Babble 08/01/2008

"Somewhere" in Cali

Fun little south swell we’ve been having the past few days. I’ve been surfing a very secret location (see photo above). I don’t want to give it away, because I don’t want to be the one responsible for making this spot public. A few of you may recognize it, but for those of you who don’t, we’ll just call it “somewhere” in Cali…

Movies 08/05/2008

Clay Marzo - Just Add Water Trailer

Check out the trailer for Clay’s first Quiksilver video. Looking forward to it, the kid rips.

Click-thru for premiere dates and locations:

Read on…

Design 07/31/2008

Hey, Nice Clock!

I can’t find any info about this vintage clock except that someone bought it from a man in Beijing. Great design though.

Gear 07/31/2008

Corbus Skateboards

Check out these new hand-welded skateboards from Corbus.

Obviously they’re not made for flip-tricks or handrails, but they look kind of fun to cruise on.

Here’s the about from their website:

Skateboards have always been an extension of their owners — modified by their user both for style and ride-ability. At Corbusboards, I wanted to take this concept to the next level. To take skateboard design further than the graphics on the bottom of the board and the body beyond tradition. To me it was a logical next step to realize that the entire board could be created in a shape that would play into the style and expression of its rider. Not only is the board itself the design, but it is a fully functional, impressive to ride art objects.

Knowing that the classic wood structure was limited I turned to aluminum streamlining the design until I came up with sleek silhouettes at around the same weight of traditional long-boards — and just as ride-able. These custom boards are a completely original cross between a long-board and a short-board for a smooth cruising ride that is also focused on independent vision and comfort. These are not trick boards, but they are tricked.

When you choose to ride a Corbusboard, you are riding a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted board that shows the world you have unique style. We can custom create almost anything you can dream up . . . you ride your own expression, not just some redecorated, mass-produced object.

Taking what I’ve learned while making aluminum boards, I now plan to return to the idea of wood as the main material — but with my own twist. I will be focused on making stylish, hand-carved wood boards that are as unique as all of the current aluminum designs . . .

-Corbus

Where to Buy

corbusboards $350

Travel 07/31/2008

Delta Announces that it Sucks Even More Now

ATLANTA – Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-largest carrier, will double its charge for checking a second bag on a domestic flight as part of a set of fee increases to help offset the high cost of fuel.

The Atlanta-based carrier said Tuesday that the changes will apply to customers who purchase a ticket on or after Thursday for travel on or after Aug. 5.

Fee changes include an increase from $25 to $50 to check a second bag for domestic travel. Fees for specialty items that require special handling, such as surfboards or ski equipment, will increase on domestic and international flights, Delta said.

First Class, BusinessElite and Medallion customers will still be able to check up to three bags at no charge, the airline said.

Delta said that as fuel costs remain high, it believes revising its fee structure for excess bags and specialty items is essential to generate the necessary revenues to offset its higher costs.

Delta currently does not charge passengers for checking a first bag on domestic flights. It has said it is studying a decision by several other major carriers to impose that fee.

Delta customers checking bags on international flights can check a first and second bag at no charge.

Fees are for each extra bag, each way.

The fee for checking a third bag on a domestic flight will increase from $80 to $125, while the fee for checking a bag that is between 51 and 70 pounds on a domestic flight will rise from $80 to $90. On any flight checking a bag that is 62 inches to 80 inches of the total of its length plus its width plus its height will rise from $150 to $175.

Delta warned on its Web site that if a customer has an extra piece of baggage that goes over the weight limit and the size limit, the passenger will be charged three times — once for the extra bag, once for going over the size limit and once for going over the weight limit.

The airline said it accepts up to 10 checked bags on Delta mainline flights and four checked bags on Delta Connection carriers.

Contests 07/30/2008

Shit Curl Contest Somewhere at Padang Padang

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible!

One of the worst webcasts ever so far. Nothing is working. The audio is awful, when the video does decide to work, the Vivitas player freezes my browser after a few minutes to the point where I have to force-quit every time, and it’s is SO ANNOYING at this point for them to keep pushing this “Somewhere in Indo” marketing thing.

Hey Rip Curl, EVERYBODY KNOWS!!! And we’ve known for like 2 months. You can’t go to one of the most famous breaks in Bali and expect people to not know where it is. You’re treating us like assholes!

There’s a fucking huge ship parked on the reef, and the surf media has been reporting exactly where that is for weeks now. GIVE UP THE “SOMEWHERE” BULLSHIT!!!

Even your #1 team rider is saying the name of the break during his interviews, and you’re still trying to cover it up and pretend he didn’t say it. Give us a little credit here boys.

You’ve had weeks to test this system. It’s a little ridiculous.

Maybe after the quality of the Billabong webcast at J-Bay we just got a little spoiled (it was perfect), but boy is it frustrating to try to watch this contest. Perfect waves, amazing surfing, tons of hype by the announcers (who are pretending everything is great), and all we get is bad audio, sketchy video, refresh, refresh, refresh, freeze, crash, and restart. Now do it again.

Rip Curl, if you’re reading, please stop using the Vivitas player. It doesn’t work.

Lets keep our fingers crossed that they get this worked out for Round 2, because the waves are pumping and it would be great to be able to see it.

Art 07/29/2008

The Daily Desktop

Check it out! Here’s our first set of free desktops for your downloading pleasure. They’re pretty awesome, so you should definitely grab a set.

Make sure to choose the right resolution to fit your screen.

thedailydesktop _2560×1600.zip
thedailydesktop _1920×1440.zip
thedailydesktop _1920×1200.zip
thedailydesktop _1600×1200.zip
thedailydesktop _1600×1000.zip
thedailydesktop _1440×1080.zip
thedailydesktop _1440×900.zip
thedailydesktop _1280×1024.zip
thedailydesktop _1280×940.zip
thedailydesktop _1280×800.zip
thedailydesktop _1024×768.zip
thedailydesktop _1024×640.zip

If you need directions on how to get them on your desktop, click-thru.

Read on…

Gear 07/28/2008

Ronn Motors Scorpion - Eco-Exotic

Austin-based automotive design and manufacturing company Ronn Motor’s has built the Scorpion; a hydrogen fuel injected hybrid.

The vehicle utilizes new ‘hydrogen on demand’ technology, which, simply put, generates water from the inbuilt tank, turns it into hydrogen and then injects this into the car’s system.

Not only does this approach allow fuel mileage to increase by between 20 to 40%, it also reduces carbon emissions to nearly zero. Couple this with its exclusive styling, and the Scorpion is sure to be a strong contender in the exotic performance car segment.

The Scorpion is out early 2009 and can be yours for a tidy $150,000.

[ via: coolhunter ]

Music 07/28/2008

Timmy Curran - Blue Eyes Video

Blue Eyes

Here’s Timmy’s new video for his song “Blue Eyes”.

Reminds me a lot of one of those great skits we all love so much from the Taylor Steele videos. Pro surfers are such good actors…

Gear 07/28/2008

Digital Underwater Camera Mask

This sort of makes sense. It’s a mask with a 5mp digital camera built in. No more swimming around with a bulky camera dangling from your wrist. Pretty convenient.

Where to Buy

B&H $99.95