Conspiracy
Yes, I said it! I've come to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy against black women over 40 who surf. You don't think so? Well, how's this for evidence? For two weeks in a row, I've headed out early, only to find nothing worth surfing. Nothing, I tell you, nothing. What is that about? I can only surf two days a week. So by the time Saturday rolls around, I'm chomping at the bit. And like I said, for the second week in a row, the surf door was slammed in my face. I'm sorry but I'm not going out to play in the closed out Victory at Sea conditions I saw today. Eddie would go, yes. Grace went, yes. Guess where I went? You guessed correctly (if you've looked at the time of this post and realized that I probably don't post from my car, but rather from the comfort of an Aeron chair—snagged by Soul Brother #1 from an employer who bought a bunch of them for a department that was later eliminated—in front of a large display that's actually bigger than our television). All I want to do is surf. Why are the fates plotting to keep me out of the water?
Back to the pop-out topic, let me pose this question: if a foam board is shaped by a computer, is it considered a pop-out?
I'm out of here. I gotta go hit the rowing machine. I've got to row 100,000 meters between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've done over 60,000 meters so far. The folks who make my rowing machine (Concept 2) do this every year:
Looking for a little extra motivation to row this holiday season?
Then look no further - our seventh Annual Online Holiday Challenge will start on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23) and end at midnight on Christmas Eve (Sunday, December 24).
Take the challenge of your choice: row 100,000 meters or 200,000 meters! Check out details for the 50,000 meter Kids Holiday Challenge below! For those of you who haven't tried it before - don't be intimidated by the thought of rowing 100,000 or 200,000 meters in less than a month. Each year we hear from folks who have never rowed any long distances before and have completed the challenge. Read our section on preparing for the challenge - and then give it a try!
posted by Surfsister @ 08:39
2 comments
2 Comments:
The "magic" that's in your Chris Slick (Chris Schlickenmeyer), I know of first hand. That board comes from the hands of a master surfer and shaper. A very soulful one at that. Machines are great at duplicating things. Hand shapers are great at creating "master" pieces.
Bottom line...given a choice, I will always choose a human touch, and the possibility of magic.
Y'know, my inital reaction would be "yes", from a shpaers standpoint. But in reality, no computer does the shape complete. There still is hands on work to get it to a complete and ready to glassable state after it comes out of the shaping machines.
I think one of the biggest differences between "master" shapers and others is the fact that those who are considered masters are not only known for their ability to shape, but to design. To conceptualize the combination of all the elements to come up with a board that achieves a goal, surfing-wise. Al Merrick, for all the mass production he now cranks out hands-off, beacme so lauded from directly hands on design work, collaborating with team riders who provided feedback that he could use to create more and more refined shapes that work because he could take that concept in his head and apply it to new templates and curves to create the sensations that riders were looking for. That is a level far above just producing a general copy of a known-to-work design. Then there's the rest of the process that often gets left out. The unsung heroes of surfboard construction, the rythm section of the band, the glassers and sanders. From first hand experience, there is just as much talent involved in a quality, beautiful glass and finish job of a board. And the glory for those guys is a lot less. So is the pay. So even a mostly computer shaped board recieves a whole lotta lovin' from artisans hands that should be appreciated. I would consider a true pop-out to be the molded core, pressure sandwiched, vacuum bagged bricks that are squeezed out like a bundt cake out of a pan!
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