Hockey 101 from J-Scott on Vimeo.

As a kid I always wanted to play (unfortunately we had no ice in Tauranga, New Zealand where I grew up), so watched a few of the Stanley Cup finals series and have a grasp of the rules. Luckily this means that I can now hold a conversation in the bar on game night here in Vancouver, where apparently everyone is a hockey fan.

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These videos pair his voice with compelling images and stirring music. I am delighted to see his thoughts being shared with a wider audience.

(via YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF – which is also fantastic and worth exploring)

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Pei-San Ng makes incredbile art from matchsticks.

(via Chairman Ting)

Anyone who has been keeping up with the changes at Facebook will no doubt have heard about the influence and input of Nicholas Felton (aka Feltron). Apparently while he wasn’t busy helping out with completely re-imagining the Facebook profile he has been helping one of his relatives, an Australian winemaker, with some unique, beautiful, and fascinating labels. The labels are data driven, displaying data about the process behind making that particular vintage. Things like heat of fermentation, the time the skin is left of the grapes, and the ripeness of the grapes. These are all things that contribute to the final complex flavour of the wine.

You can read more of the story behind them, and check out the labels in more detail on the Between Five Bells site.

Photographer Sam Gellman went on a four day trip to North Korea and took some incredible photos of their annual ‘Mass Games’. Apparently the image in the background is made up of 20,000 ‘pixels’ – each a Korean child holding a coloured card which they frequently change.

(via MyModernMet)

Archie Out of Context (the brainchild of Ashleigh Rajela) does exactly what it says on the tin, and is very funny. Who doesn’t like a good double entendre?

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I recently learned the story of Roman Opalka (via TodayTomorrow & Triangulation), a French-born Polish painter who’s work has left a huge impression on me.

In 1965 Roman began a work ‘OPALKA 1965/1-∞’ that would take him the rest of his life, more than 40 years, to complete. On that day in 1965 he began painting consecutive numbers, in white, on the top left of a black canvas the size of his studio door (which he called a “Detail”). He continued to paint in perfectly uniform rows until he reached the bottom right corner. Once he finished one “Detail” he would start another identical detail where the previous left off. Five years after he started he gave up all other projects to dedicate himself solely to this work.

Few changes were introduced during the course of those 40 years. He changed the background colour in 1968 to grey because grey was neither symbolic, nor emotional. In 1972 began gradually lightening the grey by one percent per “Detail”, with the objective of eventually painting white on white. He also introduced documentation to the method, recording himself speaking the numbers aloud as he painted, and photographing himself in front of his detail at the end of each day’s work. He avoided travel, but if it was necessary he produced “Cartes de voyage” a continuation of his numbers in black ink on white A4 paper.

In all he produced 233 canvases, right up until his recent passing on August 6, 2011.

I find myself drawn to this because of my predisposition toward projects at the intersection of art and science (I attribute that to my parents, I am the offspring of an english teacher and a maths teacher). More than that though, I am fascinated by this story of complete devotion to a task. Opalka would undoubtedly have had his detractors, those who said, either directly to him, or more likely whispered behind his back, that what he was doing was stupid, crazy, or ridiculous. But his strength of conviction, and commitment to his idea drove him to ignore that and complete something incredible. That to me is truly inspirational.

If you would like to know more about Roman Opalka and his work check out:

• The beautiful obituary in The Economist
• The official Roman Opalka website
• The reasonably comprehensive entry on Wikipedia

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Netvibes

Netvibes is essentially a beefed up RSS reader. I have lost track of the number of people I have introduced to Netvibes. Like actual ‘sit down and do a tutorial’ kinds of introductions, that is how much I like it.

People keep telling me that Google Reader is better, but frankly I don’t believe them. Last time I gave it a go, which admittedly would have been at least 4 years ago now, I went running back to Netvibes. It has been my default homepage for more than 5 years.

I love that it is a dashboard for everything that you care about. I love the option of viewing your RSS feeds in either the widget or reader view. I love the customisation options. I don’t use any of the public features because I am not really sure what value they add, but if I did have a reason to I am sure I would love them too. They also do a pretty good looking social media analytics tool, which you would really want to love to spend US$15k to set up. I love Netvibes.

