I just saw this in an email:

it’s time to start enjoying your ihug broadband!

Cool. Telecom actually kept their word on the start date. I’m actually a bit surprised. But nevermind, I’ve got a connection at the house. I’ve also got two computers sorely in need of an apt-get upgrade. I should have a 2Mbps download pipe, so it shouldn’t take all night to get the both going. I might have to mind my throughput cap, though. I can see a gig running through tonight, fairly easily.

I’ve discovered a new way to mess up a good evening of skating. A few days ago, I decided to pull apart my wheels and bearings and give them a bit of a clean. They were caked with dirt and grime, which made for pretty rough rolling. Towards the end of the process, I realised that my bearing oil was in a box in the back of the car. I decided to put it off until the next night instead of doing it then and there. One night became two, and when I went to put everything back together, I realised that I didn’t get enough of the moisture away from the bearings’ surfaces. Rust had taken control and I couldn’t hand-turn a single bearing.

The next hour and a half can only be described as willful destruction of my skates. I’d checked with my cyclist flatmate, and he didn’t have any sort of anti-corrosive soak, so I was left having to turn the bearings by force and get some oil in there. The only way I could think to do that was to mount the bearings in a wheel, put them in a skate, and turn the wheel by hand. The extra torque broke the rust, and I was able to free the bearings to the point where they could be oiled. In the process, I shaved a fair bit of the aluminum off the frame. I don’t think I damaged the wheels, but both the skates and the bearings had some lifespan stolen.

The lesson learned: don’t put off doing what really should be done.

I did manage to catch up with the people I was planning to skate with. I was both louder and slower than usual, but at least they moved. I guess I now have a little bit more incentive to get a new set of skates.