I run a small LAN at home, connecting two computers, a networked printer, VOIP phone and network music player. The LAN was running intermittently incredibly slowly, with the major symptom being problems with my new HP Officejet Pro L7580 printer which was plugged in to my DLink DI-704UP router via an ethernet cable. I was blaming the printer for the problems as it was sometimes working and sometimes not over the course of a week.

Two days ago, the network problems escalated, with limited connectivity to anything else on my network, including the Internet. It was then that I diagnosed a router problem. After resetting the DLink DI-704UP to the factory presets failed to resolve the issues, I pulled out the router and plugged in a spare DLink DI-624 router that I had lying around. Bingo, the network became live again. It seems that my DLink DI-704UP router had died.

I have replaced it with a NETGEAR FVS318 router, with an 8-port switch and VPN firewall. I purchased it for $159 from the Computer Alliance in Brisbane. The router turned up on a courier today. I have just plugged it in following the NETGEAR simple instructions and my LAN is working properly again!

 

After plugging everything in, I visited ShieldsUP!, an internet security testing service by Gibson Research Corporation. The best thing was that the NETGEAR FVS318 router was operating in total stealth mode straight out of the box . I always had to tweak the DLink routers to get them to operate in total stealth mode.

First impression is that I like the NETGEAR router. A nice black industrial-looking box. Business strength features. Plugs in easily. And a good level of security straight out of the box. Nice.

I read today that Channel Nine political commentator Laurie Oakes gave Prime Minister John Howard (aka Little Johnny) a bit of a pummeling on his show on Sunday. It is about time someone exposed Howard’s lies.

It has been reported that Howard is economical with the truth while being technically correct. This is not good enough for the person leading our country. It sounds like the work of elite spin doctors to me. But any good PR person knows that eventually the truth will prevail. As a result, truth is the most powerful weapon in modern public relations.

To gauge community sentiment, I often use the cab driver test — what is the gossip in a city’s cabs? I rode in a cab today and apparently most of the driver’s recent fares were still spruiking Liberal. Interesting given how the polls are preferring Labor.

Against Howard, I can see the appeal of Kevin Rudd.

Only time will tell I guess.

I will be voting independent …

I received my Phase 1 (P1) longboard skateboard on Friday. I bought it from eskatestuff on eBay for $130 plus $20 postage.

Specifications of the Phase 1 longboard are:

• seven ply full Canadian Maple deck 42″ x 9″ kicktail concave/convex shape
• classic red and white design
• T282 180 mm 50 degree angle kingpin raw aluminum trucks
• USA red cushions
• 8/14 TPR angle pads
• ABEC 5 chrome steel bearings
• 70 mm x 46 mm HR 82A casting solid red wheels
• black grip tape.

I have taken the P1 longboard for a couple of rides with my trusty dog alongside, covering about 12 km so far.

Initial impressions of the Phase 1 longboard are that it is well made. The deck has plenty of flex carrying my 85 kg weight, but doesn’t appear in any danger of breaking. The wheels spin freely on the bearings, and all parts seem to fit together and work well.

The silk screen red and white print underneath the deck is semi-translucent, meaning that you can see the deck’s wood grain through the red paint. I personally like the understated graphics.

Like my Bling Old School skateboard, the P1 came plastic wrapped with the trucks bolted on through the plastic. I will therefore need to find half an hour to pull the trucks off, remove the remaining plastic shreds and put the lot back together again. Not a major issue, just an inconvenience.

Seat of the pants — or sole of the foot, if you prefer — feel of the Phase 1 longboard is that it is slower than my Bling Old School skateboard. The P1 certainly rides smoother with the bigger wheels and flexi deck. Because the wheel base is longer, the thunk-thunks as you go over pavement cracks are also further apart, giving the sound that the P1 is slower. I am not sure that it really is slower though. I will need to do a comparison review sometime.

The cushions in the trucks seem to be quite soft, allowing sharp turns. It does mean that your foot on the board needs to be centrally placed when pushing though, otherwise the longboard easily steers off course. However, the general setup of the P1 encourages you to carve down streets. I thought that the looser steering setup may have compromised downhill stability, but bombing down my usual hills, the board is quite stable.

The Phase 1 longboard is quite high. I guess you would expect that riding on 7 cm wheels with the trucks on risers. What it does mean, is that when pushing, you certainly have to have quite a high work rate to keep the speed up. It is a bit like doing a stair climb with one leg while the other foot pushes! A good cardio workout!

The P1 does not come with wheel arches. However, wheel bite has not been an issue for me so far.

The Phase 1 is noticeably heavier than a standard size skateboard, which is what you would expect given the extra length, larger trucks and bigger wheels. But the extra weight does mean that the longboard requires a bigger shove to accelerate it when pushing.

Overall, initial impressions are that the Phase 1 longboard is well made and rides well. I am looking forward to spending some more time on it.

Review summary
Value for money 9/10
Quality 8/10
Overall 8/10

Update 6 April 2008: It appears that eskatestuff are no longer selling these skateboards under the Phase 1 name. Their current boards are branded Vault.

I did it. Yesterday.

Despite my misgivings, I have gone and bought a new Phase 1 (P1) longboard skateboard 42″ x 9″ with Canadian Maple deck and 50 degree trucks from eskatestuff on eBay. (There. I got in all the keywords for Google searches!). Cost? $130 plus $20 postage to Brisbane.

I will be interested to see how the skateboard goes. I will post a review once I have received the longboard.