TripIt

TripIt is a travel planning tool. It organises your trip into a well laid out itinerary, which you can then use to keep those who care up to date with where you are and what you are doing, and to make sure you don’t miss your flight or show up at the wrong hotel. Well whoop-e-de-doo I hear you say. What makes TripIt really cool is how smart it is.

Once you give it permission TripIt detects booking response emails as they come into your inbox and automatically builds your itinerary. This can be for almost anything travel related: flights, hotels, rental cars, buses, trains, and probably other stuff too. Of course you can also add items manually if you like. It then also adds useful things like maps, directions, and weather forecasts. You can export your finished itinerary to your preferred calendar. It is like having an amazing PA.

Neat huh? Trust me, it is. It was the only thing that kept me organised on my two multi-week and multi-destination trips around Europe and North America.

Runkeeper

When I was a kid I remember training for a kids triathlon. I was also a massive nerd. I diligently laid out a six week long training program, and set about completing it in the build up to the big event. Each activity had been measured (mostly thanks to Dad driving around my routes and reading the odometer), and I carefully recorded my time for each training session. Once I had got around a week in a began charting my progress on graphs (told you I was a nerd), watching my times come down, and this spurred me on train harder.

This probably helps explain why I like Runkeeper so much. It is a kind of social network for fitness. You can keep track pretty much any cardio activity that you can think of through the app. Thankfully the excellent accompanying iPhone/Android app or the use of Google Maps means I no longer have to drive my running/cycling routes to measure them. Keeping track of my times, distances, calories burned, weight, and a whole bunch of other stuff (all via beautiful graphs) still keeps me far more interested in training than I would otherwise be. It is also lets you compare your progress (in a friendly, non-competitive way of course) with your ‘street team’ – friends that you share all (or just some) of your work out information with.

You can check out my public Runkeeper profile to get an idea what it is all about.

TeuxDeux

If you are a to-do list kind of person then you will probably be all over TeuxDeux. I gave a few different web based to-do apps a go, and this is the only one that I have used for more than a couple of days. It is stripped back to the essential functionality, well thought out, and beautifully designed (by the fantastic swissmiss no less). The perfect tool for helping with that massive list of things you need to do before moving countries!

There is also a TeuxDeux iPhone app, and there might be an Android app in the works (although it looks pretty good and works perfectly ‘in browser’ on a ‘droid).

Gimmebar

Gimmebar is a relatively new addition to my web app arsenal. As I understand it it is still in private beta, as such I am not sure that they are currently accepting new sign ups (I happened to luck out when they briefly opened up sign ups).

It is kind of like a beefed-up bookmarking service, allowing you to gather artifacts – pictures, movies, text, whole webpages – from around the web and keep track of them (and their source) for later. You can choose to share these things with others, or keep them to yourself. Interestingly your network of fellow gimme’ers is ready made as it is drawn from those you follow on Twitter. One of the best things about twitter for me is the way content is shared, so this makes a lot of sense to me. It is also able to automatically back up your bookmarked content on Dropbox if you so desire.

I have been using it reasonably regularly the last couple of weeks, and can’t see myself stopping any time soon. If you like you can check out my public Gimmebar profile.

Honourable Mention: ifttt (If This Then That)

An honourable mention only because I have really just started using this in the last couple of days, ifttt lets you set up web related automated tasks. It similar to the idea behind Yahoo Pipes, which was cool, but complicated. ifttt makes it super simple to set up your own custom tasks, or choose from one of their pre-cooked ‘recipes’. As the name suggests you can specify an action (that) to be performed if something (this) happens.

So far it has proven most useful in making Craigslist much more usable – you can ask ifttt to email you when a new item is posted matching your search term. It also looks like it will be really useful for creating automatic backups to the cloud (e.g. I have a task set up to back up all photos that I upload to flickr from now on to Dropbox). There are hundreds of ways this could be used, I am looking forward to experimenting with it further in the coming weeks and months.

