Big tree Small LZ

[Stihlmadd]

Good one , Ben!!

I thank you very much good sir

 

[Stihlmadd]

I loved the filming and editing, Ben! The shot with the sawdust coming down like snow was epic.

Does the eucalyptus sawdust cause any type of irritation?

thank you knothead sometimes the randomness of what I get 'in the can ' is one of the best parts of filming , also when I think I got that shot and muffed it can be bitter
also bitter is what hits the virtual cutting room floor , I personally love the natural effects like saw dust drift and snowing
but I am trying to only indulge myself now and then on the groovy bits so the vid still moves along without looking like a snow globe. still open to requests and suggestions from the panel

as to euc saw dust that is a literal painful subject and some what a personal judgement so hear goes,
it sucks, by any standard I currently know and feel free to chip in folks ( no pun intended ) euc dust sucks major balls.
there is your fragrant acidic floury ones like lemon scented and sugar gum spotted and tassie blue gum all wetish types
the dry coarse ones like red gum and pink gum sa blues and peppermint gums
and the bastard alkaline ones like spathulata and ironbark real horror story these timbers ohh and grey box what a mitigated whore son of a tree if I ever met one.
the others I can cope with
any of the above down your trousers is a rough ride till you can free the junk and shake that irritation out of there.
any of the above in your eyes and you are looking at a visit to the hospital especially the dry coarse and the alkaline
I have been to the emergency ward to get 'flushed out' after copping a spray from a rarer swampy type euc which was very coarse and extremely alkaline , lucky me.
not a experience I ever care to repeat
but I did learn that I could tie a prussic blind and descend without having to see what I was doing
none actually toxic to the best of my knowledge and I have never met anyone allergic to eucs but yes to other native species like sweet pittosporum and silky oak.
but seriously a day spent blocking down with a reg grundies full of red gum dust leaves a man chafed raw in summer
Ben

 

[Stihlmadd]

Ben I've found connecting the big saws to my climbing system like the ring or bottom of swivel or third hole of hitch climbrr works good for for supporting weight of saw instead of your hips and back . keep for depantsing you if nothing else . showing that white moon in front of that big ol Aussie sun . Groundies start thinking there's an eclipse or something!

......
okay once I got my breath back..... great idea will give it a go my lanyard set up should make it work out just fine I don't use a harness hook for my saws.
and yes my backside hasn't seen the noonday sun intentionally for some years now but it was a good day at the beach and even with the lower water temperature I did get some compliments from the ladies

 

[Stihlmadd]

Hopefully the fact that three other companies turned it down meant that you got premium pay for the work.

Tim

oh yes sir that was not my average day rate not when I bring out the mega whoopie mr slinky it aint no sir indeed
and ironically I sub to two of the other companies so this one really did have my name all over it.

 

[Stihlmadd]

Definitely the kind of tree you eat your lunch in lol.

the highest Euc I have done is 140' and that was a bit poopy up top being a sugar gum but the view was stellar.
I used to do the lunch thing but now with the hand and foot ascenders plus my need to go potty slowly increasing with the years aloft I sail down for lunch now.

Thats the standard LZ here in San Diego lol these folks are nutz.

Brother I feel your pain thats living in a city with a hill range like a spine running through the whole place.

 

[Stihlmadd]

Ben there are people that do their job because they are good at it, and there are people that do their job and are good at it because they love it. i dont know you outside of how you present here, so this is just and assumption, but it seems you just love doing what your doing when your doing it. your videos are an add for your service, its just Ben doing Ben while doing work (and editing footage). its part of what makes Smashdown stand out as Smashdown.
keep bringing' it man.
still, one of the funnest / intense moments Smashdown pro. brought me was: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_W_bhwuI4c

okay I had to compose my mind before tackling an answer, ( and yes I did go and have a durry)
anyone spending enough time on treebuzz might have noticed I can waffle on a wee bit.
so I figure by now it is okay for a ride down to the hot griddle on my own thread
old Italian man told me this joke years ago" we came, we saw, we concreted."
the go was any old lag would tell you if you wanted a bloke to do your concreting get a Italian to do it also any tiling job. not racist just an acknowledgement of skill base amongst a group of people and a form of compliment to the quality of trades being performed for a reasonable rate of money being sought.

In the JP thread we touched on what climbing means to me, my background and the events in brief that have led me to the here and now.
this isn't going to be so brief.
when Reg Coates did the treestuff interview from his car in the supermarket carpark after work several things he said reverberated with me and I will not forget it any time soon.
the bit about when you remove a tree you are the last person to climb that tree and see that perspective again
once it is gone unless you film the experience there is not a trace to say I did that unlike a concreter whose work could last the millennia,
and the part about what would I do if I couldn't climb again - "I'd be fooked" just like hearing my own dour yorkshire Da if He couldn't go mining any more down at the face with his gang.
and he really got me, how genuine that was to camera and how I thought to myself... yeh I would be Fooked too....... well and truly up creek sans any descriptive form of paddle

as I titled a recent vid "these things we do" that was for all of you, all my brothers and sisters I do love you,
and not in a soppy huggy double cheek kissing kinda way but in a genuine tip of the cap and nod as we pass way.
I came up with smashdown's motto many years ago when I started to go outside what I had been taught was doable with what I was given " Exploring the Potential of the Possible !"
that is my take on the situation as it stands today it is possible and there is the potential for that possibility then it is also possible that it will work
I would rather promote 'climb safe climb well' as the public persona to not to been seen to actively encourage reckless and feckless behaviour via the tube but that is not really who I am as a climber
on the site I get there and when they staff ask me what is the plan occasionally I say to them "what would Jesus do?" my signal that we are going full R and T logging - 'rip and tear!'

crikey need another durry break.

I must confess to enjoying being the pet Aussie round here and as a result of being lured back to the forums by Bixler after being burned by that muppet of a arseclown Ekka I hope he reads this one day fuckyou

It has been to my benefit and I may run around like the class clown and still don't get the 'rules' regarding social interaction on forums but my name is Ben and I might be a bit slow but I can climb trees.

thankyou for reminding me about that Hahndorf job, I get lost in the day to day and can forget what is 'Possible' when I am given a blank check and told to run free - "cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war"
I laughed again and do remember some one commenting about my last second pause when I looked at the backcut and went fuck it I am doing this, so in my mind space that comment was bang on.

a recent vid by Jesse when he does the back cut on that ratcheted trunk and the piece drops out before sending the sob sledding down the slope and later tells me he was thinking smash down on that job,
such a honour and a pleasure to meet with such like minded people
being told by a neighbour to wave to the laptop camera because I have been streamed live to south korea for the last two hours - just golden

who in mongolia watches smash down productions? some yak herder after a exhasting day gets satellite connection with his solar power array and checks out my little films, what a true distinction to be given,
if you ever read this good sir I thank you.

