16 days before my challenge time of New Year's Day ran out, so I am in front with time to spare.
Yay me!
Linda was there to record the historic event.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
I've taken up power-lifting and Strongman workouts in a small way and have made a commitment on Survival Boards to see if I can't get to a 300 pound dead-lift by New Year's Day 2016.
That's 136 kg.
Yesterday I managed to get 120 kg off the floor for 3 sumo and 3 standard dead-lifts.
It was tough!
Whew!
Not bad for a guy with a bad back who couldn't lift a 20 kg bar off the floor a couple of months ago!
That's 136 kg.
Yesterday I managed to get 120 kg off the floor for 3 sumo and 3 standard dead-lifts.
It was tough!
Whew!
Not bad for a guy with a bad back who couldn't lift a 20 kg bar off the floor a couple of months ago!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Been over a year since I stopped smoking and switched to vaping.
As of Nov last year I no longer use any nicotine in my ejuice and I'm no longer addicted to the nefarious substance.
Things have changed in the health department...I have managed to cure my often re-occurring bad back as well...and have started lifting heavy things just for the fun of it.
I cured my bad back with a mixture of Muay Thai and Savate style kicks on a punching bag, a few minutes a day using an Ab Wheel and standard Dead-Lifts using a weight I can lift for at least 10 reps over at least 3 sets.
Live strong!
As of Nov last year I no longer use any nicotine in my ejuice and I'm no longer addicted to the nefarious substance.
Things have changed in the health department...I have managed to cure my often re-occurring bad back as well...and have started lifting heavy things just for the fun of it.
Morgana and Rusty say, "Let's see you carry it in the water!"
I cured my bad back with a mixture of Muay Thai and Savate style kicks on a punching bag, a few minutes a day using an Ab Wheel and standard Dead-Lifts using a weight I can lift for at least 10 reps over at least 3 sets.
Live strong!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The big news in our life at the moment is that Kevin has (hopefully) stopped smoking cigarettes.
He has switched to a Personal Vapouriser, commonly referred to as a PV. (Kevin calls them vape-sticks).
See picture below.
One fills them with either a flavoured non-nicotine ejuice, or a flavoured nicotine ejuice. You can pick the level of Nic that you want.
Kevin has started with an 18mg Flavoured ejuice that he mixes with a non-Nic flavoured ejuice.
He puts about 2 to 4 mil of the Nic juice in the clearomiser and then tops it up with about 10 to 12 mil of a non-Nic flavoured ejuice. Turns the PV upside a few times to mix the two juices together. This equates to about 2 to 4 mg of Nic.
This allows him to still have a Nic throat hit when he inhgales, and the taste of whatever flavour he wants. Currently an energy ejuice mix. But you can get everything from exotic chocolate flavours, to fruits like strawberry and blueberry, to tobacco flavors, and even things like pizza flavour and cola.
You cannot buy Nic ejuice in Australia, but it is legal to import your own. Most people import flavoured ejuices, with a Nic additive, from the USA. Hundreds of ejuice sites in the USA.
Aussie sites only sell non-Nic ejuice.
You can of course, buy the non-Nic ejuices here in Oz, and mix them with imported Nic.
This might sound expensive but once you have your vape-stick the ejuice buying is very, very cheap, compared to purchasing real cigarettes.
Vaping has been proven to a lot better for you than smoking analog (real) ciggies.
You still get the nicotine hit, but without the 4000 or so other poisonous chemicals in a real cigarette.
A lot of vapers eventually manage to kick the Nic altogether and just vape flavoured ejuice.
This is the website that Kevin bought his PV from.
They have a stall at Parklea Markets every Sat and Sun.
We met Nat, a great girl who explained everything to us in a very easy to understand manner.
http://www.steamecigs.com.au/
This is similar to the kit that Kevin bought, with a few upgrades...
http://www.vapeking.com.au/starter-kits/
Nowadays there are a lot more options:
http://thesteamery.com.au/shop/starter-kits-439.html
Kev swapped the clearomizers in the kit for 3 Vision Stardust 3 clearomizers...the V3's are rebuildable with the addition of a blister pack of 5 spare coils. Apparently one coil will normally last about a month or so, then you unscrew them from inside the clearo and replace the used one with a new one.
Note as of 2016 Vision Clearomizers are no longer available, but the clearomizer is just the top half of the vape stick.