Update 6 April 2008: It appears that eskatestuff are no longer selling these skateboards under the Phase 1 name. Their current boards are branded Vault.

Don’t you just love all the bargains that you can buy on eBay? … or is that, hate all the overpriced rubbish on eBay?

I guess caveat emptor — let the buyer beware — applies.

I got burnt when I bought a one cent KiteOL Speed Foil KM5009 kite (check out the last review) off eBay. I guess you could ask, ‘What did I expect from a one cent kite?’ But I also paid $19 postage, and that was grossly inflated. I figured that I would let seller OZ-AUCTION make a bit of money off the postage in exchange for a cheap sale price on the kite. What did I have to lose? $19.01 apparently!

I had previously bought bargain store stunt kites (see second last review) with some success, so had some level of expectation.

Sadly, the kite was not as advertised. The kite was not made of ripstop nylon; nor was it either a power kite or a speed foil. It was a slow slug of a kite with no pull. I guess it would satisfy those with absolutely no kite experience because at least it flew.

I did not leave a poor rating for the seller because they said that they would only give me a rating once I had provided a rating. Basically they held buyers to ransom; if the buyer gave the seller a poor rating, then the buyer could expect a similarly negative response, even if they had been a model eBayer. I have found this practice common with regular eBay sellers.

So now to my current dilemma. Do I buy a longboard skateboard off eBay? The problem is, the skateboards that are advertised do not appear to be widely available from traditional retailers. That concerns me.

Watch this space …

Now that I have had my Bling Old School skateboard for a week or so — and traveled around 50 km on it with my trusty dog — I thought I would provide a few more comments.

The skateboard is relatively stable at speed. Certainly, I can ride it faster than my dog can run, and he can run at about twice the speed I can! So we are not hanging around when we get any sign of speed wobbles.

I note that the deck is made from three-ply, and from what appears to be bamboo. This does not overly concern me because when we were looking for flooring for a house, some of the super-hard floors were made from processed bamboo. Some Sector 9 skateboard decks are also made from bamboo. Whatever the case, this is a sturdy skateboard. The board easily carries my 85 kg weight.

One of my biggest complaints is actually a small detail.

When the skateboard was delivered, the deck was plastic wrapped. However, when the trucks were screwed to the deck, they had been bolted through the plastic bag. After ripping off the plastic bag, I still had some loose pieces of plastic hanging from the trucks and lodged around the screws on top of the deck. To clean up the plastic shreds, I had to pull the trucks off the skateboard and then reassemble them again.

No big deal really; just an inconvenience when I could have spent my time doing other things — like riding the skateboard!

Review summary
Value for money 9/10
Quality 9/10
Overall rating 8/10

I had a small stack off my skateboard the other day. It could have been worse. For example, I could have smacked my head on the road. Fortunately I didn’t. But I did kiss the ground with my head a couple of days before, and then a couple of days after I came off again and opened up my hand again.

So, I thought that it might be prudent to buy myself a helmet.

I purchased a PRO-TEC Ace Skate from Skatebiz in Brisbane for $100. I bought the helmet in matt black, and immediately removed the stickers. It seems that the stickers were designed for easy removal, because they came off no fuss.

Pics of the PRO-TEC Ace Skate helmet are below with my Bling Old School skateboard.

I am hoping that I never get to crash test this helmet!

Given that the only damage I have managed to do so far is some skin off my hands, knees, hip and shoulder, I think that I probably should invest in some other body armor. But then I would not be able to pick week-old scabs!

It was one of those moments where you just wished someone had a video camera handy. Skateboard three days old … careening down a hill … my dog stops running in front of me and I have no option but to go over the top of him, doing a hard landing on the road. Ouch! I would love to see the footage. It was a shame no one was around to watch.

Skateboard and dog are just fine. I have grazes on my hands, left shoulder and hip, and both knees. The worst injury is my right hand (see pic), but even that is not too bad.

And yes, I did get back on the skateboard and ride it home!

Yee hah!

I bought a skateboard from SkaterHQ in Sydney this week. I ordered it over the Internet late Monday evening, and it was delivered on Thursday to Brisbane. That is good service.

I rode skateboards when I was a teenager, but just the cheap crappy plastic K Mart ones. I always aspired to own one of the bigger boards. It has only taken me 20 years to do so!

The skateboard is a Bling Old School. It cost me $134.95 plus $12.78 postage. A nicely understated board — no lairy graphics or anything. I bought the skateboard to ride when taking my dog for a walk — hence it is a cruiser-style board. Dimensions are:

• width 7.875″
• length 30″
• bearings ABEC 5
• wheels 59 mm 85a Cruiser.

I took the skateboard for a ride this evening and what a hoot!

My dog is a slightly built Hungarian Vizsla. He is a tall dog for the breed, but weighs in at about 28 kg. And he loves to run! He dragged me up slight inclines, and we raced each other down them. He loved it! And so did I.

Given that I have not ridden a board for 20 years, it took me a little while to get used to it. The first couple of times we got a bit of speed going, I started to get speed wobbles. After a bit of practice, I could bomb down reasonable sized hills okay, with my dog in hot pursuit!

I can’t wait to get out on the skateboard again.

It has been a while since I last posted. A bit has happened …

• resigned from paid full time job
• my wife had baby girl number two
• started new business — am now self-employed
• bought Prism Hypnotist kite — but have not flown yet (for reasons above!).

Will hopefully post more soon.