38:00.002+02:002009-03-02T09:05:58.602+02:00

so... 48 hours without a smoke and I came across this pic...Sigghh!?!!...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-60733826425468198952009-02-23T23:35:00.003+02:002009-02-23T23:39:18.256+02:00

Lucky? No Way!!DORMITORY:When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYERASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE GAUTENG: When you rearrange the letters: GET

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-39614881607989083732008-12-23T11:48:00.003+02:002008-12-24T04:11:25.325+02:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,When

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-64243152401928141802008-12-23T09:09:00.009+02:002008-12-23T10:18:42.392+02:00

There are only two things more annoying than a bike that is not set up properly. The first one is when you are not set up properly (...read not fit...) and the second is when the bike is not in a rideable state. Both of these are easily fixable through time (training) and money (bike shop), but some of the finer nuances to a sweeter ride is pure and simply by doing some research and

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-81713398362162017252008-12-23T08:26:00.003+02:002008-12-23T08:42:41.318+02:00

Every now and then a product gets only the market that just blows your mind away - not so much because f the richness of the features, but mainly due to the simplicity and function of the design. After having suffered heavily myself in extreme muddy conditions with a mountain bike and having seen my brother-in-law and team buddy in the latest Sabie Experience race (...read I pulled out...) he

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-15486719310727449462008-12-23T08:16:00.002+02:002008-12-23T08:17:33.031+02:00

Cathcing it in the moment...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-48124039256226846312008-11-23T20:21:00.000+02:002008-11-23T20:23:40.233+02:00

Lucky shot I think...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-61238986133198701852008-11-16T18:56:00.002+02:002008-11-16T18:59:59.911+02:00

After having done 950km this weekend and taking 7 hours on 450km on Friday; I finally understand the reason for the traffic problems around Gauteng during the extensive roadworks going on...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-88436967127530398082008-11-07T03:15:00.004+02:002008-11-07T03:21:21.973+02:00

There are many reasons as to why cats do not like playing in water. By deduction there are probably as many reasons as to why they also do not like watersports...

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009820052074809591.post-79412592162431088432008-10-11T17:43:00.014+02:002008-10-12T21:55:15.024+02:00

Few things are so rewarding as experiencing the great outdoors. Going on a long hike up the side of a mountain with panoramic views to either side. Catching that elusive trout in a remote river stream, etc - the list goes on.But...Couple the great outdoors with an extreme sport and that gives you a true winning combination. Jumping from a perfectly good aeroplane is a real kicker. Climbing with a

Ria & Jacquesnoreply@blogger.com0