These are clearomizers...
http://www.vapeking.com.au/clearomizers/
Kevin prefers a clearomizer tip with a narrow neck draw. Ask the online retailer or shop to show you different width tips.
Kev also upgraded to 2 of the eGo-C batteries...they appear to last for at least two to three days, so you charge one and use one.
Kev was vaping an 16mg to18mg Nic amount in a 50 PG, 50 VG mixture. PG and VG are the base mixtures all ejuice is manufactured with.
That's Propylene Glycol and Vegetable glycerin.
Kev is diluting it in the clearo with a non-Nic flavoured ejuice, bringing the Nic mg down to about 2 to 4 mg.
He normally smokes Alpine Fine 4 mg, so he's got the Nic-mix just about right.
An atomiser in the clearo heats up the ejuice and turns it into flavoured vappour, so one is only inhaling and exhaling vapour, not smoke. And it smells nice also. It simply dissipates into the air, leaving no residue.
One presses a small button to turn the atomiser on while one inhales, releasing it a second or so later to save on battery life.
The battery is also able to be turned off to save power when you're not using it.
So, in conclusion: Kevin hasn't managed to kick the nicotine altogether, but he certainly appears to have kicked the cigarette habit. Which is a good thing.
UPDATE: As of 2015 Kevin stopped using nicotine in his ejuice altogether and now only vapes a few times a day using his old standby The Steamery's Mint Candy.
Kevin added 15 drops of an 18ml nicotine juice to his mint candy originally and reduced the nic by one or two drops each month for twelve months until he was nic free.
He was buying his nic juice from:
https://unlimitedecigs.com/store/t/products/e-liquid
It is illegal to sell nic-juice in Australia, but not illegal to import it from overseas for personal use.
Kevin was buying this one: 50ml bottle, Regular Tobacco flavour, 60/40 VG/PG mix
https://unlimitedecigs.com/store/products/e-liquid-50ml
He has switched to a Personal Vapouriser, commonly referred to as a PV. (Kevin calls them vape-sticks).
See picture below.
One fills them with either a flavoured non-nicotine ejuice, or a flavoured nicotine ejuice. You can pick the level of Nic that you want.
Kevin has started with an 18mg Flavoured ejuice that he mixes with a non-Nic flavoured ejuice.
He puts about 2 to 4 mil of the Nic juice in the clearomiser and then tops it up with about 10 to 12 mil of a non-Nic flavoured ejuice. Turns the PV upside a few times to mix the two juices together. This equates to about 2 to 4 mg of Nic.
This allows him to still have a Nic throat hit when he inhgales, and the taste of whatever flavour he wants. Currently an energy ejuice mix. But you can get everything from exotic chocolate flavours, to fruits like strawberry and blueberry, to tobacco flavors, and even things like pizza flavour and cola.
You cannot buy Nic ejuice in Australia, but it is legal to import your own. Most people import flavoured ejuices, with a Nic additive, from the USA. Hundreds of ejuice sites in the USA.
Aussie sites only sell non-Nic ejuice.
You can of course, buy the non-Nic ejuices here in Oz, and mix them with imported Nic.
This might sound expensive but once you have your vape-stick the ejuice buying is very, very cheap, compared to purchasing real cigarettes.
Vaping has been proven to a lot better for you than smoking analog (real) ciggies.
You still get the nicotine hit, but without the 4000 or so other poisonous chemicals in a real cigarette.
A lot of vapers eventually manage to kick the Nic altogether and just vape flavoured ejuice.
This is the website that Kevin bought his PV from.
They have a stall at Parklea Markets every Sat and Sun.
We met Nat, a great girl who explained everything to us in a very easy to understand manner.
http://www.steamecigs.com.au/
This is similar to the kit that Kevin bought, with a few upgrades...
http://www.vapeking.com.au/starter-kits/
Nowadays there are a lot more options:
http://thesteamery.com.au/shop/starter-kits-439.html
Kev swapped the clearomizers in the kit for 3 Vision Stardust 3 clearomizers...the V3's are rebuildable with the addition of a blister pack of 5 spare coils. Apparently one coil will normally last about a month or so, then you unscrew them from inside the clearo and replace the used one with a new one.
Note as of 2016 Vision Clearomizers are no longer available, but the clearomizer is just the top half of the vape stick.