(Bonus: the story behind ifttt is fascinating and beautifully told)

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Late last year R+I Creative produced a fantastic short film, Influencers. The film interviews successful New York creatives about what it means to be an influential and how trends become contagious . It is a great watch, but as an added bonus French DJ Baptman produced an incredible accompanying soundtrack, ‘Under the Influence’.

For the last three months I have been traveling, making my way from Auckland to Vancouver. Time spent traveling is an excellent oppourtunity to reflect. I found myself coming back to this mixtape on a regular basis as my mind wandered. It has an exceptionally crafted, laid back, soulful vibe. The mix features Baptman’s unique edits of tracks from artists like Common, Miike Snow, Aloe Blacc, and Jay Dee interspersed with quotes from the film. Clocking in at just under half an hour it is perfect for a brief inspirational excursion.

Grab the Baptman – Under the Influence mixtape for yourself [right click, save as]

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Specialized Beats from WhiteNoise | Lab on Vimeo.

Thanks Jeff & John for the tip.

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If you think that a multi-day, 80km ride with more than 800 vertical meters of climb in it sounds like something best left to the namby-pamby lycra wearing cross country set you should think again. I am much more at home doing shuttles or lift-assisted runs than gutsing out 3 hour climbs, but I have to say that after completing it a few days ago the Heaphy track is definitely worth the effort.

My brother cleverly suggested that the Heaphy opening for mountain biking for the first time in 15 years loosely coinciding with my birthday and imminent indefinite departure from our fair shores was an excellent excuse to meet up for an expedition. Plans were made, and before I knew it we were headed in to Brown Hut at the end of the gravel access road near Collingwood at the northern tip of the South Island.

The biggest question mark had been around the weather. We had stumbled across some videos from the opening weekend of the season that suggested that the Heaphy in the wet would be better considered as an open water swim than any kind of endurance mountain bike ride. Thankfully we struck gold with two beautifully clear days, and just a dash of misty cloud thrown in for a couple of hours to make things interesting. I would suggest that if you possibly can you allow some flexibility in your schedule to do it over some dry (or at least less wet) days, as some sections of the track would be pretty unenjoyable in wet conditions.

If you start from the Collingwood end of the track as we did, you spend your first morning (about 3 hours) climbing to the highest point on the track. The climb is long, but it is not particularly steep or difficult. A couple of breaks to admire the view, a stop for a snack at the shelter on the way, and you are there before you know it. It is well worth taking the little 2 minute walking detour to the lookout at the highest point so that you can appreciate your achievement from the best possible vantage point.

From the highest point it is your first taste of downhill, with a nice fast little section down to Perry Saddle Hut, which is a great place to stop for a hot drink and something a little more substantial to eat.

A quick short climb after the hut and you are back into the downhill, some of the best on the ride. Fast and rocky, you will definitely appreciate a few inches of rear wheel travel, although my brother and his girlfriend managed just fine, albeit a little slower, on hard tails.

A quick photo stop at the boot pole in the middle of the Gouland Downs and it is reasonably flat through to the Gouland Downs Hut. From there the surface changes a bit again, and you end up on some kind of sandy, pumice-y type stuff for a while. It was somewhere along here we passed some people coming the other way who I thought said that it was 5 minutes to the next hut. I got pretty excited and starting hammering ahead, which I did for about half an hour, before I realised that she was either a liar, or that wasn’t what she had said. Jase and Brittany filled me in that she had actually said 5 more riders coming when they caught up, silly me.

The second half of this section through to James Mackay hut, our destination for the night, was pretty muddy. Bear in mind it had been dry for a couple of days before we went through, so I imagine this is awful in the wet. There was a bit of walking through this bit, and it was probably the least enjoyable section of track for this reason.

We found James Mackay hut chock full of mountain bikers. It is a 26 bed hut, but unfortunately there is only seating for about 16. Being some of the last to arrive we found ourselves a little corner and set about re animating some freeze-dried sustenance (I went with Back Country Cuisine – edible, nice and light to carry). A spot of whiskey (recommended) and we were off to bed for what turned out to be a pretty sleepless night. The hut was super warm, to the point that I spent most of the night in my sleeping bag liner alone, and full of snorers. Earplugs are a necessity, even with them I struggled to get more than a few minutes sleep at a time.