Bixler , the Xman , Pfanner man Reg Coates Ace trees August and his monkey beaver " I was made for this"
what I learn from all the good folks who take the time and effort, old fart and JB are just as valuable in my eyes as any of us. who am I going to check out for splicing tips, oceans and Nick.

What Dave Coleman and Grame Mcmahon do over here makes my work look like childs play
finding out that sherbrooke trees learnt from treevet how to hang tops back on themselves made my day

So back to why do I do these things we do,
I like it.
a lot
I like scaring the shit out of myself on a regular basis.
I am a adrenaline junkie but prefer a more controlled surroundings to partake of my hit as apposed to say
free falling and I get paid to do it as opposed to skydiving,
my grandfather always jokes that why would you jump out of a perfectly good aircraft? ...He should know having walked away from three wrecks or write offs.

I also enjoy a challenge and to this point have found no greater substitute to crushing down the fear of death
and getting on with the job than tree work.
and I am very stubborn and do not like to lose nor am I a fan of failing.
and it keeps me fit, tree fit not that fake gym muscle but real bonded to the bones cord steel muscle created by years of hard graft.
and I get paid
like more in a average day than my brother makes in a week at his sales job
and I don't see the same faces and places every day the same cars in traffic every day and the carpark squabbles and the company gossip mill, fuck that BS it was soul destroying and belittling.

and the sights I have seen oh my friends, the sights,
"I've seen star ships off the shoulders of Orion"
"seabees glittering in the tenhouser gate, Ive seen things no one else has seen and when I am gone all these things will be gone like tear drops in the rain"
hence the vids.
that and the old bit about you tell me a fish you caught is this big when we all know it was only this big,
photos don't misrepresent until I edit them.

and I am reconfirming my personal covenant with our Father while at the same time thumbing my nose at Him as if to give the Old man every opportunity to either take me out of the picture or explain just what it is He exactly is keeping me around for anyways and could we please get on with it I am starting to get a bit over the whole humans thing by now. But I do love the Old man. and I think geckos are about the best thing He ever did. period.
and I get to marvel at the awesome magic of all He created on a daily basis and destroy some of it at the same time which is super efficient in my mind.

that and i really get a kick out of breaking stuff, always have always will, there is nothing finer than a pure unadulterated epic smash down of a big tree who is past the used by date or even better dead as a doornail
and to just smash it down. just so good
"Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!".
Alex Delarge Stanley Kubricks - A Clockwork Orange.

I am a person who wishes to practice a craft I work with my hands cause I don't have to count or do maths or write down stuff. suits me to a tee and I don't want to grow up either, am happy to live in the now.
in fact the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal.
but before I go down that path, the craft the art the magic the iron and the shiny stuff along with the horses and the cutters all draw me lure me with their sweet nothings in my ears, flash some thigh my way as I pass that stocking top smile.
fook I am becoming hemmingway
what else would challenge me so much both mentally and physically at the same time and pay me this much money allowing me to live the life style that I currently do and give me the ability to crush my enemies and hear the lamentation of the women.
name it and I will go give it a gander.
drinks break.
and if you have stuck it out by this point wow carry on.
is there some kind of record for a filibuster?, what length can a single answer constitute anyhow? lets find out.
back to the art, when I came to work at a company called branching out trees, the bossman liked to joke that it was the school for advanced climbers and I was there to learn the next step in my career,
now he openly admits I have far surpassed his knowledge base and technical ability as a climber.
He marvels at some of my accomplishments and takes pride in my work while at the same time admonishing
me for more moderation and caution tempered with genuine respect.
He has a saying " it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
he has been right on so many occasions.
The gentleman is currently very ill and a shadow of his former self, he may die soon and that makes me very sad.
sorry the art- He also taught me about the showman side of the art and the iron, I ended up running the company for him there for a while.
the customer loves the art and the iron as much as the magic.
if you can combine the three with the other three tenements of speed style and safety starting with the safety and building the style and speed you can flourish the art and magic with the true showmanship of any stage magician.
now thats a real job.
and the craft, the knowledge as the cabbies call it.
how why and when, what do I need to achieve and what do I have to work with to achieve that
the timber reactions, the rope stretch, can I get that turn initiated and still have a face by the time that piece wants to flip so I can get a big a piece as possible into that gap in one hit and still collect my money at the end of the job.
I don't gamble outside of work but when I am at it i take very calculated risks based on my guesstimate database on a moment to moment basis.
I once did a job for a customer who was a aerospace engineer , He asked me how I knew what each piece weighed and how the loading would be taken by my rigging setup.
I told him in all honesty and with glee that it was all guesstimate based on years of experience.
He freaked out, I howled with laughter on the inside.
I love this job some days you don't even have to pay me.
I take just as much pride and pleasure in good rigging as I do in a well placed shot and the bigger the rig out or the more complicated the dilemma as long as powerlines aren't involved the better.

theres another whole section on the art and craft in good rigging styles and techniques.
it is def part of the appeal to me in climbing.
I also take great pride and satisfaction in a good pruning job - another set of challenges - ever climbed a smooth limb euc with out spikes on.

so the time dilation thingy,
ever been in a car accident? and time slows right down and you only exist in the now?
climbing is to me a lot like that, I can get lost or taken in the moment of now - nothing else matters or is important then just the task at hand not killing anybody or fooking up and costing myself dosh, just getting the job done flowing along with the challenges and taking in the sights while making sure I have clipped in "two jingles " and away with you laddie.
the up time is awesome I love being in up time but being around the humans in up time after the job in the price for all that fun, again why the videos in the first place. gives me something concrete to do while I wind down back to slow time.
that and some arse clown on youtube told me I couldn't climb my way out of a wet paper bag and I went righto my son we will see about that then .
tommylog33 you still haven't responded to me arseclown.
soo.. being amongst the humans in up time while they are all in down time is very painful so shutting yourself away from them is a good tactic.
I spoke to my grandfather about his wartime experiences as a bomber crew member and the constant shift each day from up time to down time amongst the humans in a civil situation even if the whole populace was part of the war time effort.
He said the general solution amongst the crews was to go down to the pub and get roaring drunk each morning and to blot out all the terrible things that had occurred and the faces of those who weren't standing at the bar anymore.
I can't drink for medical reasons so making films seems to be a better outlet.

