Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Israel Vs Palestine: A Study in WTF?

Ok, so we go on about the environment a LOT. Why? Because we fricking care. Deeply.

Normally, we'd (by "we'd", I mean, "I - Tim, Heresy Founder") steer clear of something like this, but seeing as I run this damn site, I can do what I want. So read on, don't get angry, have a think. Do some reading. This carry on has gone on too long. I posted this as I care about other humans.

I'm not going to go into the many years of history between Palestinians and Israelis/Jews (many people, who know a LOT more than I, can go on about this) but watching the news tonight...for eff's sakes. Seriously guys? Seriously?

I was struck by the stupidity and futility of the current Israeli offensive (officially in reprisal for Hamas' breaking the truce by launching mortar attacks), so much so I'd like to say:
1. Hamas are really, really dumb for either launching rockets at Israel, or allowing militants to do so. Hamas, Israel is armed to the teeth. Here is a nation/tribe of people prepared to fight to the death for their patch. They don't have anywhere else. Deal with it. Root out the baddies and deal with them. Or else accept the fact Israel will exist and broker a deal.
2. Israel is really, really, REALLY dumb for killing (so far) around 300 people (unknown innocent civilians, my guess is a large portion of those) in Palestine. No doubt Mossad has super good intel, but come on. You can't shoot airborne armaments into a REALLY densely populated area and not expect innocent deaths.
3. Israel is super dumb if they think they can do this and it won't piss a LOT of Palestinians off (hint: what does that do for Palestinian kids' perceptions of Israel? "Hey, I'll blow some up, no big deal. They killed my whole family. Eye for an eye and all that Old Testament stuff". Sounds wild right? All aboard the mutually assured destruction express! Woo!).
4. WTF do children and women and for that matter innocent mean need to be killed, on either side. Get your fighters on the field with swords and have yerselves a good ol' fashioned gorefest but FFS, keep the Goddamned kids and ladies out of it.

I'm not for or against either side; they both have good points. My point is, why can't we all just get along.

My suggestions, for what they're worth (probably nothing - many people smarter than I have worked on this):
1. Israel. Stop bombing Palestine. Achieving nothing. You're surrounded by Arab states. My guess is
a) they're getting angry. Really angry.
b) Israel. You're stoking, and I mean rrrreally stoking, militant/mujihadeen fuel. Not helpful.
2. Hamas. Accept Israeli state. Period. Stop the shelling.
3. Israel. Smother these people with love. I mean it. Give them power and internet (solar power please). Stock their hospitals. Ship in food. Water. Build their schools up (UN administered to ensure non militant curriculum). This will take ages but you could ensure the next generation of Palestinians only know about Israeli kindness - "but father I don't hate the Israelis. Why would I bomb them. They help us so much."

Sorry for the rant. It just makes me SO SAD. Killing bad, m'kay?

Maybe sling some money to the Red Crescent to help out.

Sorry, we at Heresy care. We're not here just to sell things and save the planet and make killer stuff. In fact, I'd gratefully never sell ANYTHING again if it stopped this mindless slaughter.

Rant off.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Product Drop: Limited Ed Colours, new prints

Ho, ho, ho! Like some sort of awesome Santa, we're dropping stuff all about the place.

Now, we were looking back at some of our early stuff, which really was pretty rubbish (we didn't realise it at the time, promise!). It's funny how you grow as a company, and many of those on our mailing list have watched this from the start (I see a few of them who have been with us since we started in May 2002).

But we're very stoked on our new stuff, we think it's getting better and better and the feedback we're getting from our sales crew and from emails seems to agree.

Anyway, here we go - most of our stuff will be running in predominantly unisex sizing - after speaking with our female crew, they tell us that girls stuff slightly loose is hot this summer - plus we think girls look crazy good in slightly loose tees and singlets - just ask the kids over at Hayley Mei.

First up we have Roots. This design, Heresy loves it. It's from one of our designers over at Messy Design. It really does speak to what we're all about, not just as snowboarders, but as humans. It symbolises the symbiotic relationship we have with everything around us. No Earth = no humans. We have to look after this planet, really we do. We've run this on unisex tees and singlets (down to small for ladies), and a girls-only cap tee.