The next day dawned sunny and clear, which pumped us up for what is the best section of track. This descent from James Mackay hut is around 600 vertical meters of fantastic single track downhill that makes the whole trip worthwhile. A little muddy in spots, but otherwise fast and fun. There are a few slightly technical sections, but nothing that a confident rider would have any trouble with, and they make it interesting for those of us who are interested in pinning it. If you don’t have a smile on your face when you reach Lewis hut at the bottom of the hill there is something wrong with you.

From Lewis hut you negotiate a few swing bridges and some nice undulating terrain alongside the rivers. The swing bridges are slow and exhausting with a bike, and if you can avoid any of them by safely doing the ford instead I highly recommend you do. Chances are your shoes will be soaked at this point anyway.

Eventually you reach the coast and the track conditions and scenery change once again. There is a bit of pushing along this section as some of the track is quite sandy, but it is fun seeing how far you can ride through it. The track is relatively flat, with a few ups and downs thrown in. The dramatic West Coast beaches make for some great scenery.

We had one last nutrition stop before tackling the final hurdle, Scott’s Hill. This is a reasonably tough climb up over a bluff followed by a lovely flowing descent to the Kohaihai river bridge and the end of the track. This last section is super fast, and a great way to end the ride. Just watch out for the slippery wooden water bars set at diagonal to the track.

Tips & Tricks

• Definitely ride it from the Collingwood end to the Karamea end. You get more (and better) downhill because you start at a couple of hundred meters above sea level and finish on the coast.
• The James Mackay hut is the best option if you can get it. It means a slightly longer ride day 1, but on day 2 you start with an awesome long section of single track downhill that can’t be beat.
• You could (and a few people seem to be) guts the whole thing out in a day. It would be a long day, but by no means impossible if you are in good shape and you have decent weather.
• Another creative option is to ride it both ways over 3 days, leaving your gear at a hut in the middle somewhere where you stay for 2 nights, riding out and back in to that same hut. That way you get a good ride with no extra weight.
• Pack as light as you possibly can (while using common sense – you are 60km for civilisation in the middle of the ride). New Zealand designed Freeload racks on the back work well, as well as a rack possibly can. If you get hold of a dry bag and chuck the heaviest stuff in there that is your best bet. Makes getting the bike off the ground a little more difficult, but you soon get used to it. Some guys were also rocking the front ones, but carrying extra bulk on the front of my bike was not something I was keen on.
• The swing bridges really, really suck. They are difficult, exhausting, and they take ages with only one of you allowed on at a time. If you can (weather dependent obviously) take the ford option. You will get wet shoes sooner or later anyway. The good news is that DOC is apparently replacing them with the nice rideable wooden ones at some stage.
• The sandflies in this area are some kind of super breed. Take the most poisonous insect repellant you can legally purchase, and apply it before you get down to the river at Lewis Hut. I would also strongly advise against eating lunch anywhere near the river, no matter how picturesque the spot.
• Anyone who is confident on their bike and reasonably fit will be fine riding the Heaphy track. There is nothing too steep or scary to negotiate. Having said that there is plenty to keep those of us who fancy a bit of adrenaline-inducing technical riding happy if you take the downhill sections at pace.
• Food wise I opted for the lightest, easiest to pack solutions. For me this was Back Country Cuisine freeze dried dinners, One Square Meal lunches, large Up&Go’s for breakfast, and assorted muesli bars for snacks along the way. Not exactly delicious, but nice and light and tasty enough.
• Riding clothes are important. I picked up some Nzo Peanut Tights and Cruiseliner Supreme’s before I headed off and they proved invaluable. Props to them for some great service rushing me out a new pair when I ordered the wrong size to make sure that I got them in time.
• The pub in Karamea makes amazing burgers. I strongly suggest stopping in there for a couple of celebratory pints and a great feed before you head off where ever you are going.

