torque hub

A different part of a machine you’ve already seen.

Stay tuned! We’re having our first real snow AS I WRITE THIS and since everything today has been cancelled I am about to go play in it!

 

belt

This thing was parked in one of the lots at Brookdale Community College. It’s rather large, and it’s not usually parked there (certainly not at eight in the morning), and it got my attention.

 

grate

This photo- which was in fact taken in Monmouth County and does nicely show off the drainage grates present at Brookdale Community College- does not actually fit the guidelines I try to set for this site. And, in fact, I actually do have a surplus of other photos at the moment, so it’s not strictly necessary for me to post this now. But I’m allowing it today because I can.

 

flowing

This is a statue outside Brookdale’s Monmouth Museum.

TECHNICALLY, this should be vertical, not horizontal, but who’s picking nits?

 

gazebo 2

On the campus of Brookdale Community College, students are ONLY permitted to smoke inside seven strategically-placed gazebos. This is the ceiling of one of them. (35mm)

(This is what they look like from the outside.)

 

skating

This will be completely irrelevant for most of my usual readers, but I wish I’d had something like this when I was starting out, and I’m hoping that it’ll be useful for other novice skaters who inform themselves via search engines.

In-line skating (or: Rollerblading) at the Jersey Shore (Monmouth County, NJ)
(The following information is relevant to recreational skating [or "fitness skating"], not aggressive or speed or anything else hardcore. I can’t maneuver for the life of me.)

What are some places to Rollerblade/skate? Where can I go?
• Joe Palaia Park, Ocean Twp. (off of Whalepond Rd.):
[3 out of 5 stars]
3.0-mile figure-eight loop. The asphalt is relatively smooth (not perfect), although there does tend to be a good deal of debris on the trail (sticks and puddles, mostly). The trail circumnavigates some unremarkable fields, but a lot of the path takes you through foresty and marshy areas. It’s all fairly flat except for one long straight decline/incline- and it’s a really good hill for learning how to manage hills. This is where I usually skate. (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)

• Sandy Hook Bike Path, Sandy Hook:
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
5 miles from end to end. The asphalt is DREAMY. Seriously. I see more Rollerbladers here than anywhere else. It’s a little rough starting out at the north end (in the barracks, near the “ferry station”), and you need to cross roads and parking lot entrances several times… but the drivers are supposed to yield to you, so it’s usually not a problem. (It’s good practice for learning how to brake, anyway.) Sometimes, after a storm, so much sand blows into the path that it’s pretty much impassible on skates. The scenery is marsh forest and beach- it’s quite nice to look at.
…By the way, the site I’ve linked to for this Sandy Hook path has reviews and photos of several other Jersey-Shore bike paths. I haven’t checked any of them out yet, but they look enticing.

• Dorbrook Park, Colts Neck:
[2 out of 5 stars]
2.4 mile loop. I’m not thrilled with this one. The trail is flat and pretty much free from debris, both of which are good… but the asphalt is a little rougher than I like (though still better than most public roads), and there is NOTHING TO SEE. It’s all fields. Field upon fields upon fields. Boring as hell, unless you’re into that sort of thing. There were a lot of small children on the path when I went there, which may not be a regular thing, but you don’t really want them around to unpredictably run in front of your skates. (photo)

• Thompson Park, Lincroft (right next to Brookdale Community College):
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
Supposedly a 3 or 4.2 mile loop, depending on whom you ask, but they haven’t quite finished paving it yet (which I discovered after nearly plowing into an orange plastic fence across the path). I’d guess it’s about 3.5-4 miles at the moment. The asphalt is beautifully smooth, and the gorgeous scenery changes frequently from fields to forests to lakes. There are dunelike inclines: pleasant to coast down, not too difficult to go up. Overall, this is a very good one, and I can’t wait until they finish paving the trail. (photo)

• Edgar Felix Bike Path, Manasquan-Wall-Farmingdale (ending at Allaire Village):
[2 out of 5 stars]
Approximately 5.5 miles from end to end, but the pavement of about half of the trail (the eastern/ Manasquan portion, which used to be an old railroad) is so rough as to be unskateable. The western/ Farmingdale portion isn’t generally bad… unless you count
ten feet of gravel and a metal bar across the path, obnoxious highway crossings, and the bridges over the Garden State Parkway (which were SO much worse than they looked–on the way back, I actually took off my skates and walked over the bridges in my sock feet). Bottom line: it’s made for bikers, not skaters. (Read this post for details)

