Easy for you to say, motherf*cker.

What if the 'now' is completely screwed up? What if your present is where the proverbial doo-doo hits the fan and you are impotent to rescue it? What if, for example, the present is filled with your parents' divorce, being ignored by your classmates/colleagues, or your body in constant pain?

Why should you make the most out of a now that sucks like a Dyson? Should you be condemned for longing for the past or attempting to picture a brighter future? Apparently so, according to hard-core new-agers who simplistically urge you to live in the present.

'Living' implies submission to the course of events that shaped a present contrary to your wishes. You need not submit to something ambivalent to your wishes, indeed your existence. You need not accept your Dad's new girlfriend or the company restructure. With your eye on the future and your hand on your cudgel you can bludgeon your present into a future worth living in.

I refuse to live in a present that sucks.

Got a chance to blow the cobwebs out of Burke the Thirsty Merc. Yuriko stuck the bloody Wilpena Pound pass right on the wind screen. Took me an hour to scrape the glue off.

Crown Oaks Day: Upon later perusal of the photos I found the fit-minger ratio fairly even. I think as you walk through the crowd your attention is occupied by the hot people giving the impression that there are more of them than there actually are.

BMW F650 Dakar: Too much bike for me. I am a small Asian guy. I don't need 650cc all to myself. It's heavy as hell. Next time I want a 250cc so I won't be so screwed if I drop it.

Victoria: beautiful.

South Australia: Big long roads. Did 130km/h easily. Beyond that, wind shear would blow my hands off the throttle.

Big shoutz to Garner's for the bike and the advice.