Digital Jotter

I’ve been getting a lot of comment spam from bots lately, so I have added a CAPTCHA to the comments field. You know, one of those wiggly letter things that only humans can read. Thanks to Nio for his anti-spam image plugin.

If this works out well I should be able to stop moderating comments so they appear instantly. If anyone has any problems with the images let me know. I have tried posting a comment and it seemed to work OK. I also tried posting a comment without entering the CAPTCHA in the field and it brings up a message saying the security field was not filled out. This is on a blank page, so I might have to look at customising it to match the site.

Thanks to all the people who create these little plugins. You make the blogger’s life much easier.

It’s taken a huge effort, but I finally got my cake, despite the efforts of that lying, cheating, and thoroughly dishonest robot at Aperture Science. Yes, I’ve been playing the Valve Corporation game Portal. What a fantastic game it is too. I’m not sure if the people at Valve used the tricks they learnt from Half-Life 2 to produce Portal, or whether Portal was the proving ground for Half-Life 2, but I’m very grateful they included the game with my Orange Box collection.

Portal is a puzzle game, but certainly not the type where you work things out in a physically removed manner. No, with Portal you’re in the game and your life often depends on the moves you make. It doesn’t help that the gentle, (wouldn’t hurt a flea) robotic voice guiding you through the tests is actually a despicable, two-faced, morally bankrupt killer! Victory candescence my arse! I wouldn’t take anything less than my promised cake.

You can move around in Portal by firing a portal gun to create an entry and exit portal. Diving through one portal, you pop out the other. Very cool stuff and it can get quite mind boggling once into the later (and more difficult) tests. This game really gets the old grey matter ticking and it pays to keep an open mind on what is physically possible now that you have Aperture Science’s latest technology in your hands. In the last two tests, not only will your grey matter be tested but also your speed and coordination. Oh… and your will to live!

The humour in this game is the best I have ever come across. The laughs start early and go right through to the credits. Sometimes it was even off-putting when desperately trying to stay alive and the robotic is calling out hilarious insults while reading from your personnel file. You want to stop and laugh, but know if you do, your demise could be close at hand. To give an example of the humour in the game, here is a verse from the song that the robot sings during the closing credits:

Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive.

Since my last post about the Yamaha Scorpio Z I have found some valuable information for home maintenance. Reuben from Indonesia put me on to the Yamaha web site in Indonesia where I was able to download a PDF parts catalogue showing exploded views of the whole bike. I also have the correct valve clearances thanks to my local Yamaha dealer Filco Farm & Sport.

The valve clearances (cold) are:
Intake 0.05 - 0.10 mm
Exhaust 0.10 - 0.15 mm

Filco did my first service (1000km) the other day. This is also the official end of the running period, so I can use the bike as I like now with no restrictions. Over the last few hundred kilometres the bike has really started to free up and feel smoother. I’m very happy with the bike so far and have not had any problems. It’s good to be able to keep up with the traffic on the open road and I now feel happier going on excursions into the countryside.

I must get one of those New Zealand bike atlases that show all the good motorcycle roads and take the bike on a longer journey.

I’ve just started reading Jupiter’s Travels, a book by Ted Simon. This was written in the Seventies, but is being republished again due to high demand. It’s no wonder the book is well liked, Ted has a nice style of writing and a great story to tell.

My title for this post, ‘Travelling the world on a leaky old Triumph’, is a bit misleading because the Triumph was new when Ted set out on his mammoth journey. It was however leaky when a gasket was left out during assembly thanks to a striking labour force. The bike lost a pint of oil on the way home from the factory. Oh the wonderful Seventies and labour unions!

I’m only about a quarter of the way through the book so far, but it’s a fascinating story.

The last few days I’ve been playing Half-Life 2 and it really is a good game. The graphics and game play are just fantastic, but best of all is the game physics. The way objects can be moved around and thrown is so much fun. I’ve become quite adept at chucking stuff at enemies with my anti-gravity gun. This is not only fun, but also essential for conserving ammo in sections filled with aliens.

Aliens in this game aren’t particularly fused about using weapons when they can just eat you, so there is little in the way of ammo lying around. Instead, it’s a matter of getting creative with the anti-gravity gun. Gas cylinders make a good one-off missile, but for reusable ammo you can’t beat saw blades and engine blocks. I found an engine block earlier on and carted it around for ages; chucking it at any zombie that got in my way. Later I found the joy of saw blades and lines of attacking zombies… messy!

The ones that give me the most trouble are those pesky head crabs. Being small and quick it’s hard to throw stuff at them, so I usually resort to the ever-faithful crowbar. Anyway I’ll have to leave this post where it is - I’ve got an attack chopper to deal with at the moment!

Today I got Valve’s Orange Box PS3 game. It’s actually 5 games in one package. You get the original Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. This is very good value for money considering that the price is no more than a single game.