and then there is the sharing, I like to share with all of you what I get up too.
it helps repay for all the good things that I have been privy to
the genuine folk willing to help to offer their friendship to a virtual nobody in a small city on the bottom of the arse end of the world, here I am putting Adelaide on the map while most climbers here don't know me from a bar of soap and I intend to keep it that way.
thats the no face deal - you don't need to see me just my work and can make your own judgements,
but I do really like the sharks motif on my protos helmet as if you couldn't tell.
I dig the big rig, marvel at what we can achieve with almost nothing, rock my stihl chainsaws, tinker and continue to mod my climbing equipment and experiment when I can.
I may never make massive strides in the climbing community but am willing to play my part and dig the occasional long drop if need.
I like my mad max gloves and the carefree side of contracting for now but the monkeys and the circus owners are slowly getting to me, the mask is firmly back on with the economy coming to a crawl and that means more epic smash down productions if you all are still willing to watch.
If this body keep holding in there ( yes I know srt , I got it and steves wrench okay!)
and our Father is kind enough to allow me to continue then there is def more to follow.

"you just love doing what your doing when your doing it. your videos are an add for your service, its just Ben doing Ben while doing work (and editing footage). its part of what makes Smashdown stand out as Smashdown."

A tip of the cap and a nod in passing to you CutHighnLetFly
and to all of you merry folk,
every last rough gruff old shagged out old hands especially Riggs and Daniel,
to Master Yoda, Gunney, Kiwiboy, my crazy lama duck friend and a noble father who laughter me me cry
you are all a bunch of rogues and vagabonds of the highest calibre and welcome for afternoon tea any time.
Thankyou.
and no this isn't my first rodeo.
Ben



hows that for an answer cobber?

 

[Sgriff]

Longest post ever ^ hahahaha,honestly I rarely even bring lunch anymore,just stay hydrated and power thru the days work,eat a big dinner thats for sure!

 

[Steve Connally]

It's not pink brother. It's purple. Who wants to steal purple gear? All my stuff is reflective sparkles purple. Not pink!!! I want to retread all your post again tomorrow. I enjoy your passion! I wish I worked with someone who felt that way about what they do. I just listen to irresponsible complaining kids all day. Drives me bonkers.

 

[TimBr]

okay I had to compose my mind before tackling an answer, ( and yes I did go and have a durry)
anyone spending enough time on treebuzz might have noticed I can waffle on a wee bit.
so I figure by now it is okay for a ride down to the hot griddle on my own thread
old Italian man told me this joke years ago" we came, we saw, we concreted."
the go was any old lag would tell you if you wanted a bloke to do your concreting get a Italian to do it also any tiling job. not racist just an acknowledgement of skill base amongst a group of people and a form of compliment to the quality of trades being performed for a reasonable rate of money being sought.

In the JP thread we touched on what climbing means to me, my background and the events in brief that have led me to the here and now.
this isn't going to be so brief.
when Reg Coates did the treestuff interview from his car in the supermarket carpark after work several things he said reverberated with me and I will not forget it any time soon.
the bit about when you remove a tree you are the last person to climb that tree and see that perspective again
once it is gone unless you film the experience there is not a trace to say I did that unlike a concreter whose work could last the millennia,
and the part about what would I do if I couldn't climb again - "I'd be fooked" just like hearing my own dour yorkshire Da if He couldn't go mining any more down at the face with his gang.
and he really got me, how genuine that was to camera and how I thought to myself... yeh I would be Fooked too....... well and truly up creek sans any descriptive form of paddle

as I titled a recent vid "these things we do" that was for all of you, all my brothers and sisters I do love you,
and not in a soppy huggy double cheek kissing kinda way but in a genuine tip of the cap and nod as we pass way.
I came up with smashdown's motto many years ago when I started to go outside what I had been taught was doable with what I was given " Exploring the Potential of the Possible !"
that is my take on the situation as it stands today it is possible and there is the potential for that possibility then it is also possible that it will work
I would rather promote 'climb safe climb well' as the public persona to not to been seen to actively encourage reckless and feckless behaviour via the tube but that is not really who I am as a climber
on the site I get there and when they staff ask me what is the plan occasionally I say to them "what would Jesus do?" my signal that we are going full R and T logging - 'rip and tear!'

crikey need another durry break.

I must confess to enjoying being the pet Aussie round here and as a result of being lured back to the forums by Bixler after being burned by that muppet of a arseclown Ekka I hope he reads this one day fuckyou

It has been to my benefit and I may run around like the class clown and still don't get the 'rules' regarding social interaction on forums but my name is Ben and I might be a bit slow but I can climb trees.

thankyou for reminding me about that Hahndorf job, I get lost in the day to day and can forget what is 'Possible' when I am given a blank check and told to run free - "cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war"
I laughed again and do remember some one commenting about my last second pause when I looked at the backcut and went fuck it I am doing this, so in my mind space that comment was bang on.

a recent vid by Jesse when he does the back cut on that ratcheted trunk and the piece drops out before sending the sob sledding down the slope and later tells me he was thinking smash down on that job,
such a honour and a pleasure to meet with such like minded people
being told by a neighbour to wave to the laptop camera because I have been streamed live to south korea for the last two hours - just golden

who in mongolia watches smash down productions? some yak herder after a exhasting day gets satellite connection with his solar power array and checks out my little films, what a true distinction to be given,
if you ever read this good sir I thank you.

Bixler , the Xman , Pfanner man Reg Coates Ace trees August and his monkey beaver " I was made for this"
what I learn from all the good folks who take the time and effort, old fart and JB are just as valuable in my eyes as any of us. who am I going to check out for splicing tips, oceans and Nick.

What Dave Coleman and Grame Mcmahon do over here makes my work look like childs play
finding out that sherbrooke trees learnt from treevet how to hang tops back on themselves made my day

So back to why do I do these things we do,
I like it.
a lot
I like scaring the shit out of myself on a regular basis.
I am a adrenaline junkie but prefer a more controlled surroundings to partake of my hit as apposed to say
free falling and I get paid to do it as opposed to skydiving,
my grandfather always jokes that why would you jump out of a perfectly good aircraft? ...He should know having walked away from three wrecks or write offs.

