The FreeRideVoice

[Nick Carroll]

Tragic really isn't it

Every prospect pleases and only Man is Vile etc

If only we'd all just stayed fish.

[purple pyramids]

they manage to keep a united front down south.

[steve shearer]

I reckon being involved in a mortal feud with a lecturer in environmental history and an anti CSG activist/guitar teacher would be the best thing about riding a surfmat.

totally agree.

A marxist agitator who is a high profile employment arbitrator is one of the chief protagonists.

Makes Clif look like Donald Trump.

[brendo]

is carcus still mat riding out the point shep?

[Yuke Hunt]

whereas every other type of surfing is pretty much full of bullshit

No ... far from it ... mostly ... although it thrives nonetheless in orbit around the more conventional mode ... but let's look at context ... and the taking it out of statements. At no point was it stated that other types did ... my presumption was merely that one form didn't. Fathoming that is not all to difficult ... if on the other hand one desires to draw a longbow ... that's their prerogative. Like I said ... if you don't get it ... you don't get it.

[Nick Carroll]

whereas every other type of surfing is pretty much full of bullshit

No ... far from it ... mostly ... although it thrives nonetheless in orbit around the more conventional mode ... but let's look at context ... and the taking it out of statements. At no point was it stated that other types did ... my presumption was merely that one form didn't. Fathoming that is not all to difficult ... if on the other hand one desires to draw a longbow ... that's their prerogative. Like I said ... if you don't get it ... you don't get it.

well ya know womble I do get it.

I grew up at a time when kneelos were highly respected by the good surfers of the day.

Guys like Peter Crawford, Steve Artis, Neil Luke and quite a few others were part of the older-guy matrix that overlaid my grommet experience. I had immense respect for what they were doing and knew that I and my fellow supergrommets were learning some fascinating shit about wave-riding from those guys.

There were kids my age like Roy Lentz and particularly Ken Horton and Mike Novakov who I and all my peers considered to be our equals and in some ways our betters on waves.

Simon Farrar, a superb waterman, felt to me like the last of that very special breed of guys who could push surfing harder than most stand up shortboard guys.

I've always been punctilious in my journalism on this subject and made sure credit was given where it was due in this area, ie that kneeboards were able to do shit that standup guys wanted to do but couldn't and thus for a while really showed the sport the way.

But to me that time has largely passed, and kneeboard riding doesn't really have its special place in the sport any more, it's just another form of surfing like most others, and to try to claim it as some special form based on its supposed freedom from bullshit is sort of against everything those hot guys of the 70s and 80s achieved. They were in there batting hard with all the best stand up guys and outdoing them in many respects, but never trying to claim some superior status as a result.

To me the greatest wank of all is to claim that bs free status in surfing, like it immediately causes you to be a wanker. Every surfer is a bull shitter to some extent and every surfer is not.

So yeah I have a different opinion on it.

[Yuke Hunt]

You don't have a different opinion on it at all ... to be perfectly honest ... and that's the kind of reply I expected from you originally. We've had the same conversation on these pages once before. This time however you've managed to expand the dialogue ... referencing some notable characters.
The sad fact is that kneeboarding has as you correctly point out ... seen better days. Its been eclipsed by other forms ... and stands in the doorway like an indecisive dullard ... unable to lumber forward or retreat back from whence it came.
But I needed someone else to validate its heritage ... who better than yourself ... thanks for that.

[Yuke Hunt]

I'll be the first to put my hand up.

I don't get it.

Yeah ... well I think we worked that little old chestnut out some time ago ... do try and keep up ... you're special.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Really enjoying all the reads Steve, I feel a great momentum building with each article like this could turn into something really worth being part of.

Hell, not everyone is happy with what is being written but who ever is, particularly when the writer is free to make tones and colors as they feel is necessary, rather than being cold dry and ugly and making me daydream before I've even absorbed the first paragraph.

Who cares if some people argue the writing can be a bit negative, who ever used Hunter S Thompsons election coverage in Rolling Stones mag as mainstream objective journalism anyway? Only the gullable. Its about great writing and the writer having the freedom to say it like they want.

Looking forwards to the Bells coverage.

[Yuke Hunt]

I'll be the first to put my hand up.

I don't get it.

Yeah ... well I think we worked that little old chestnut out some time ago ... do try and keep up ... you're special.

When you say "we" you're talking about you and your hand right?

Unless you're the creep who's been seen peeping through the bathroom window ... there's no way you'd know if I was right handed or not.
But in answer to your question ... I mean we ... as in the general consensus.

Back to you Steve.

[alakaboo]

What's going on with your subscription process?

[steve shearer]

Total debacle right now. Basically a worst case scenario.

Because my company (South Pacific Films) is set up as a trust.

Thats all fine but when I set up a Paypal business account for the merchant gateway two weeks later I got a call from some dude in Nebraska (fucking Nebraska of all places!) saying Paypal didn't allow trusts due to anti-money laundering laws and they were putting my account in suspension.

In the interim, they have made me jump through a million hoops (basically supply every piece of paperwork you can imagine and then some I've had to apply to ASIC to get) for the privilege of closing the account and refunding the balance.

Until that happens I can't apply for a new account under a new entity name ( a whole new can of worms).

I've tried to set up alternative merchant gateways that sync with word press plug-ins but with no luck.

Appointment tomorrow morning with an accountant who is apparently expert in this field.

If anyone knows a fruitful avenue of exploration to solve this heinous dilemma I'm all ears.

The good news: All subscribers money is safe and they will be reinstated with a fresh year (manually) once the new merchant gateway has been built.

Fun times I tell you, dealing with a multi-national corp who have decided to shut you down for spurious reasons. Days on hold to Paypal and ASIC.

[swvic]

Got the paypal email, but no money has been taken from my account anyway. Whatever eventuates, I'll be a subscriber

EDIT: Couldn't we just pay directly into a SPF bank acct?

[alakaboo]

Can't help you with that stuff, but have you checked out Paymate?
http://www.paymate.com/cms/
I haven't used them and don't know if they allow trusts, but was told they are a lot less painful to deal with. Plus the buyer doesn't need to set up a Paypal account.

[Yuke Hunt]

If anyone knows a fruitful avenue of exploration to solve this heinous dilemma I'm all ears.

Couldn't one of your twin brothers ... Vladimir or Campbell throw some weight around. Vlad in particular is quite adept at scything through that bothersome red tape.

So in trying to muddle through this mess ... you have to deal with different time zones and ASIC. I gather that neither of the organisations involved in the communications is overly fond of or even aware of the term empathy.

Has Braithy's old phone still got gods phone number in it ... worth a try if it has.

[steve shearer]

Thanks Boo, will check that out now.

Vic, that would be fine for Aus but not OS subscribers.

Just had another lovely one hour chat with Paypal.

"regrettably I can not tell you anything new sir".

Goddamm he was polite.

[alakaboo]

A merchant account through your bank is another mechanism, but it would take you a few weeks to get it done unless you really hassle someone or get a small business manager on your side.

[jimmy]

Have you tried Big Commerce Steve?

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/int ... gcommerce/