Yup, it's official Winter's here.

This one week early turning the clocks back kinda frazzles most of us. Pretty brutal for the first little while until you numb up to it. Riding into work in the dark in the AM, the early evening darkness that suddenly appears trying to convince you that it is much later than it actually is. Then tag on the rain, GAAK! Ah well just waiting on the nicer days that I am sure will be here as well.

Well this week they released the Taser attack that took place at YVR and resulted in a Man's death (yet another). The 10 plus minute video, which was very clear showed what I can only describe as a perfect example of what is wrong with our National Police Force (RCMP) and with so many other complaints against them recently there is now a clear video of what might be occurring.

1. Man cleared customs 6 hours previously yet was left unattended for that period in a secure area.
2. After the event the RCMP announced that 3 officers were involved in this attack, yet the video clearly shows four uniformed officers
3. Watch the approach of the officers to the man as he stands in the doorway, at this point there is no threat to anyone. The officers are clearly heard to be told "he does not speak English..." A tense situation like this, the officers walk quick-paced towards the door, aggressively vault over the low barrier, en mass. There is no threat to anyone at this time, would it not have been part of their training to slowly approach, perhaps 1 officer only? or even better talk across the room to the Man trying to both calm him and ascertain the situation.
4. Why were the officers, speaking of using Tasers before even understanding the situation?
5. Initially the officers surround the man, point to the counter and tell him to get against it, The man raises his hands (just below his shoulders) and follows directions to back against the counter, then the officers taser him. What was the reason for the attack by the officers.
6. What happened to the Professionally trained RCMP officers? Ones who went into these situations with the thought of resolving a situation using both their intelligence and training to defuse the situation, not to go in and bully an obviously troubled and distraught person. What happened to the creed, Protect and Serve. Who were they protecting (The man was a threat to no one at this time as he was in a secure room with 4 Police officers?) Who were they serving, neither the public nor the man were served, seemed more like they wanted it done and over with so they could get back to ... hmm what is it they do at the Airport if not to serve the public?
7. What happened to the Pepper spray they carry, if they felt so threatened by this unarmed individual? The RCMP said after the fact (before the video was retrieved) that they could not use pepper spray due to the amount of citizens around the situation who may have been inadvertently sprayed, there were no members of the public in the sealed off room the event occured in.

I think it is long overdue that the investigation of these events need to be done by an independent body, as past investigations have been the Police investigating themselves. I do feel that if this was to occur much could be learned and then applied to repair short-comings in training or guidelines of when weapons could be used. It seems that the Police have lost the ability, (or will) to control situations they are in, guess it is just easier to pull the 'Zar.

A sad situation for his Mum who also just emigrated to Canada.

Just wrapped 3000 Km's on the KLR, took it back up to Jordan Meadows last weekend. From Shawnigan Lake we then drove the Main Forestry road to Port Renfrew. It was a great ride, very wet though and a lot of fun. There are a ton of off-shoots up there that should keep me busy exploring for a long time to come. As I was riding , with a sheer drop-off into a deep Valley on one side, I really came to understand exactly how much enjoyment I could get out of this Dual sport Bike, doing what I already love to do, explore the backwoods. Time to do the front brakes on the Bike and I am upgrading the front rotor to the oversized 320 MM unit, then installing replacement Braided Steel Hoses, EZBleeders (front and rear). It should seriously improve the front braking abilities of the KLR.

Picked up Call of Duty 4 and Enemy Territory:Quake Wars. COD4 (Charlie Oscar Delta 4) is incredible!! If you liked any of the previous releases, this is another one to add to the set, if you have not picked this one up then go out and check it out and I am sure you will rush back and get the previous ones... Quake wars on the other hand reminded my of the previous BattleField type releases... it's alright but save your coins kiddies, wait for the price drops on it. Unreal Tournament III comes out on the 19th and promises to live up to the Unreal namesakes. Damn you gotta love this time of Year.. when all the new shooters come out. Oh yeah still hooked on Rainbow 6:Vegas and Medal of Honor: Airborne.

So I am continuing to "Bach" it, still another 3 plus weeks to go... just really glad I have the dogs here as well as the ongoing things that need to be done.

