shinyhappyrainbows

This article on the ABC about one particular shady promotoer promising payment, then running off with the money, misses one key point. This the the norm in the arts. Society values artists so low that no government ever does a thing to protect them. The promise of payment is often not even contingent on having a certain number of camp followers, it's just a stated fee, then when the gig's done, the venue has no idea you were expecting payment and the promoter evades everybody who played the gig. the industry is rife with "to play is the privilege", "pay to play" and just plain, simple lies and rip-offs like this Aussie Gigs scam. And these kinds of ripoffs are scams, pure and simple. There's a "joke" that tells of a band who the promoter expects to play for free because the venue can't afford the fee. The band's rep turns down the gig (that's the punchline, right there, we're too eager, we musos. Lesson 1: Learn to turn down ...

If you follow this blog at all, there's a chance you know I survived a "Widowmaker", a severe blockage of the left anterior descending, main cardiac artery. I blacked out in prep for "cath lab" before any venipuncture was performed and woke up looking at a giant TV screen with my ticker front and center in grainy B&W, beating away. In the words of Maxwell Smart, "Missed me by that much." Recovery has been a slog through 37% ejection fraction, overmedication for blood pressure, a different cardiologist at Victorian Heart Hospital every visit, all too overworked to have read that I was already on an antihypertensive, then 2 then 3 then 4... Then, finally, I gave up on Monash Medical and went to a private cardiologist, "Stop this one, this one and this one," and I haven't felt stronger in such a long time! Since just before Christmas, I've been getting more kliks in almost every ride, excepting the days I felt I needed to just stre...

THIS! ^

I'm building up a restomod 90s mountain bike, a 1995 Giant Sedona "Full Butted" frame I found on hard rubbish a decade ago. Bit of a trend at the moment, I know, but I have connections to that era and brand. My fifth adult bike was a 1993 Giant Iguana that lasted 20 years and would probably have lasted 20 years more had the quill stem not rusted itself solid inside the steerer, making it impossible to recondition without ruining the paint. The problem required the stem be "sweated" with a gas torch, which would have likely ruined the fork as well as the paint. So it got put on hard rubbish and was gone in minutes. It went to a home that valued it, I hope. "Iggy" was metallic forest green with silver lettering, an 18" (46cm) framed, chromoly 26er and it rode like I was sitting on feathers. "Sedon", the current project is a 16" (40cm) butted chromoly frame with 1 1/8 inch steerer compatibility, it was stock with the A-Head system, the...

the social trike riders ride I was training for a few weeks out from Christmas was rained out, but I'd turned up and did it solo anyway. then I got so much grit in the stock, mechanical disk brakes it tore the pads up. Now, I've been riding mechanical disks since 2017 and then TRP HyRd cable pulled master cylinder hydraulics after my first winter gacked up the rear brake cable. Master cylinder disks are a good compromise on a road bike where hydraulic dis road group would cost more than the bike, and my invention, Dryline, helped beat winter cable blues. On a recumbent trike that cost me 4 grand before I added the Bafang mid drive, how can Greenspeed (Terra Trike) justify $1 OEM mechanicals, when a pair of Meroca M4 front hydraulics only cost me $80 retail?! so today, I fitted them, finally got a breather from Christmas, caring for a friend recouperating from heavy surgery and being my youngest's live production manager for her DJ career. (Check out RJay on the grams, she...

I've been riding an electric cycle for 2 years, now, and I'm convinced I was right about electric bikes all along. They're a disability aid being co-opted by the able-bodied. They're also a major pain in the arse! The touring bije I rode for 8 years was converted to 250w euro-style electric assist (Australian street legal) and it gave me back my pre heart attack urban range. but it handles less well with the electrics onboard, and comes with a heap of logistical considerations if I wanted to go outside of urban spaces - which was always my first love of riding, rural rambling, the wide-open road. Electric motorists need to look to e-cycling for the reality of range anxiety! A big, heavy battery, just above the bottom bracket, 50km range if you sip it at a constant 50w boost, 15km if you hit the full 250w pedal assist. The above mentioned battery barely leaves you with room for a single water bottle, only toptube bags need apply for the job of holding fuel for the ride...