Next up we have Shark/Amaze. As previously posted about shark finning
, we think it's very lame - in fact it's fricking shaky what goes on - so we want to help stop it. This beautiful artwork from Messy Design once again (love you long time Jase) is designed to make people look twice. Maybe you can explain why shark finning is so wrong (you know, sharks being finned and thrown back to drown or be fed on alive ... that old chestnut).




Next we have Snowboarder. I like this one because the message is simple but the implementation requires you to look twice and decipher it...."WHAT does that SAY?". It's pretty strong too, "I'm a snowboarder." Says a lot by not saying much. We're going to run this on some other stuff too, but we wanted some bright stuff now for the southern hemi summer and bright for the northern winter to cheer you all up. We printed this low as it's a bit different and keeps the chest pretty clean. The stripey singlets we did this on look rad - we will post some photos in the next few days.

Below we have 'Heresy, J'adore' - thanks to Kat for this art. This is for girls only. We love it.


Keep an eye out on the store for these soon.

-tim|heresy

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Merry Christmas!

As we all start to wind down to experience the joy of Christmas, we here at Heresy would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday. Drink, be merry, and drive and play safe.

As you sit down to dinners and lunches with your families and friends, we ask you to spare a thought for some less fortunate souls in the world. As of today, we have:
- Conflict in Afghanistan
- Conflict including the use of systemic mass rape, in Sudan and the Congo
- Trouble in Rwanda
- Zimbabwe falling apart
- Sectarian violence in Iraq (still)
- China / Tibet
- Homeless people globally, destined for a lonely, poor Christmas (contrast this to the consumption frenzy at shopping centres at this time of the year)
- Many more....

Please spare a thought for those less fortunate and if you can find a spare $1 or $10 or whatever for your local charity or someone like Oxfam or Amnesty International, please help them.

However, despite the ongoing misery in the world, we see many beautiful things too. Heresy just heard his little brother ripping the keyboard apart on the radio - playing in The Red Eyes, a truly life-affirming, uplifting, tear-inducing dub reggae band. Pride in your little brother and his mates.

Sunrise. Sunset. Dogs playing on the beach.

We watched as thousands of cyclists pedalled along the beach in our hometown today, out enjoying the sunshine, smiling and spending time with each other.

We watched as Heresy's friend from uni lay on his lawn, with his 9-month old sun on his stomach, both laughing and smiling.

We sat on our balcony as our neighbours laughed their way through a Christmas BBQ, a sneaky cold beer in our hand, sunlight streaming down.

Yes, there is much sadness in the world, and, thankfully, much joy. Let's continue to do our best to dispel as much sadness as possible; with kindness we can do much good for this Earth and our fellow humans and animals.

We thought we'd recommend 2 new albums to you for Christmas, for those of you who dig rock, punk or a bit of hardcore. We have two very different albums to present to you, from two of our very favourite bands. The Cross of my Calling, the new one from The (International) Noise Conspiracy, is a hugely UPLIFTING positive album. It sounds super warm and almost loungesque. The message is one of activism and change, but in a positive manner. Last two tracks on the album rule, as well as Hiroshima, mon Amour. Can't wait to see Denis bouncing around for this.

The second album is Rise Against's new one, Appeal to Reason. I didn't rate this CD at first, as I'm very enamoured with Siren Song, Revolutions Per Minute and Sufferer, however it's quickly growing on me. Track 1, Collapse (Post-Amerika) is a blistering, incendiary refrain for change. Check the lyrics out below as well as a YouTube video - not of them live (though some footage exists of them playing this). This is a call to arms on the environment if ever we've heard one.