I’ve only just started playing Half-Life 2, but I’m already enjoying it. I love the way you can move objects around and even throw them at enemies. The first time I picked something up it was a can that a guard insisted I put in the bin. Instead I sconed him with it, which produced a rather angry reaction! Still you’ve got to try different things.

I’ll probably be engrossed in this for a while but when I’m finished I’ll write up a proper review.

Whenever I need information I immediately turn to the web. Of course the info has to be there in the first place to find and that’s my problem. I’m looking to buy either a service manual for my Yamaha Scorpio or even get some basic info like valve clearances. Unfortunately it’s like a giant vacuum in cyberspace. Yamaha must class this sort of information as top secret and for mechanics eyes only.

The bike is under warranty for twelve months, so I’ll get it serviced at the dealers for this period, but after this I’d like to do it myself. It is only a little single after all.

I’ve managed to find lots of info on the XT225 and the engine looks very similar. It may be the father of my machine, so to speak, but there could be differences. The little owners manual that came with the machine is well written, except for leaving out adjusting valve clearance. It just says take it to the dealer - big help! Checking the valve clearances is fairly routine maintenance, so you’d think they would at least give the specs.

I guess the machine is fairly new in New Zealand and Australia, but it’s been around for a while in Indonesia. Anyway, if you know what the valve clearances are or where to find or purchase a service manual, leave a comment. Cheers.

Yesterday I went on my ride in the countryside and for the first time since running in began I was able to run the bike at open road speeds. It was a great feeling and lots of fun going through the corners at a nice clip. Being able to use all the revs up to 6600 also helps with the general control of the bike too. Earlier I made a post stating that the little Yamaha’s seat was quite comfortable. It is… for the first 100km! My bum got a bit numb after that so I stopped and had a pie in Tapawera.

While I was out in the country I saw plenty of other riders and gave them a wave. Some waved back and others didn’t. There is a lively thread about waving and nodding on the Kiwi Biker forum, so I thought I’d do a bit of experimenting.

Nodding didn’t seem to get noticed much and I got few responses. A little right-handed salute with the palm of the hand still on the throttle didn’t fare much better. The best way to get a response seemed to be to take the left hand off the bars and raising it high, move the hand in a rotating left to right motion with the wrist remaining a stationary pivot point.

This is unmistakable as a friendly wave and I got the best responses. Doing this coming out of a corner I managed to get some Harley riders to wave back despite being on a 225cc commuter.

Back in town I waved at a scooter rider, but he started wobbling all around looking back at me wondering who I was.

Waving in such an obvious fashion does make one feel a bit cheesed off when there is no response however. If a small gesture is made and no response is forthcoming, you can almost pretend you didn’t do it (a bit like coughing to cover up a fart).

Seeing as I am writing a bit about motorbikes these days, I’ve decided to give the topic it’s own category in my blog. This should also help in the generation of content too.

Yippee! My first phase of running in the Yamaha Scorpio is nearly over. By the weekend I will have 500kms on the clock and be allowed to take the revs up to 6500, which means I can get out on the open road.

I already have my first ride planned for the weekend. I will leave Nelson and get on the Inland Highway to Motueka then head further inland to Ngatimoti and on around the loop back to Highway 6 at Kohatu and home. There is a pub that all the bikes stop at on the way around, and I will have to find out which one it is. A beer at the halfway point sounds nice.

It’s been a bit painful getting through this first 500kms because of not being able to get out into the 100kmh open road. You can only ride around town so much before it all becomes a bit familiar. Anyway, my choices of places to ride will be open soon and the South Island of New Zealand has some great curvy roads to scoot around.

I’ve been away in Wellington this weekend for a break. Liz booked the flights some time ago without realising that the Rugby Sevens were on. Wellington turns into one big party town when the sevens are on with everybody dressing up in silly outfits to go to the games. I’m not sure if anyone worries about who’s winning the rugby, it’s all about people watching and good times.

The games on Saturday started about 1:00pm, so Liz and I found our way to a pub with a balcony overlooking a main intersection. What a great spot. We were in fits of laughter looking at all the different costumes. There were the Speedo Police: police uniform on top with Speedo togs underneath. Inflatable fat ballerinas: like those blow-up sumo outfits except they were fat ladies in tutus. Three guys went as a couch (you can just imagine what they were saying to the girls). There were Stone Age types in skins, Roman soldiers, super heroes, and just about anything else you can imagine. The real trick is to go as a group with matching outfits.

We left to do other things while the games were on, and then headed back to the pub to catch everyone coming into town after the games. Most people had got a skin full while at the game so the antics of the people were even funnier on the way back. We stayed on talking to people who had been at the games until the booze was getting the better of many, and then headed back to our accommodation.

We will definitely be getting a group together to go to next year’s event. Planning is already under way.