I also enjoy a challenge and to this point have found no greater substitute to crushing down the fear of death
and getting on with the job than tree work.
and I am very stubborn and do not like to lose nor am I a fan of failing.
and it keeps me fit, tree fit not that fake gym muscle but real bonded to the bones cord steel muscle created by years of hard graft.
and I get paid
like more in a average day than my brother makes in a week at his sales job
and I don't see the same faces and places every day the same cars in traffic every day and the carpark squabbles and the company gossip mill, fuck that BS it was soul destroying and belittling.

and the sights I have seen oh my friends, the sights,
"I've seen star ships off the shoulders of Orion"
"seabees glittering in the tenhouser gate, Ive seen things no one else has seen and when I am gone all these things will be gone like tear drops in the rain"
hence the vids.
that and the old bit about you tell me a fish you caught is this big when we all know it was only this big,
photos don't misrepresent until I edit them.

and I am reconfirming my personal covenant with our Father while at the same time thumbing my nose at Him as if to give the Old man every opportunity to either take me out of the picture or explain just what it is He exactly is keeping me around for anyways and could we please get on with it I am starting to get a bit over the whole humans thing by now. But I do love the Old man. and I think geckos are about the best thing He ever did. period.
and I get to marvel at the awesome magic of all He created on a daily basis and destroy some of it at the same time which is super efficient in my mind.

that and i really get a kick out of breaking stuff, always have always will, there is nothing finer than a pure unadulterated epic smash down of a big tree who is past the used by date or even better dead as a doornail
and to just smash it down. just so good
"Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!".
Alex Delarge Stanley Kubricks - A Clockwork Orange.

I am a person who wishes to practice a craft I work with my hands cause I don't have to count or do maths or write down stuff. suits me to a tee and I don't want to grow up either, am happy to live in the now.
in fact the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal.
but before I go down that path, the craft the art the magic the iron and the shiny stuff along with the horses and the cutters all draw me lure me with their sweet nothings in my ears, flash some thigh my way as I pass that stocking top smile.
fook I am becoming hemmingway
what else would challenge me so much both mentally and physically at the same time and pay me this much money allowing me to live the life style that I currently do and give me the ability to crush my enemies and hear the lamentation of the women.
name it and I will go give it a gander.
drinks break.
and if you have stuck it out by this point wow carry on.
is there some kind of record for a filibuster?, what length can a single answer constitute anyhow? lets find out.
back to the art, when I came to work at a company called branching out trees, the bossman liked to joke that it was the school for advanced climbers and I was there to learn the next step in my career,
now he openly admits I have far surpassed his knowledge base and technical ability as a climber.
He marvels at some of my accomplishments and takes pride in my work while at the same time admonishing
me for more moderation and caution tempered with genuine respect.
He has a saying " it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
he has been right on so many occasions.
The gentleman is currently very ill and a shadow of his former self, he may die soon and that makes me very sad.
sorry the art- He also taught me about the showman side of the art and the iron, I ended up running the company for him there for a while.
the customer loves the art and the iron as much as the magic.
if you can combine the three with the other three tenements of speed style and safety starting with the safety and building the style and speed you can flourish the art and magic with the true showmanship of any stage magician.
now thats a real job.
and the craft, the knowledge as the cabbies call it.
how why and when, what do I need to achieve and what do I have to work with to achieve that
the timber reactions, the rope stretch, can I get that turn initiated and still have a face by the time that piece wants to flip so I can get a big a piece as possible into that gap in one hit and still collect my money at the end of the job.
I don't gamble outside of work but when I am at it i take very calculated risks based on my guesstimate database on a moment to moment basis.
I once did a job for a customer who was a aerospace engineer , He asked me how I knew what each piece weighed and how the loading would be taken by my rigging setup.
I told him in all honesty and with glee that it was all guesstimate based on years of experience.
He freaked out, I howled with laughter on the inside.
I love this job some days you don't even have to pay me.
I take just as much pride and pleasure in good rigging as I do in a well placed shot and the bigger the rig out or the more complicated the dilemma as long as powerlines aren't involved the better.

theres another whole section on the art and craft in good rigging styles and techniques.
it is def part of the appeal to me in climbing.
I also take great pride and satisfaction in a good pruning job - another set of challenges - ever climbed a smooth limb euc with out spikes on.

so the time dilation thingy,
ever been in a car accident? and time slows right down and you only exist in the now?
climbing is to me a lot like that, I can get lost or taken in the moment of now - nothing else matters or is important then just the task at hand not killing anybody or fooking up and costing myself dosh, just getting the job done flowing along with the challenges and taking in the sights while making sure I have clipped in "two jingles " and away with you laddie.
the up time is awesome I love being in up time but being around the humans in up time after the job in the price for all that fun, again why the videos in the first place. gives me something concrete to do while I wind down back to slow time.
that and some arse clown on youtube told me I couldn't climb my way out of a wet paper bag and I went righto my son we will see about that then .
tommylog33 you still haven't responded to me arseclown.
soo.. being amongst the humans in up time while they are all in down time is very painful so shutting yourself away from them is a good tactic.
I spoke to my grandfather about his wartime experiences as a bomber crew member and the constant shift each day from up time to down time amongst the humans in a civil situation even if the whole populace was part of the war time effort.
He said the general solution amongst the crews was to go down to the pub and get roaring drunk each morning and to blot out all the terrible things that had occurred and the faces of those who weren't standing at the bar anymore.
I can't drink for medical reasons so making films seems to be a better outlet.

and then there is the sharing, I like to share with all of you what I get up too.
it helps repay for all the good things that I have been privy to
the genuine folk willing to help to offer their friendship to a virtual nobody in a small city on the bottom of the arse end of the world, here I am putting Adelaide on the map while most climbers here don't know me from a bar of soap and I intend to keep it that way.
thats the no face deal - you don't need to see me just my work and can make your own judgements,
but I do really like the sharks motif on my protos helmet as if you couldn't tell.
I dig the big rig, marvel at what we can achieve with almost nothing, rock my stihl chainsaws, tinker and continue to mod my climbing equipment and experiment when I can.
I may never make massive strides in the climbing community but am willing to play my part and dig the occasional long drop if need.
I like my mad max gloves and the carefree side of contracting for now but the monkeys and the circus owners are slowly getting to me, the mask is firmly back on with the economy coming to a crawl and that means more epic smash down productions if you all are still willing to watch.
If this body keep holding in there ( yes I know srt , I got it and steves wrench okay!)
and our Father is kind enough to allow me to continue then there is def more to follow.