Lyrics to Collapse (Post-Amerika) :
When our rivers run dry and our crops cease to grow
And when our summers grow longer and winters won’t snow
From the banks of the ocean and the ice in the hills
To the fight in the desert where progress stands still
When we’ve lost our will

That’s how we’ll know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
We're crashing into the ground as all fall from grace

When the air that we breathe becomes air that we choke
When the marsh fever spreads from the swamps to our homes
When your home on the range has been torn down and paved and
The buffalo roam to a slaughterhouse grave
What more will it take

For us to know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
Kissing the ground as well fall from grace

This is a chance to set things straight
To bend or break the rules back into place
There is no middle ground, no compromise, we’ve drawn the line
With perfect aim, we stand back and throw
Glass windows break and it’s all about to blow
Lights go out as we pass the torch again
In hope that it stays lit

Neutrality means that you don’t really care
Cause the struggle goes on even when you’re not there
Blind and unaware

That’s how we’ll know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
We're crashing into the ground as we all, yeah we all, all fall from grace


Both these bands are playing together in an Australian tour in late March, check them out - we like them as they really tie in to the things we fundamentally believe in at Heresy, both personally and on a business level. We'll be doing photos so stay tuned for some of those!

Enjoy your Christmas, and THANK-YOU to everyone who has supported us throughout the year.

Tim M / Heresy founder and agitator for change

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Climate Change Delusion

Following on from Heresy's letter (and our subsequent blog post here) to News Weekly, they've followed up that effort with another stellar effort, stunning in its ignorance of fact. You can read it here.

Heresy again replied (see below) and this is the last time we'll do that, because Heresy has now realised he is fighting a losing battle against such stupidity - the sooner these dinosaurs disappear from the Earth, the better. Our time is wasted, so we'll be deploying it in a more inefficient manner henceforth. Unfortunately for these people, the argument has moved beyond a "Yes versus No" one to one of "How bad will it be?".

Our response:
Sir,
regarding Peter Westmore's article "Arctic melting..." Nov 22, 2008 - you continue to misrepresent data in a form that is egregious in its ignorance of both statistical theory and fact.

I realise that this will be a wasted effort once again, but I provide countering facts to your article using data over a much longer period than your 1 year, and where possible using scientific organisations unlikely to have a vested interest beyond recording statistics:
1. Polar bear numbers since the 1970s have increased due to conservation efforts not increased sea ice - overall their numbers are decreasing again due to lack of adequate habitat: see here http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/polarbear/pdf/Polar_Bear_%20Status_Assessment.pdf - doesn't sound like the utopian "no adverse impact to flora and fauna" you describe.
2. You can not pick two close discrete points of data and claim a long-term trend based on this; as I have said before it's dishonest and incorrect; sea ice is getting lower in summer - you would expect summer to suffer first as it is more marginal - see http://www.nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ and http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/legrande_02/
3. Summer polar ice, when compared to the 1979-2000 mean, has been the lowest on record the last two years - that 2008 was higher than 2007 does not disavow this fact - the trend remains intact.
4. Temperatures continue to trend upwards, see http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/. Please stop using satellite data as a means for proving cooling. It is a poor means of measurement. As the atmosphere grows denser from more moisture, it increases its shielding capability, making the Earth appear cooler from space when in actual fact the heat is being absorbed into the ocean creating a positive (bad) feedback.

Further:
1. You don't need a marked increase in temperatures to cause catastrophic change; 2-3 degrees will do. Snowlines up, alpine habitat destroyed, wetlands in trouble, Barrier Reef in trouble due to increased ocean acidity and temperature.
2. In regard of the above; the carbon we pumped into the atmosphere 20 years ago until today will add to the CO2 load for the next 20 years or so - it is not a boolean switch we can turn off - the worst is yet to come.
3. There are an estimated 2 Billion Chinese and Indian middle class yearning for the consumer-driven western way of life (read pollution).
4. Picking one scientist to quote to back your point is not what I would call consensus.
5. Further increases in atmospheric temperatures will unlock a predicted 1000 Gigatons of Methane (CH4) from Arctic permafrosts - methane is 20 times more dangerous than CO2 and that is more CO2 equivalent than in the entire atmosphere.

The climate is an amazingly complex thing, we don't know for sure what will happen but this all comes down to risk Peter. What would you rather: if you're wrong and we've done nothing, it'll be too late. If I'm wrong, I'll look stupid, but the worst I'll have done is removed inefficient polluting industries addicted to cheap energy like crack addicts (or forced them to pay the real cost to the community) but also have created many, many jobs and innovation in removing man from being a slave to non-renewable resources in green industries. Hmmmm.