Hey Happy Thanksgiving to my American Buddies, this week. Damn how many more shopping days till Christmas? ;-)


EOF - LC

Fast Approaching Winter

I purchased a new ride last month, a 2003 Kawasaki KLR650. Got a great deal on it (I felt) and it is a real change from my usual type of ride. I love my FJ, the available performance (never did find out the top end, great to have a ride that controlled the Speed freak in me. I was amazed at how fast I did go - obvious not commenting on that here.) the look and just the whole attitude. I have posted it on a few sites for sale. The KLR has got so many good points going for it though, more economic to operate, tons of aftermarket parts (things like the Corbin seat I have received), the ability to tour on-road or off. It is light enough that I will be able put it on a trailer hitch tray to bring it with us when we head out camping or touring. I took it out to the Jordan Meadows west of Shawnigan to bang up off-road for a while. What a blast! In a little over a month I have racked up over 2000 Kms, not bad for such a bad weather month. I think I am going to be very pleased with this bike and where it will take me.

We got our Volkswagen Westy back (I also refer to it as the four wheeled money pit) after it failed us, yet again, on our way to our long awaited camping trip. Made it as far as Nanaimo before we had to pull into the local VW dealer. Long story short... Blew the engine, damaged coolant system = Lots of $$$$$. It had a 1.9 liter engine which is no longer available so it had to be fitted with a 2.1 Liter. Seemed to be running good, although have not had a lot of time to test it, (please see previous paragraph) so took it today and the Damn thing failed me yet again, thought it might be either alternator (I replaced this beginning of September) or Battery going flat. Alternator tested ok, Multimeter on the battery looked right. Next step Starter...unreal. Buying a new van one piece at a time. LOL

Some brilliant games out now, the obvious Halo 3. Picked up Medal of Honor: Airborne and Rainbow 6:Vegas. Hugely addictive. Over the next few weeks Call of Duty 4 and Unreal Tournament 3 are coming out. Love this time of year.

I was given a Cisco 2950-12 Switch, Have been spending a lot of time working with both telnet and web-interface for the switch. Been interesting to work at configuring it then monitoring or attempting to circumvent it. Or to launch an attack and then monitor the network for signs or pointers, or to configure the alarms to detect the attacks. Way too much fun.

EOF - LC

Exploring the South Island

I went out looking for a decent camping spot, somewhere off the beaten path (as usual for me) somewhere Old Andre and myself can just kick and relax like we used to at Kalum. Me with a few brews in hand and him just happy to be off leash and exploring. Yesterday I went out to a site that was near East Sooke Regional park and was not surprised to find it was not suitable for what I wanted but it paid off in another respect and allowed me to try out the new lens I bought for the Canon Xti. I bought a Canon EF-s 10-22mm Ultrawide Zoom, after much reading it seems to be one of the best for a wide-angle Lens. Posted them here.

It was a really nice park , previously I had hiked in from Pike road to cabin Point but this was the first time I came from this direction. Some great family beaches, something to keep in mind for the next time we have visitors. Something about being here for four years still so much to get out and discover. Always very cool to find these spots and then to be able to share them.

Today I went on the hunt, west of Lake Shawnigan along the Old Port Renfrew forestry road then further down West Jordan Main. Some incredible spots, very similar to other forestry road I have traveled throughout the Province. A little different doing it in the Westy instead of the 3/4ton Ford, had to be a little more gentle...  LOL. None of these spots are great places to break down if you know what I mean although at least the risk of crossing path with Mr Griz does not exist still be a long walk out. I was able to update the BC Off-roads map book with some details, what really surprised me though was the amount of Trespassing Warning Signs stating certain roads were restricted access only, as these all were on on Crown Lands I was a little confused as to how Land that belongs to everyone in BC could be restricted. I will go to the Forestry and Ministry of Parks and lands to verify access to these spots, besides I would like to pick their brains about possible secluded spots or rec sites, (not that it really stopped me from driving on). No pictures this time as most of the time was just spent driving.

If you take digital pictures, and you want to share them securely with family and friends without the hassle of them signing up to the various photo sites, try out PicMe not only is it straightforward to configure and index you can also choose which online resource can be shared with, but the best is how it lays out all of your sets on the desk, very intuitive, very visual makes you wish for a giant LCD display (64 OR BIGGER). It has several levels from the free version which would work for most folks to the higher storage and performance of the paid version.





EOF - LC