"you just love doing what your doing when your doing it. your videos are an add for your service, its just Ben doing Ben while doing work (and editing footage). its part of what makes Smashdown stand out as Smashdown."

A tip of the cap and a nod in passing to you CutHighnLetFly
and to all of you merry folk,
every last rough gruff old shagged out old hands especially Riggs and Daniel,
to Master Yoda, Gunney, Kiwiboy, my crazy lama duck friend and a noble father who laughter me me cry
you are all a bunch of rogues and vagabonds of the highest calibre and welcome for afternoon tea any time.
Thankyou.
and no this isn't my first rodeo.
Ben



hows that for an answer cobber?

BEST. POST. EVER. ................Sorry for shouting.​

Tim

 

[flying french man]

Superb video. High quality video mixing with great rigging, can't go wrong!

 

[knothead]

okay I had to compose my mind before tackling an answer, ( and yes I did go and have a durry)
anyone spending enough time on treebuzz might have noticed I can waffle on a wee bit.
so I figure by now it is okay for a ride down to the hot griddle on my own thread
old Italian man told me this joke years ago" we came, we saw, we concreted."
the go was any old lag would tell you if you wanted a bloke to do your concreting get a Italian to do it also any tiling job. not racist just an acknowledgement of skill base amongst a group of people and a form of compliment to the quality of trades being performed for a reasonable rate of money being sought.

In the JP thread we touched on what climbing means to me, my background and the events in brief that have led me to the here and now.
this isn't going to be so brief.
when Reg Coates did the treestuff interview from his car in the supermarket carpark after work several things he said reverberated with me and I will not forget it any time soon.
the bit about when you remove a tree you are the last person to climb that tree and see that perspective again
once it is gone unless you film the experience there is not a trace to say I did that unlike a concreter whose work could last the millennia,
and the part about what would I do if I couldn't climb again - "I'd be fooked" just like hearing my own dour yorkshire Da if He couldn't go mining any more down at the face with his gang.
and he really got me, how genuine that was to camera and how I thought to myself... yeh I would be Fooked too....... well and truly up creek sans any descriptive form of paddle

as I titled a recent vid "these things we do" that was for all of you, all my brothers and sisters I do love you,
and not in a soppy huggy double cheek kissing kinda way but in a genuine tip of the cap and nod as we pass way.
I came up with smashdown's motto many years ago when I started to go outside what I had been taught was doable with what I was given " Exploring the Potential of the Possible !"
that is my take on the situation as it stands today it is possible and there is the potential for that possibility then it is also possible that it will work
I would rather promote 'climb safe climb well' as the public persona to not to been seen to actively encourage reckless and feckless behaviour via the tube but that is not really who I am as a climber
on the site I get there and when they staff ask me what is the plan occasionally I say to them "what would Jesus do?" my signal that we are going full R and T logging - 'rip and tear!'

crikey need another durry break.

I must confess to enjoying being the pet Aussie round here and as a result of being lured back to the forums by Bixler after being burned by that muppet of a arseclown Ekka I hope he reads this one day fuckyou

It has been to my benefit and I may run around like the class clown and still don't get the 'rules' regarding social interaction on forums but my name is Ben and I might be a bit slow but I can climb trees.

thankyou for reminding me about that Hahndorf job, I get lost in the day to d
"I've seen star ships off the shoulders of Orion"
"seabees glittering in the tenhouser gate, Ive seen things no one else has seen and when I am gone all these things will be gone like tear drops in the rain"
hence the vids.
that and the old bit about you tell me a fish you caught is this big when we all know it was only this big,
photos don't misrepresent until I edit them.

and I am reconfirming my personal covenant with our Father while at the same time thumbing my nose at Him as if to give the Old man every opportunity to either take me out of the picture or explain just what it is He exactly is keeping me around for anyways and could we please get on with it I am starting to get a bit over the whole humans thing by now. But I do love the Old man. and I think geckos are about the best thing He ever did. period.
and I get to marvel at the awesome magic of all He created on a daily basis and destroy some of it at the same time which is super efficient in my mind.

that and i really get a kick out of breaking stuff, always have always will, there is nothing finer than a pure unadulterated epic smash down of a big tree who is past the used by date or even better dead as a doornail
and to just smash it down. just so good
"Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!".
Alex Delarge Stanley Kubricks - A Clockwork Orange.

I am a person who wishes to practice a craft I work with my hands cause I don't have to count or do maths or write down stuff. suits me to a tee and I don't want to grow up either, am happy to live in the now.
in fact the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal.
but before I go down that path, the craft the art the magic the iron and the shiny stuff along with the horses and the cutters all draw me lure me with their sweet nothings in my ears, flash some thigh my way as I pass that stocking top smile.
fook I am becoming hemmingway
what else would challenge me so much both mentally and physically at the same time and pay me this much money allowing me to live the life style that I currently do and give me the ability to crush my enemies and hear the lamentation of the women.
name it and I will go give it a gander.
drinks break.
and if you have stuck it out by this point wow carry on.
is there some kind of record for a filibuster?, what length can a single answer constitute anyhow? lets find out.
back to the art, when I came to work at a company called branching out trees, the bossman liked to joke that it was the school for advanced climbers and I was there to learn the next step in my career,
now he openly admits I have far surpassed his knowledge base and technical ability as a climber.
He marvels at some of my accomplishments and takes pride in my work while at the same time admonishing
me for more moderation and caution tempered with genuine respect.
He has a saying " it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
he has been right on so many occasions.
The gentleman is currently very ill and a shadow of his former self, he may die soon and that makes me very sad.
sorry the art- He also taught me about the showman side of the art and the iron, I ended up running the company for him there for a while.
the customer loves the art and the iron as much as the magic.
if you can combine the three with the other three tenements of speed style and safety starting with the safety and building the style and speed you can flourish the art and magic with the true showmanship of any stage magician.
now thats a real job.
and the craft, the knowledge as the cabbies call it.
how why and when, what do I need to achieve and what do I have to work with to achieve that
the timber reactions, the rope stretch, can I get that turn initiated and still have a face by the time that piece wants to flip so I can get a big a piece as possible into that gap in one hit and still collect my money at the end of the job.
I don't gamble outside of work but when I am at it i take very calculated risks based on my guesstimate database on a moment to moment basis.
I once did a job for a customer who was a aerospace engineer , He asked me how I knew what each piece weighed and how the loading would be taken by my rigging setup.
I told him in all honesty and with glee that it was all guesstimate based on years of experience.
He freaked out, I howled with laughter on the inside.
I love this job some days you don't even have to pay me.
I take just as much pride and pleasure in good rigging as I do in a well placed shot and the bigger the rig out or the more complicated the dilemma as long as powerlines aren't involved the better.