These are clearomizers...
http://www.vapeking.com.au/clearomizers/
Kevin prefers a clearomizer tip with a narrow neck draw. Ask the online retailer or shop to show you different width tips.
Kev also upgraded to 2 of the eGo-C batteries...they appear to last for at least two to three days, so you charge one and use one.
Kev was vaping an 16mg to18mg Nic amount in a 50 PG, 50 VG mixture. PG and VG are the base mixtures all ejuice is manufactured with.
That's Propylene Glycol and Vegetable glycerin.
Kev is diluting it in the clearo with a non-Nic flavoured ejuice, bringing the Nic mg down to about 2 to 4 mg.
He normally smokes Alpine Fine 4 mg, so he's got the Nic-mix just about right.
An atomiser in the clearo heats up the ejuice and turns it into flavoured vappour, so one is only inhaling and exhaling vapour, not smoke. And it smells nice also. It simply dissipates into the air, leaving no residue.
One presses a small button to turn the atomiser on while one inhales, releasing it a second or so later to save on battery life.
The battery is also able to be turned off to save power when you're not using it.
So, in conclusion: Kevin hasn't managed to kick the nicotine altogether, but he certainly appears to have kicked the cigarette habit. Which is a good thing.
UPDATE: As of 2015 Kevin stopped using nicotine in his ejuice altogether and now only vapes a few times a day using his old standby The Steamery's Mint Candy.
Kevin added 15 drops of an 18ml nicotine juice to his mint candy originally and reduced the nic by one or two drops each month for twelve months until he was nic free.
He was buying his nic juice from:
https://unlimitedecigs.com/store/t/products/e-liquid
It is illegal to sell nic-juice in Australia, but not illegal to import it from overseas for personal use.
Kevin was buying this one: 50ml bottle, Regular Tobacco flavour, 60/40 VG/PG mix
https://unlimitedecigs.com/store/products/e-liquid-50ml
Sunday, May 12, 2013
We have a new member of our family...
Morgana the purebred Australian Kelpie.
She is adorable!
This is our rabbit, Doorstop aka: Buns and our Muscovy drake, Pippin.
And this is our beloved Bee Bee, snuggled up in a curtain and sneaking a quick peck of sugar from my tea cup.
Our other Muscovy drake: Corum. A most handsome young fellow.
Morgana the purebred Australian Kelpie.
She is adorable!
This is our rabbit, Doorstop aka: Buns and our Muscovy drake, Pippin.
They are inseparable.
And this is our beloved Bee Bee, snuggled up in a curtain and sneaking a quick peck of sugar from my tea cup.
Our other Muscovy drake: Corum. A most handsome young fellow.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Our latest arrival
 |
| About one week old. |
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| Pippin was the star this Christmas. |
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| Too adorable for words. |
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| Pippin and Buns are best friends. |
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| Pippin and Buns spend quality time together. |
Sunday, December 9, 2012
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| "All right you lot, fall in for morning inspection." Corum here already much larger than the two girls, and he only half grown at this stage. |
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| Moonglum performing her morning Tai Chi exercises. |
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| The three Duckateers: Elric, Moonglum, Corum. |
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| Our handsome drake, Corum, now twice the size as in this pic. |
Monday, October 29, 2012
Our country cottage
Our little country cottage in almost original condition
The kitchen above and second bedroom below.
Back garden view over natural bush land
Shaded patio at rear of garage.
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| Quaint bathroom |
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| Master bedroom |
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| Sun room leading into lounge room |
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| Country style kitchen |
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| The garage |
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| View over bush land from back garden |
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Our three Muscovy ducks.
Left to right: Moonglum. Corum. Elric.
Corum is a drake and only about twelve weeks old, yet look how big he is already.
The view from our back verandah over ooking the stable and bush land.
Green foliage abounds all around the cottage.
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| Add caption |
Monday, October 31, 2011
Elric the Duck!
Jaq rescued a female Muscovy duck he found wandering around a train repair facility in the western suburbs. Poor thing was in an awful state.
But now, a few weeks later, Elric (named after Michael Moorcock's famous sword and sorcery character) is foraging in the garden, snuggling up to us for cuddles and laying a large clutch of unfertilised eggs.
Which means we're now eating fresh ducks eggs. Yummy.
Here's Elric on her sun lounge nest.
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