The argument has moved from Yes versus No. It is now a question of "How bad will it be." You might like to read "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedmann to avail yourself of some facts and figures.

Cheers and thanks for the chance to reply

Tim Marsh
Director, Heresy Snowboarding

Disclaimer: I have a vested interest in the alpine industry but I have a vested interest in the Earth as a human who wishes his children to see a clean healthy planet

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Internet Environment Wars

Heresy has been busy getting hot and bothered on the Internet of late. There are some mischevious people floating around and we are making it our business to re-educate them.

Before reading on, we ask you to remember:
- We believe in global warming (GW) and also Anthropogenic GW (AGW)
- We believe that we should act (even if we're proven wrong later) because even if we act and are wrong, the worst we have done is create green industries and reduced our reliance on non-renewable resources, in the process creating a cleaner world and human race. If we don't act, and the denialists are wrong, it'll be too late. Not only will our ski seasons be diminished/eliminated, the planet will be in big trouble.

Ok, so on Crikey.com.au on 9th December serial mischief maker T. Calderwood wrote:

Tamas Calderwood writes: Re. "Richard Farmer's political bite-sized meaty chunks" (yesterday, item 11). The most important point to note about the temperature graph referenced by Richard Farmer is that the entire global warming case rests on a warming trend that occurred over the past 30 years. This warming was no more dramatic than the previous warming trend from 1910-1945.

Furthermore, the GW theory has no explanation for the cooling trend between 1945-1980. Finally, if recent chilly temperatures are not evidence that global warming may be slowing then what standard of evidence is required? Is the theory not falsifiable?
Tamas has a history of casting aspersions on GW - as he is entitled to do. But, he also has a habit of cherry picking data to back his claims - very naughty.

We responded on 10 December (some other contributors had good responses to Calderwood also):

Tim Marsh writes: Calderwood is being mischievous again. Really, Tamas, you're starting to sound like A. Bolt and science notwithstanding, you cannot claim a chilly Melbourne early December as proof positive that GW/AGW is a furphy/slowing/etc; statistically that is impoverished thinking and it's intellectually childish (perhaps you were being a bit cheeky or ironic?). What next sir; some rain in January means the drought is broken?

You continue to seem to ignore or recognise the broader concerns about high CO2 (and related CH4) emissions creating a long-term positive feedback with unknown consequences and to cherry pick little titbits on a micro-level in a disingenuous manner. For what it's worth, I'd rather act, and be wrong (and on the way develop sustainable energy and reduce reliance on Big Petro), than not act and be wrong. Wouldn't that be a monumental stuff up?

Tamas responded on Dec 11 thus:

Tamas Calderwood writes: Stephen Morris (yesterday, comments) says the Global Warming hypothesis can be supported with data from at least 1900 onwards but human CO2 emissions only really took off after WWII, just as the planet stopped warming for about 35 years. Surely this implies that natural factors are more important in determining our climate than CO2. Tim Marsh (yesterday, comments) chides me for claiming a chilly Melbourne December means global warming is falsified. Huh? I said the past eight years of cooling are evidence that global warming may be slowing.
 
Matt Hardin (yesterday, comments) claims there is too much evidence from too many fields in support of the GW hypothesis. This is a common claim but it’s false. The only "evidence" in support of GW is a slightly warmer planet over the past 150 years and a bunch of computer models that say it’s caused by man-made CO2. But the climate constantly changes. Recent fluctuations are within normal bounds. Natural factors have always dominated our climate and I’m yet to see convincing evidence that that’s changed.

The burden of proof is therefore on the GW theory. If the planet keeps cooling (as it shows signs of doing) then policies for massive taxes to "stop global warming" are going to look increasingly ridiculous.

Whilst he has some worthy points, and is completely entitled to maintain a sceptical line (which however in our mind is very foolish), we felt strongly compelled to respond on Dec 12:


Tim Marsh writes: Crikey, although I don't wish to engage in a slanging match on your pages, I really must take issue with Tamas Calderwood (yesterday, comments) either cherry picking or misquoting people/facts/stats, or being slightly unclear. Tamas, on Dec 9 you said (my highlighting): "Furthermore, the GW theory has no explanation for the cooling trend between 1945-1980. Finally, if recent chilly temperatures are not evidence that global warming may be slowing then what standard of evidence is required?" Firstly, I don't see a cooling period on trend-terms between 45-80.