The whole trip only saw two mechanicals for our group, two broken chains within half an hour of each other. The mud (and sand and salt when you get to the coast) is really hard on your drive train and brakes. You should probably carry a set of spare brake pads to be safe. Lube is essential.

I was riding one of Avanti’s new all mountain trail bikes, the Torrent 1, which was perfect for the trail conditions. I rented it at a very reasonable rate from the good folk at Escape Adventures (who also took care of our rental Freeload racks and car relocation service). I can see why Avanti’s new frame is getting so much praise all over the place. Being the base model some of the componentry wasn’t super flash, but it all did the job ok. The only real complaint I had about it was the grips – if I had paid $3k+ for this bike (which is what it retails for) I would be pretty upset that it had crappy twisty grips. Lock-on grips only please.

The track is holding up remarkably well given the weather they have had and the rush of riders eager to be some of the first through. The few trampers we did meet seemed to be quite happy with the situation, and were mostly interested in our bikes and how we were carrying all our gear. It has obviously been great news for the local small towns too. I know that we spent significant sums in Nelson, Motueka, and Takaka on the way in, and Karamea, Westport, and Greymouth on the way out. I hope that at the end of the 3 year trial they decide to continue allowing mountain bikers through. It seems like a no-brainer.

If you are planning on tackling it I also suggest that you check out this excellent post ‘Stuff Learnt From Riding the Heaphy‘ from ex-Vorb guy Tama Easton.

You can also check out my full set of photos from the adventure over on flickr.

Other useful resources

• Department of Conservation information about the Heaphy Track
• Department of Conservation information on huts/campsites & online booking system – you need ot book a hut in advance
• Haeaphytrack.com information for mountain bikers – includes a pretty good description of what to expect from each track section along with a guide to ride times & distances.

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I got reminded a couple of times last week that I haven’t posted any music lately. Here I was thinking that no one paid any attention to what I was posting up. I promised those people that I would get back into it on the regular, so this is my first mix of the month in about 6 months. It’s not a new mix, but it has been on high rotation for me since I got hold of it last year.

This mix comes from remixer-in-demand and one third of The XX, Jamie XX. Apparently he was commissioned by uber-cool Parisian/online store Colette to produce this, and it was given away free with purchase.

There is a reasonably chunky vein of dubstep running through this mix, but it also has enough UK garage and more downbeat electronic vibes thrown in to keep it interesting. I totally love that track from The Streets he drops at the beginning, which is apparently an old B-side on one of the single versions of ‘Has it Come to This?’. There are plenty of other highlights. Check the track list below and get amongst it.

Jamie XX – Mix for Colette 2010

1. Electrelane – I Only Always Think
2. The Streets – Streets Score
3. The XX – Crystalised (DarkSky Remix)
4. Silentone – Beat For
5. Rossi B & Luca – Jah No Dead
6. Clubroot – Lucid Dream
7. Darkstar – Aidy’s Girl Is a Computer
8. Burial – Unite
9. Fantastic Mr Fox & Rich Reason – Lo-Fi-Ve
10. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo
11. Skream – Trapped In a Dark Bubble
12. Silentone – Dub Plate 1
13. Aardvarck – One1
14. James Blake – Sparing The Horse
15. Boogaloo Crew – Hedgehog Sound
16. Zomby – Expert Tuition
17. Deadboy – Heartbreaker
18. Bad Autopsy – Psionic Terror
19. Cooly G – Narst
20. zed bias – To the left (test)
21. MJ Cole feat. Serocee – AO (MJ’s Open Your Gob Dubb)
22. DJ Champion – Motherboard
23. Bertrand Dupart – Ketokole (Boddhi Satva Ancestrial Mix)
24. Fantastic Mr Fox – Plimsoul
25. Emvee – Glitch Dub
26. Dorian Concept – Trilingual Dance Sexperience
27. The XX – Islands (Jamie XX Remix)
28. Silentone – You’ve Got No Love (Feat. Nigh)
29. Egypt – In The Morning (Original Club Mix)

Grab the Jamie XX mix for Colette [right click, save as]

If you dig this I can thoroughly recommend you pick up Jamie XX’s remix album that he did with Gil Scott-Heron, We’re New Here.

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