• Belmar Inline Skating Group: They meet in Belmar every Friday and Tuesday night, skate down to Sea Girt, and come back- a round trip of about 10 miles. The website I’ve provided has not been updated since 2004, but I spoke to a gentleman recently (May 2007) who informed me about the group, so I’m pretty sure it’s still running. I haven’t participated yet.

Where do I buy skates/supplies in Monmouth County?
If you’re looking for traditional fitness skates/ recreational skates, here are the only places I’ve found that carry anything:

• Sports Authority, West Long Branch- They carry the bare minimum… about 8 models of adult skates, a few wheels, some bearings, and a can of lubricant. But it’s better than WalMart.
*Update, August 2008: their in-line skate supply stock has expanded. They still don’t carry many models of actual skates, but they offer more than 2 choices for wheels now (which is the main thing I ever need replenished).
• The Sport Spot, Shrewsbury
• Dick’s Sporting Goods. Freehold is the closest location, but given what Freehold Raceway Mall says, I’m not sure it’s still alive and kicking.

Anything else I should know?

I’m no expert, but here’s what I’ve learned in the past 3-4 years I’ve been seriously Rollerblading “in-line skating:”

• Protective equipment.
Absolute bare minimum: wrist guards.
Moderate protection: add a helmet (required in the state of NJ if you’re 17 years old or younger).
Good protection: add knee pads.
Overprotection: add elbow pads.
I use a helmet and wrist guards. If you’re just starting or you want to do tricks, I’d highly recommend knee pads, too.

• Maintanence.
1. There is NOTHING as beautifully gratifying as skating on a fresh pair of wheels (except, perhaps, fresh wheels on fabulously smooth pavement).
A. This phenomenon can almost be replicated by rotating your wheels (check your manual or browse online for how to do this- it’s pretty easy. If your fingers go numb using a conventional allen wrench, look into a different tool- I use something like this).
B. As for putting new wheels in your old skates… I’ve only done this once and it was a nightmare. The bearings were entirely too large for the wheel hubs, and I needed to set up a complicated leverage system involving 2 wooden planks, a wedge, and a sledgehammer… just to get the damn bearings OUT of the old wheels. Forcing them into the new wheels was equally hellish. When I tried cleaning a couple of the bearings, I was never quite able to put them back together properly, so they stuck and made noise forever after that.
In conclusion: don’t ask me about bearing/wheel changes.
2. Try not to skate through water (you’ll slip and/or you’ll rust your bearings), sand (you’ll get grit in the bearings), or dirt (you’ll simultaneously rust your bearings AND get them gritty).

I was going to offer advice on stride, but I’m probably doing everything wrong. It’s generally recommended that you contact a skate instructor and learn good form from the beginning without developing bad habits.
(I actually spontaneously met Ken Biles in Sports Authority when buying myself a new pair of skates last Friday [5/4/07]- he clued me in to the Tuesday and Friday night Belmar freeskate, and the rate he quoted me for a private lesson was quite reasonable.)

Have I left anything out? Are my links defunct? Leave me a comment- WordPress will notify me and I’ll fix it ASAP.

 

dust

Art classes are pretty much over (until summer session, which I’m not currently signed up for, in hopes that I’ll actually get a job). But this is what the floor of the art room looked like after a few of us tacked our final 36″x48″ projects onto the wall and harassed them with chalk pastels.

 

empty halls

Inside the Main Academic Complex (MAC) at Brookdale Community College.

Why inside?

Because outside is ATROCIOUS. Everything’s closed and cancelled because of flooding, especially in western and northern Jersey. (I’m on the east. Which is still quite wet.) This is very, very crummy weather.

Thankfully, I’m leaving it behind me. I’ll be gone for about a week. I’ll try to post if I happen to make contact with an internet-capable computer, but if I don’t, I’ll be back around Sunday. Take care, ya’ll!