theres another whole section on the art and craft in good rigging styles and techniques.
it is def part of the appeal to me in climbing.
I also take great pride and satisfaction in a good pruning job - another set of challenges - ever climbed a smooth limb euc with out spikes on.

so the time dilation thingy,
ever been in a car accident? and time slows right down and you only exist in the now?
climbing is to me a lot like that, I can get lost or taken in the moment of now - nothing else matters or is important then just the task at hand not killing anybody or fooking up and costing myself dosh, just getting the job done flowing along with the challenges and taking in the sights while making sure I have clipped in "two jingles " and away with you laddie.
the up time is awesome I love being in up time but being around the humans in up time after the job in the price for all that fun, again why the videos in the first place. gives me something concrete to do while I wind down back to slow time.
that and some arse clown on youtube told me I couldn't climb my way out of a wet paper bag and I went righto my son we will see about that then .
tommylog33 you still haven't responded to me arseclown.
soo.. being amongst the humans in up time while they are all in down time is very painful so shutting yourself away from them is a good tactic.
I spoke to my grandfather about his wartime experiences as a bomber crew member and the constant shift each day from up time to down time amongst the humans in a civil situation even if the whole populace was part of the war time effort.
He said the general solution amongst the crews was to go down to the pub and get roaring drunk each morning and to blot out all the terrible things that had occurred and the faces of those who weren't standing at the bar anymore.
I can't drink for medical reasons so making films seems to be a better outlet.

and then there is the sharing, I like to share with all of you what I get up too.
it helps repay for all the good things that I have been privy to
the genuine folk willing to help to offer their friendship to a virtual nobody in a small city on the bottom of the arse end of the world, here I am putting Adelaide on the map while most climbers here don't know me from a bar of soap and I intend to keep it that way.
thats the no face deal - you don't need to see me just my work and can make your own judgements,
but I do really like the sharks motif on my protos helmet as if you couldn't tell.
I dig the big rig, marvel at what we can achieve with almost nothing, rock my stihl chainsaws, tinker and continue to mod my climbing equipment and experiment when I can.
I may never make massive strides in the climbing community but am willing to play my part and dig the occasional long drop if need.
I like my mad max gloves and the carefree side of contracting for now but the monkeys and the circus owners are slowly getting to me, the mask is firmly back on with the economy coming to a crawl and that means more epic smash down productions if you all are still willing to watch.
If this body keep holding in there ( yes I know srt , I got it and steves wrench okay!)
and our Father is kind enough to allow me to continue then there is def more to follow.

"you just love doing what your doing when your doing it. your videos are an add for your service, its just Ben doing Ben while doing work (and editing footage). its part of what makes Smashdown stand out as Smashdown."

A tip of the cap and a nod in passing to you CutHighnLetFly
and to all of you merry folk,
every last rough gruff old shagged out old hands especially Riggs and Daniel,
to Master Yoda, Gunney, Kiwiboy, my crazy lama duck friend and a noble father who laughter me me cry
you are all a bunch of rogues and vagabonds of the highest calibre and welcome for afternoon tea any time.
Thankyou.
and no this isn't my first rodeo.
Ben



hows that for an answer cobber?

 

[knothead]

 

[Steve Connally]

I had been thinking of giving you a reply with some deep philosophical baring of my inner soul, then I read your post again. I'm speechless. If you never say anything again about who you are Ben, what you wrote is a stand alone biography of your most personal nature. We don't know anything about each other. (All the members) I personally have enjoyed getting to know you. We will likely never meet though in some strange way I consider you my friend. I love your video's but in my opinion your written word is more valuable to me than any of your video's. You have transcended from a cool tree dude making catchy video's and a showman to Ben. Ben from Australia has another video, quick let me watch it and now truly see more than saws, lines, and wood chips. See a passionate man blissfully and with precision practice this art he loves with his hands and trademark mad max gloves. Great post Ben.

 

[SterrettTree]

only thing worse than breaking something with the first cut is breaking something with the last after you have been careful all day in a crap tree in a postage stamp to work in. enjoy your videos - and others - keeps me learning. thanks - dan

 

[Sgriff]

okay I had to compose my mind before tackling an answer, ( and yes I did go and have a durry)
anyone spending enough time on treebuzz might have noticed I can waffle on a wee bit.
so I figure by now it is okay for a ride down to the hot griddle on my own thread
old Italian man told me this joke years ago" we came, we saw, we concreted."
the go was any old lag would tell you if you wanted a bloke to do your concreting get a Italian to do it also any tiling job. not racist just an acknowledgement of skill base amongst a group of people and a form of compliment to the quality of trades being performed for a reasonable rate of money being sought.

In the JP thread we touched on what climbing means to me, my background and the events in brief that have led me to the here and now.
this isn't going to be so brief.
when Reg Coates did the treestuff interview from his car in the supermarket carpark after work several things he said reverberated with me and I will not forget it any time soon.
the bit about when you remove a tree you are the last person to climb that tree and see that perspective again
once it is gone unless you film the experience there is not a trace to say I did that unlike a concreter whose work could last the millennia,
and the part about what would I do if I couldn't climb again - "I'd be fooked" just like hearing my own dour yorkshire Da if He couldn't go mining any more down at the face with his gang.
and he really got me, how genuine that was to camera and how I thought to myself... yeh I would be Fooked too....... well and truly up creek sans any descriptive form of paddle

as I titled a recent vid "these things we do" that was for all of you, all my brothers and sisters I do love you,
and not in a soppy huggy double cheek kissing kinda way but in a genuine tip of the cap and nod as we pass way.
I came up with smashdown's motto many years ago when I started to go outside what I had been taught was doable with what I was given " Exploring the Potential of the Possible !"
that is my take on the situation as it stands today it is possible and there is the potential for that possibility then it is also possible that it will work
I would rather promote 'climb safe climb well' as the public persona to not to been seen to actively encourage reckless and feckless behaviour via the tube but that is not really who I am as a climber
on the site I get there and when they staff ask me what is the plan occasionally I say to them "what would Jesus do?" my signal that we are going full R and T logging - 'rip and tear!'

crikey need another durry break.

