balls.to...

Took a hike for a couple hours through Chopwell Woods today, after getting back from the Lighthouse earlier.

Was a nice bright, but overcast day. The forest was nice and green, though it’s starting to turn for autumn.

Went for an early morning trip over to St Marys Lighthouse, see if I could get anything good. I think a couple of them turned out okay, though I did have to play with their brightness/saturation/levels a bit to bring out some colour.

Old pilings:

The Lighthouse:

There were quite a few photographers out there this morning. Counted 5 at least, not including me.

Definitely need some ND filters for the next trip. The low tide, rock pools, etc will make some good photos.

Ran across this little gem of a CB a week or so ago:

Lafeyette Venus

All the controls and display are on the hand held mic/speaker bit. I’ve always wanted a CB install that wasn’t visible, so prior to this one I just had my old Team MC-8 sitting in the cubby box, which I then had to have open while I was using the CB in order to hear it.

With the Venus I figured I could install it somewhere out of sight and still use it. Ended up installing it in the cubby box again, but I can keep that closed now. Ran all the wiring thru a hole in the box under the console and seats.

Couple pics of the install ( gallery )

Mounted:

Here’s the hole in the cubby box, originally made for the USB cable from my head unit to an iPod/iPhone connector, but works fine for all the power/aerial leads for the new CB as well:

I mounted the speaker/mic on the pillar right beside my right ear. Should be able to hear it just fine I figure!

And finally moved the aerial mount to the roof rack, instead of the previous lowest step on the ladder:

Moving day is June 22!

The house is almost done, literally a day or two worth of work left to finish off. We had a minor pipe leak in the kitchen ceiling unfortunately, had to have that repaired, but that’s well on it’s way.

All the flooring is done, and in particular the stairs are finished with the same laminate system. Doors are hung and hardware is in place. Electrics and heat are back on and working, although there’s a few light fixtures to sort out. Bathrooms finished, and I love the way the tiles turned out.

Some pictures, although it was starting to get a bit dark so they’re a fuzzy:

Bought a new bike today, to replace the R125. Passed my MOD 2 a few weeks back, and been looking ever since. Decided against a 600cc or litre sport bike, the insurance is just too much. Finally settled on a 2009 Suzuki SV650S Sport. Hopefully will be ready to pickup tomorrow, or at worst on Saturday.

Also hope the weather holds out on the weekend!

Piccies: