Tootle Puffers, Part Three! (The Sequel of the Redux)
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Skateboards... the actual skateboard began in the 1960's due to the mass appeal of surfing. They were originally marketed as sidewalk surfers.
In the photo are 3 forms of sidewalk surfer. The top one is circa 1967. Talk about toodle puffing? You hit a crack in the sidewalk on that thing and you'd be toodling and puffing, and bleeding and cursing....
The irony is that todays popular skateboards come with urethane wheels not much softer and not much larger than those clay wheels of long ago.
The original urethane production skateboard wheel was a gold colored item by a company called Cadillac wheels. They were very similar to indoor roller skate wheels of the time. Soon to follow were big, soft red wine colored wheels.
In my early 40's I began collecting sidewalk surfers of various eras. Too fat, too old, and too tired to ride on waves anymore so I scored a few of the next best thing and enjoyed some hang ten action in front of my house instead. Then the Christmas Crash at 47 that led to busted ribs was when it was decided it was no longer a good idea to do that. The casual swirve had led to downhill speed runs and one day father time collided with Mr. Inertia. When I found myself wearing a crash helmet I decided this was no longer just some fun in the sun but was becoming dangerous, so I hung up the helmet and shelved the boards. The wife was happy but the local kids were bummed that the fat, gray haired kid wouldn't play anymore.
I set about photographing local hot shoe boarders at a nearby skateboard/bike park (near a soccer field) but soccer moms kept calling the police on the gray haired guy photographing kids like I was some flasher in a rain coat or something. Took some really cool photos, but after the umpteenth time of speaking to officer X about it I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle.
These days the boards collect dust while the Mrs and I take nature pix. She puffs and a pen producing clouds Cheech & Chong would be proud of while I toodle puff from a pocket sized starter mod kit.
In the photo are 3 forms of sidewalk surfer. The top one is circa 1967. Talk about toodle puffing? You hit a crack in the sidewalk on that thing and you'd be toodling and puffing, and bleeding and cursing....
The irony is that todays popular skateboards come with urethane wheels not much softer and not much larger than those clay wheels of long ago.
The original urethane production skateboard wheel was a gold colored item by a company called Cadillac wheels. They were very similar to indoor roller skate wheels of the time. Soon to follow were big, soft red wine colored wheels.
In my early 40's I began collecting sidewalk surfers of various eras. Too fat, too old, and too tired to ride on waves anymore so I scored a few of the next best thing and enjoyed some hang ten action in front of my house instead. Then the Christmas Crash at 47 that led to busted ribs was when it was decided it was no longer a good idea to do that. The casual swirve had led to downhill speed runs and one day father time collided with Mr. Inertia. When I found myself wearing a crash helmet I decided this was no longer just some fun in the sun but was becoming dangerous, so I hung up the helmet and shelved the boards. The wife was happy but the local kids were bummed that the fat, gray haired kid wouldn't play anymore.
I set about photographing local hot shoe boarders at a nearby skateboard/bike park (near a soccer field) but soccer moms kept calling the police on the gray haired guy photographing kids like I was some flasher in a rain coat or something. Took some really cool photos, but after the umpteenth time of speaking to officer X about it I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle.
These days the boards collect dust while the Mrs and I take nature pix. She puffs and a pen producing clouds Cheech & Chong would be proud of while I toodle puff from a pocket sized starter mod kit.
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Ha....My (2 years older than I) sister had a pair of those.Watching her learn to use them was a hoot.
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When I was about 12 we used to visit Myrtle Beach every summer. One year I got cooked in the sun. We had discovered body surfing on inflated trash bags long before the boogie board and I played for about 3 hours longer than I should have.
I was ill from it for days and could only go out after sunset. One evening I stumbled across a bunch of surfer riding skateboards on a basketball court. They did wheelies, hand stands, and spins. It was epic. It was about 1977 when skateboarding re-ignited on the teen age scene like an atomic bomb. I was hooked.
My first try resulted in a wipe out. But the grin on my face was permanent. When we got back home I zoomed to the garage, hack-sawed one of my sisters no longer used roller skates in half and nailed it to a chunk of 2x4. I painted it orange and glued some sandpaper to it.
The next day I showed off my new setup to the neighbor kids. By sunset there were several bloody kids riding 2x4's on neighbors front sidewalk. We'd hit a crack, crash, get back up and dot it again. Then the local rich kid showed up all barking orders at us with his urethane wheel clad fiberglass deel-e-o. Buzz kill.
When he left we went back to having a blast.
Unfortunately that was about the same time those nasty cigarettes were noticed. I don't regret the limp from skateboarding, but do regret the cough from smoking. So now I toodle puff while trying to kick the habit.
I was ill from it for days and could only go out after sunset. One evening I stumbled across a bunch of surfer riding skateboards on a basketball court. They did wheelies, hand stands, and spins. It was epic. It was about 1977 when skateboarding re-ignited on the teen age scene like an atomic bomb. I was hooked.
My first try resulted in a wipe out. But the grin on my face was permanent. When we got back home I zoomed to the garage, hack-sawed one of my sisters no longer used roller skates in half and nailed it to a chunk of 2x4. I painted it orange and glued some sandpaper to it.
The next day I showed off my new setup to the neighbor kids. By sunset there were several bloody kids riding 2x4's on neighbors front sidewalk. We'd hit a crack, crash, get back up and dot it again. Then the local rich kid showed up all barking orders at us with his urethane wheel clad fiberglass deel-e-o. Buzz kill.
When he left we went back to having a blast.
Unfortunately that was about the same time those nasty cigarettes were noticed. I don't regret the limp from skateboarding, but do regret the cough from smoking. So now I toodle puff while trying to kick the habit.
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If those were Tootle Puffer skateboards...I wonder what the metal wheeled ones I still have, would be called.
If those were Tootle Puffer skateboards...I wonder what the metal wheeled ones I still have, would be called.
Deadly.
Like leeching the sick, they were not one of mankinds better ideas. lol
Tx. Great guy.I have been absent for ages just doing my thing but I wanted to let you know that @gt_1955 has sadly lost his 2.5year battle with cancer. He was a good friend and was a huge part of the Australian vaping scene. He leaves a huge hole in everyones life. A copy of the announcement on vaping in Australia.
Copy From VIA by Fatman
It is with an extremely heavy heart that I pass on to the ViA and wider vaping community the sad news of the passing of Graham Taylor , or GT (GTadmin) yesterday afternoon in Whyalla Hospital
Out of respect for the family I wanted to give them an evening of private mourning before publicly posting on the web.
GT was an amazing man, who I am sure touched many lives both in the real and virtual worlds , I am immensely proud to call him my friend in both.
There is not ONE vaper who ever frequented either AVF or ViA or ECF which he did not affect, whether they knew it or not ... He worked tirelessly administrating, overseeing, experimenting, improving, helping, and being such a steady part of these communities.
ViA in particular owes him an incredible debt because without him , it truly would not have been born ... Most older vapers will know of the frustrations we as Mods had at AVF , and for me personally GT was a rock ( along with Ingrid of course!)... The man I could always turn to for help and advice and just support in the times I was stressing or low ... He was always by my side for the good times too ... It was rare that we weren’t in daily contact , we always had a skype box on the side .
GT built ViA to address the needs of Australian Vapers for a safe place, to congregate and help each other out, share a bit of fun and knowledge.
It cost him a hell of a lot of time and sweat, and at great personal and even financial cost.
All while fighting literally for his life.
What many, if not all, other people did not know, was that Graham was also diagnosed with bowel cancer a little over two and a half years ago and has had a large section of his bowel removed. Unfortunately that cancer had also spread to his liver and to a smaller degree his lungs , he was undergoing the highest levels of chemotherapy and radiography over multiple programs for that entire time since, he had a large part of his liver removed, and for the majority of that time was fitted with a colostomy bag which had only very recently been made redundant as they reconnected his bowel only two weeks ago ...
Throughout ALL of this, his faith and stoicism never publicly lapsed , his favourite phrase was :
"Its a whole lot better than the alternative!!! "
He did not run from his diagnosis, and he fought that ....... EVERY step of the way.
The mark of the man himself was that only a very few even knew what he was going through, because in his own inimitable style, he NEVER wanted anyone to make excuses for him or feel the slightest amount of pity. It was hard for us who shared that journey with him not to share it with others, so they too could show how deeply he had affected their lives, but we promised him and that was the end of the matter .
He was determined to do the best he could, and he did...Even to the point where hardened cancer specialists and nurses were gobsmacked by his attitude and determination... he was their "Golden Boy" in many ways and much respected and admired by those treating him .
His thoughts were always about others, most especially his wife Dee & Family, and he made sure despite everything, they would be as prepared and comfortable as they could be . There was never a moment in all that time where I ever heard him utter a "poor me"
When I think of courage.... I think of GT
When I think of compassion.... I think of GT
When I think of bloody-mindedness... I think of GT
When I think of depth of character... I know I have a lot to live up to... compared to GT!
This of course doesn’t make him a saint ... he had a wickedly dry sense of humour. His OCD would drive me nuts
He was a perfectionist ( which drove me nuts).
He was set in his ways ( which drove me nuts) ...
....but it was a GOOD kind of nuts
The kind of nuts that could only come from a man trying to do the right thing above all else and I loved him for that, I really loved him for that .
Today and tonight I want you all to take to your loved ones, be with them, share something special, whether its a phone call, a quiet moment, or something as simple as a nice hot cuppa.... just to be with them ... in that moment.... because those moments can end, and life is just a collection of all those little moments tied together in a string, a string that we will never know how long or far or wide it goes .
GT and I started out as a couple of vapers, thrust together by our roles at AVF, and we became great, real life friends, in the moments we strung together in the last half a decade of so ... My only regret is not having met him earlier in my life , because I know, if not for that ....... cancer , that we were indeed lifelong friends.
I am honoured to have broken bread with him, I am honoured to have opened my heart and home to him, and most of all I am honoured to have had the limited time on this earth with him as my friend.
He wasn’t a man of big open emotions, but they were there alright and they were strong .
My world ( and I am sure the worlds of many others too) is far better for him walking through it ...
Vale GT ... to those you have left behind, especially Dee and the kids, lives have been changed and you have left your mark on the world and in the hearts of those who knew you...
You were and are forever... A truly GOOD man !
I will admit, roller skates are one thing about childhood I do not miss.
Our family got into stilts for a while, we were getting pretty good until my little sister DEMANDED to try it. So, we stuck her up on there, and like she went "Splat" straight forward and knocked out her two (thankfully baby) front teeth.
Fortunately, it was my older brother's decision to do it, so I didn't get that much into trouble. But for sheer kid happiness, my vote is going to have to be a bicycle.
Apparently, my kid found go karts to be sheer kid happiness, and sadly, I was usually his "passenger" because it appeared to be his goal to go as fast as possible at all times. I mean, I couldn't let him go alone, we were surrounded by retirement communities and elderly in golf carts, and he needed someone to defend him. This one lady had a total meltdown and threatened to report us to the park people. "No vehicles like that permitted," she said, ironically well it was more like she called it from her golf cart.
I was glad to be there that day.
Anna
Our family got into stilts for a while, we were getting pretty good until my little sister DEMANDED to try it. So, we stuck her up on there, and like she went "Splat" straight forward and knocked out her two (thankfully baby) front teeth.
Fortunately, it was my older brother's decision to do it, so I didn't get that much into trouble. But for sheer kid happiness, my vote is going to have to be a bicycle.
Apparently, my kid found go karts to be sheer kid happiness, and sadly, I was usually his "passenger" because it appeared to be his goal to go as fast as possible at all times. I mean, I couldn't let him go alone, we were surrounded by retirement communities and elderly in golf carts, and he needed someone to defend him. This one lady had a total meltdown and threatened to report us to the park people. "No vehicles like that permitted," she said, ironically well it was more like she called it from her golf cart.
I was glad to be there that day.
Anna
Stilts?
Now thatz crazy!!
Go karts are great for the future driver to learn the basics. And the lousy brakes teach you to slow down first. Unlike a learning on a riding mower you can't cut down grandmas petunias (very easily) or chop up your sisters stilts.
Now thatz crazy!!
Go karts are great for the future driver to learn the basics. And the lousy brakes teach you to slow down first. Unlike a learning on a riding mower you can't cut down grandmas petunias (very easily) or chop up your sisters stilts.
Yeah IDK, you'd think we'd have been busy enough as kids to not get into that stuff, but I remember plenty of trouble making as a kid (and with my kid).
OF COURSE he had video games but not until he was older, and even back East well, we lived on a farm, he got good at driving that tractor, and when my little brother was my nanny for my Master's degree, well, they'd go do stuff like eat tadpoles.
I had THE BEST afterschool person for my kiddo too, she was like Catholic and had countless kids, and they'd shoot each other, beat each other up, and well just general do stuff like build dams and have airsoft gun wars. My favorite thing he did there, was repeatedly toss a rock up and down in the air, until it hit him on the head. Much blood ensued. "What did you EXPECT would happen?" was my main question upon seeing the wound.
But if you haven't busted someone, busted someone else, or oh, gone outside at any time of day other than the school bus.... I don't know how these kids live that way. OR their parents.
I admire unicyclists personally because a) they all seem to be self taught, I've never heard of unicycle lessons and b) they look so SMUG as they're doing it on their commute to "hipster whatever," like even if they're crashing into a newspaper stand they manage to smug it up. I admire that. LOL.
Anna
OF COURSE he had video games but not until he was older, and even back East well, we lived on a farm, he got good at driving that tractor, and when my little brother was my nanny for my Master's degree, well, they'd go do stuff like eat tadpoles.
I had THE BEST afterschool person for my kiddo too, she was like Catholic and had countless kids, and they'd shoot each other, beat each other up, and well just general do stuff like build dams and have airsoft gun wars. My favorite thing he did there, was repeatedly toss a rock up and down in the air, until it hit him on the head. Much blood ensued. "What did you EXPECT would happen?" was my main question upon seeing the wound.
But if you haven't busted someone, busted someone else, or oh, gone outside at any time of day other than the school bus.... I don't know how these kids live that way. OR their parents.
I admire unicyclists personally because a) they all seem to be self taught, I've never heard of unicycle lessons and b) they look so SMUG as they're doing it on their commute to "hipster whatever," like even if they're crashing into a newspaper stand they manage to smug it up. I admire that. LOL.
Anna
have you seen this one? The Tenderfoot.Skateboards... the actual skateboard began in the 1960's due to the mass appeal of surfing. They were originally marketed as sidewalk surfers.
In the photo are 3 forms of sidewalk surfer. The top one is circa 1967. Talk about toodle puffing? You hit a crack in the sidewalk on that thing and you'd be toodling and puffing, and bleeding and cursing....
The irony is that todays popular skateboards come with urethane wheels not much softer and not much larger than those clay wheels of long ago.
The original urethane production skateboard wheel was a gold colored item by a company called Cadillac wheels. They were very similar to indoor roller skate wheels of the time. Soon to follow were big, soft red wine colored wheels.
In my early 40's I began collecting sidewalk surfers of various eras. Too fat, too old, and too tired to ride on waves anymore so I scored a few of the next best thing and enjoyed some hang ten action in front of my house instead. Then the Christmas Crash at 47 that led to busted ribs was when it was decided it was no longer a good idea to do that. The casual swirve had led to downhill speed runs and one day father time collided with Mr. Inertia. When I found myself wearing a crash helmet I decided this was no longer just some fun in the sun but was becoming dangerous, so I hung up the helmet and shelved the boards. The wife was happy but the local kids were bummed that the fat, gray haired kid wouldn't play anymore.
I set about photographing local hot shoe boarders at a nearby skateboard/bike park (near a soccer field) but soccer moms kept calling the police on the gray haired guy photographing kids like I was some flasher in a rain coat or something. Took some really cool photos, but after the umpteenth time of speaking to officer X about it I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle.
These days the boards collect dust while the Mrs and I take nature pix. She puffs and a pen producing clouds Cheech & Chong would be proud of while I toodle puff from a pocket sized starter mod kit.
I recently bought my GF's 5yo Grand Child a "Morf Board" (at Walmart)…
She was constantly riding her cheap and plastic ("toy") Scooter everywhere...
Now...she's riding a quite substantial Scooter everywhere...but when she's old enough (and interested)...we can remove the Handle and easily replace the Scoot Wheels (with the included set of Skate Wheels)...to end up with a quite substantial Skateboard...
Morfboard
..
She was constantly riding her cheap and plastic ("toy") Scooter everywhere...
Now...she's riding a quite substantial Scooter everywhere...but when she's old enough (and interested)...we can remove the Handle and easily replace the Scoot Wheels (with the included set of Skate Wheels)...to end up with a quite substantial Skateboard...
Morfboard
..
I like the term toodle puffer and use it at work.
But when conversating with other vape dudes on the contruction site... the ones with enough cold cranking amps to start a tractor.... they respond better to the word "stealth". It evokes thoughts of fighter jets dropping bombs on the enemy and all that John Wayne stuff.
Crane operators go big with their vapes. So a term like toodle puffer doesn't register in minds that operate giant Tonka toys for a living.
But when conversating with other vape dudes on the contruction site... the ones with enough cold cranking amps to start a tractor.... they respond better to the word "stealth". It evokes thoughts of fighter jets dropping bombs on the enemy and all that John Wayne stuff.
Crane operators go big with their vapes. So a term like toodle puffer doesn't register in minds that operate giant Tonka toys for a living.
it's hard to be stealthy with a cloud machine! I guess when you are around Diesel engines it makes little difference. I spent a couple of years early on in my career working on a DOT survey crew with huge Pans, giant Bulldozers, Drag Line Cranes, Backhoes, and Motor Graders dieseling around where we were driving hubs and stakes. I was in Marlboro Country back in the early 70s. Vaping wasn't even a thought.
Back then any classes you attended had ashtrays on the tables. And if there were 40 people in there, only about 5 poor saps didn't smoke.
I began my career in the early 80's and remember feeling bad for the non smoker in cert classes. That and the surveyor who worked their fingers off pounding stakes into sun baked clay only to see a motor grader knock them all down in like 45 seconds.
Today GPS is king and many a former smoker bust out some major clouds on the grade. It's entertaining to see a hydraulic shovel loading a truck by a person trying to vape with a 2 cell box with a garden hose sized tip. But some can do it pretty well.
Those fellows respect my shirt pocket friendly toodle puffer.
My GF loves to watch movies from the 40's and 50's on TCM...
EVERYONE is smoking EVEYWHERE...and never giving it a second thought...
..
I think i just may be a tootle puffer. I mainly vape my Erl at a modest 1.1 ohms, rarely do I vape my RDAs. The vapor production is pretty good, but I'm not blowing giant clouds by any means. I'm mainly interested in getting my nic fix, and not running through heaps of liquid. I vape 18 mg. I fill my 5ml tank up and it lasts easily 2 days or more.
And my batteries last me all day and more due to my conservative style.
So if it takes toodle puffing to extend battery life I must be one with a capital TP.
I was telling the wife this morning about my SX Mini with an 18650 "geez Louise, it's only been a week and this this is already down to 50% so I gotta charge it again."
A 4ml tank lasts about a week.
I was telling the wife this morning about my SX Mini with an 18650 "geez Louise, it's only been a week and this this is already down to 50% so I gotta charge it again."
A 4ml tank lasts about a week.
That's impressive,I only get 24 hours out of a 3000 mah battery,but then I vape more than 4 ml a week.
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