I must confess to enjoying being the pet Aussie round here and as a result of being lured back to the forums by Bixler after being burned by that muppet of a arseclown Ekka I hope he reads this one day fuckyou

It has been to my benefit and I may run around like the class clown and still don't get the 'rules' regarding social interaction on forums but my name is Ben and I might be a bit slow but I can climb trees.

thankyou for reminding me about that Hahndorf job, I get lost in the day to day and can forget what is 'Possible' when I am given a blank check and told to run free - "cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war"
I laughed again and do remember some one commenting about my last second pause when I looked at the backcut and went fuck it I am doing this, so in my mind space that comment was bang on.

a recent vid by Jesse when he does the back cut on that ratcheted trunk and the piece drops out before sending the sob sledding down the slope and later tells me he was thinking smash down on that job,
such a honour and a pleasure to meet with such like minded people
being told by a neighbour to wave to the laptop camera because I have been streamed live to south korea for the last two hours - just golden

who in mongolia watches smash down productions? some yak herder after a exhasting day gets satellite connection with his solar power array and checks out my little films, what a true distinction to be given,
if you ever read this good sir I thank you.

Bixler , the Xman , Pfanner man Reg Coates Ace trees August and his monkey beaver " I was made for this"
what I learn from all the good folks who take the time and effort, old fart and JB are just as valuable in my eyes as any of us. who am I going to check out for splicing tips, oceans and Nick.

What Dave Coleman and Grame Mcmahon do over here makes my work look like childs play
finding out that sherbrooke trees learnt from treevet how to hang tops back on themselves made my day

So back to why do I do these things we do,
I like it.
a lot
I like scaring the shit out of myself on a regular basis.
I am a adrenaline junkie but prefer a more controlled surroundings to partake of my hit as apposed to say
free falling and I get paid to do it as opposed to skydiving,
my grandfather always jokes that why would you jump out of a perfectly good aircraft? ...He should know having walked away from three wrecks or write offs.

I also enjoy a challenge and to this point have found no greater substitute to crushing down the fear of death
and getting on with the job than tree work.
and I am very stubborn and do not like to lose nor am I a fan of failing.
and it keeps me fit, tree fit not that fake gym muscle but real bonded to the bones cord steel muscle created by years of hard graft.
and I get paid
like more in a average day than my brother makes in a week at his sales job
and I don't see the same faces and places every day the same cars in traffic every day and the carpark squabbles and the company gossip mill, fuck that BS it was soul destroying and belittling.

and the sights I have seen oh my friends, the sights,
"I've seen star ships off the shoulders of Orion"
"seabees glittering in the tenhouser gate, Ive seen things no one else has seen and when I am gone all these things will be gone like tear drops in the rain"
hence the vids.
that and the old bit about you tell me a fish you caught is this big when we all know it was only this big,
photos don't misrepresent until I edit them.

and I am reconfirming my personal covenant with our Father while at the same time thumbing my nose at Him as if to give the Old man every opportunity to either take me out of the picture or explain just what it is He exactly is keeping me around for anyways and could we please get on with it I am starting to get a bit over the whole humans thing by now. But I do love the Old man. and I think geckos are about the best thing He ever did. period.
and I get to marvel at the awesome magic of all He created on a daily basis and destroy some of it at the same time which is super efficient in my mind.

that and i really get a kick out of breaking stuff, always have always will, there is nothing finer than a pure unadulterated epic smash down of a big tree who is past the used by date or even better dead as a doornail
and to just smash it down. just so good
"Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!".
Alex Delarge Stanley Kubricks - A Clockwork Orange.

I am a person who wishes to practice a craft I work with my hands cause I don't have to count or do maths or write down stuff. suits me to a tee and I don't want to grow up either, am happy to live in the now.
in fact the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal.
but before I go down that path, the craft the art the magic the iron and the shiny stuff along with the horses and the cutters all draw me lure me with their sweet nothings in my ears, flash some thigh my way as I pass that stocking top smile.
fook I am becoming hemmingway
what else would challenge me so much both mentally and physically at the same time and pay me this much money allowing me to live the life style that I currently do and give me the ability to crush my enemies and hear the lamentation of the women.
name it and I will go give it a gander.
drinks break.
and if you have stuck it out by this point wow carry on.
is there some kind of record for a filibuster?, what length can a single answer constitute anyhow? lets find out.
back to the art, when I came to work at a company called branching out trees, the bossman liked to joke that it was the school for advanced climbers and I was there to learn the next step in my career,
now he openly admits I have far surpassed his knowledge base and technical ability as a climber.
He marvels at some of my accomplishments and takes pride in my work while at the same time admonishing
me for more moderation and caution tempered with genuine respect.
He has a saying " it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
he has been right on so many occasions.
The gentleman is currently very ill and a shadow of his former self, he may die soon and that makes me very sad.
sorry the art- He also taught me about the showman side of the art and the iron, I ended up running the company for him there for a while.
the customer loves the art and the iron as much as the magic.
if you can combine the three with the other three tenements of speed style and safety starting with the safety and building the style and speed you can flourish the art and magic with the true showmanship of any stage magician.
now thats a real job.
and the craft, the knowledge as the cabbies call it.
how why and when, what do I need to achieve and what do I have to work with to achieve that
the timber reactions, the rope stretch, can I get that turn initiated and still have a face by the time that piece wants to flip so I can get a big a piece as possible into that gap in one hit and still collect my money at the end of the job.
I don't gamble outside of work but when I am at it i take very calculated risks based on my guesstimate database on a moment to moment basis.
I once did a job for a customer who was a aerospace engineer , He asked me how I knew what each piece weighed and how the loading would be taken by my rigging setup.
I told him in all honesty and with glee that it was all guesstimate based on years of experience.
He freaked out, I howled with laughter on the inside.
I love this job some days you don't even have to pay me.
I take just as much pride and pleasure in good rigging as I do in a well placed shot and the bigger the rig out or the more complicated the dilemma as long as powerlines aren't involved the better.