Moreover, although I will acknowledge you did mention 1945-1980 (you did not mention eight years anywhere as you claim on Dec 11), you clearly seek to link the recent chilly temperatures to support your beliefs. I inferred, by the use of the term "recent", that you meant December or some similar timeframe. Perhaps my mistake, but again I make the point that on a pure statistical basis there is a trend upwards.

This link shows data beyond the 30-year period you mention, and regardless of a temporary decline, the trend is:

1. clearly upwards on a statistical basis, and
2. has accelerated as the emissions from the past 100 years have begun to create a feedback loop.

More information (amongst a raft of it) here.

Tamas, I again state: I would MUCH rather be wrong about this, having acted (and created a new world of non-fossil fuel based jobs, products and services), than be on your side of the fence, and not act (waiting, waiting), because that would be disastrous. The train of ecological destruction, once past tipping point, is not a simple switch to turn off.

From a purely business-risk point of view, I am firmly of the belief that we should act regardless. You, it seems to me, see risk/costs/job loss. I, as an innovator, see many opportunities for new job creation and smarter, better and more efficient ways of doing things, so my kids can surf, snowboard and enjoy this Earth (still the only habitable planet we know about for now) well beyond my death. Think about it. What are you so scared of?

Heresy is firmly of the belief that we have seen a shift in the argument in the main, from a GW/AGW versus no-such-basis, to a starting point of agreement on the occurrence of warming and discussion/debate raging as to how bad it's going to be, what's causing it (humans or not) and what we need to do. Which is a welcome shift by the way.

What do you think about this? We bang on about this stuff a lot, we know, but it's because the snow seasons will be the first things affected.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

How to Make a Snowboard - Part 5

How to Make a Snowboard - Part 5
This is part 5 in our series showing how to make a snowboard from start to finish.

In Part 1 we learned about the printing of the base and topsheet graphic and the transfer onto the actual base and topsheet material.

In Part 2 we cut the base in preparation for the next steps - attaching the rails and cutting the core and attaching the sidewalls.

In Part 3 we attached the rails
(step 4) and prepped the core with the inserts, tipfill and attached the sidewalls (step 5).

Part 4 saw us cut the glass, prep the topsheet print and lay up the board (steps 6-8).

In part 5, we press, remove and cure the board.

Step 9: Pressing the Board
As we run boards, the press stays on and is controlled at a constant temperature. As we put the board in, we must maintain the layup in a straight alignment. Interestingly, you will see the mold is flat, but the press is modular in construction allowing us to change the camber etc depending on what boards we're running. In most cases we can keep the same press for most lengths with some minor tweaks.

At this stage, a lot of brands will press completely flat, remove, finish the boards, and then repress to get camber etc. This allows a more efficient production line but at the serious compromise of resin integrity due to re-heating.



Step 10/11: Removal+Cure

These two steps are pretty simple, we remove the board, clear away the molds and prepare for curing.

We can see SB being super careful here.




The board is now ready for drilling, cutting and finishing - these will form the last two parts of our series, so stay tuned and check in for the next series.  You can always subscribe to the blog feed to ensure you get the latest info to your RSS reader.


In the meantime, you can check the boards out at our online store.

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Monday, December 1, 2008

We're slack?

No, we're not slack. We're busy, busy, building things in the background to make this baby easier to manage. In the meantime, we've hooked up a rep in Austria (more news on that later) and have basically finished the 2009 AU/NZ/Sth America (which is 09-10 Northern Hemi range)

Other delightful things we've been up includes seeing Lagwagon, CW Stoneking, attending Movember parties, so on and so forth.

We'll have a heftier update soon, along with some 09 clothing teasers and a VERY exciting new little project we're running (all you people who've bought our stuff and thrown down with support, start looking for photos of you in our stuff, because it's reward time).

In the meantime here's a photo of the chaos the Lagwagon show. Well, we do need some downtime.


-tim