theres another whole section on the art and craft in good rigging styles and techniques.
it is def part of the appeal to me in climbing.
I also take great pride and satisfaction in a good pruning job - another set of challenges - ever climbed a smooth limb euc with out spikes on.

so the time dilation thingy,
ever been in a car accident? and time slows right down and you only exist in the now?
climbing is to me a lot like that, I can get lost or taken in the moment of now - nothing else matters or is important then just the task at hand not killing anybody or fooking up and costing myself dosh, just getting the job done flowing along with the challenges and taking in the sights while making sure I have clipped in "two jingles " and away with you laddie.
the up time is awesome I love being in up time but being around the humans in up time after the job in the price for all that fun, again why the videos in the first place. gives me something concrete to do while I wind down back to slow time.
that and some arse clown on youtube told me I couldn't climb my way out of a wet paper bag and I went righto my son we will see about that then .
tommylog33 you still haven't responded to me arseclown.
soo.. being amongst the humans in up time while they are all in down time is very painful so shutting yourself away from them is a good tactic.
I spoke to my grandfather about his wartime experiences as a bomber crew member and the constant shift each day from up time to down time amongst the humans in a civil situation even if the whole populace was part of the war time effort.
He said the general solution amongst the crews was to go down to the pub and get roaring drunk each morning and to blot out all the terrible things that had occurred and the faces of those who weren't standing at the bar anymore.
I can't drink for medical reasons so making films seems to be a better outlet.

and then there is the sharing, I like to share with all of you what I get up too.
it helps repay for all the good things that I have been privy to
the genuine folk willing to help to offer their friendship to a virtual nobody in a small city on the bottom of the arse end of the world, here I am putting Adelaide on the map while most climbers here don't know me from a bar of soap and I intend to keep it that way.
thats the no face deal - you don't need to see me just my work and can make your own judgements,
but I do really like the sharks motif on my protos helmet as if you couldn't tell.
I dig the big rig, marvel at what we can achieve with almost nothing, rock my stihl chainsaws, tinker and continue to mod my climbing equipment and experiment when I can.
I may never make massive strides in the climbing community but am willing to play my part and dig the occasional long drop if need.
I like my mad max gloves and the carefree side of contracting for now but the monkeys and the circus owners are slowly getting to me, the mask is firmly back on with the economy coming to a crawl and that means more epic smash down productions if you all are still willing to watch.
If this body keep holding in there ( yes I know srt , I got it and steves wrench okay!)
and our Father is kind enough to allow me to continue then there is def more to follow.

"you just love doing what your doing when your doing it. your videos are an add for your service, its just Ben doing Ben while doing work (and editing footage). its part of what makes Smashdown stand out as Smashdown."

A tip of the cap and a nod in passing to you CutHighnLetFly
and to all of you merry folk,
every last rough gruff old shagged out old hands especially Riggs and Daniel,
to Master Yoda, Gunney, Kiwiboy, my crazy lama duck friend and a noble father who laughter me me cry
you are all a bunch of rogues and vagabonds of the highest calibre and welcome for afternoon tea any time.
Thankyou.
and no this isn't my first rodeo.
Ben



hows that for an answer cobber?

Have read this a few times now,some deep thought coming thru my digital screen.....tripp.

 

[knothead]

 

[CutHighnLetFly]

Ben, i am also another guy who values your thought out responses. we appreciate the time and effort put into putting your thoughts into words, its real genuine. thanks for the honesty, i think we all value it because we all find something relatable in your posts.

 

[Stihlmadd]

Who wants to steal purple gear? All my stuff is reflective sparkles purple. Not pink!!!

yeh I had a squizz in the daylight and it is purple my Bad.

 

[Stihlmadd]

Superb video. High quality video mixing with great rigging, can't go wrong!

thank you very much flying french man , I appreciate the props glad you enjoy it

 

[Stihlmadd]

We will likely never meet though in some strange way I consider you my friend.

and that is the crux of the dilemma , without speaking to me there is now the opportunity to be friends , it is a lot easier in these circumstances to decide how much is a yarn and how much is me and how that influences the choice of friendship.
I once said to a young french climber that up here we are all brothers, doesn't mean we all like our family members though!

Johnny Pro does have some valuable lessons amongst what was being said and I have taken that element that used to burn inside of my younger self a desire for being true to myself and others.
certainly seems easier now I have unburdened my soul in regards to the past ten years so now I have offered what I think/feel is good about my experiences and encounters.

I met a old fella out at a country town at the end of the day, he came ambling along with his walking stick this old cocky and came up to the gang , stopped and pronounced to all and sundry " you know boys, there is no shortage of fuckwits out there."
He then promptly turned without waiting for a response and walked away with out uttering another word. Gold.......
once we all stopped and thought about what had just occurred we came to a group consensus that He was right if but a bit eccentric is his delivery.
There is no shortage of fuckwits out there and does not seem to be any sign of a shortage any time real soon.

how many people get the opportunity to experience real life? and then appreciate it?
if like minds attract then I would like to be considered your friend

IMO there is crazier cracked out squirrels on this forum than me but I haven't found another group of individuals that I am quite as comfortable being around as on tree buzz and I am not exactly what is considered a people person nor do I like cats.
every now and then I meet in real life a human that I can say that this person stands out enough to take a chance on but primary they all lie , they tell you lies and make promises and do not hold up to the bargins they them selves have made with you. seems to be a human character trait lying cheating and stealing.
It is the rare few that are not lying thieving bastards that I am looking to be around when the hammer falls,
this in turn is a positive it makes me appreciate the genuine good folks all that more.
kinda like educating your palate from cheap wine to expensive whiskey , it takes time and experience

so I figured in for a penny in for a pound the truth shall set you free and realistically what do I have to lose I have invited all and sundry over here if they what to stay so if it saves the price of a loonnggg.. airline flight just to find out that no he is actually a complete bellend then thats the least I could do.

if anything should ever befall me then there is some explanation as to why I did this wacky job in the first place.
and seriously I want nothing to do with face book this place is more than enough crazy for this little black duck.
I did say about the waffling on tendency

I consider you my friend

me too mate, me too.