K'Tesh's Kite Log...

[K'Tesh]

Mixed bag, and a lot of disappointment.

Tonight I went out to fly my kite with the new lights. The wind was coming from the south which means that the buildings were screwing up the winds close to the waterfront. Try and try as I might I can't get the kite to go up for more than a minute. I move, and try again, and move and try again. There's wind up there, but those buildings are messing it up something fierce.

I spot the 3 meter kite of the guy who has the really neat lights, but I can't find him. He finds me instead. I don't know how he did it, but he got my kite launched. After it's well established, he passes it back to me, and we go to where he tied his kite up. His is flying fine. His kite flies to the right, mine pulls left, so we're in no danger of crossing the lines.

He starts putting his lights up, and even in daylight they are showing up beautifully. Mine go up, and they disappear until just after sunset. I let my kite considerably farther out than his.

As it's getting dark, I notice that his lights are dipping lower and lower, and eventually one after another goes into the drink. Some stay on, others are out of commission. My kite starts to dip, and I decide to bring it in. Things are going well until I get to the first light, the simple lark's head knot is so tightly clamped down on my lights, I have to cut the light's string. By that time, several people are helping to bring the kite in before it goes into the drink... When we get to the windmills, they are completely tangled up, and again, I have to cut their line, and several people start unwinding it from the line. But the kite is falling fast. So a couple of guys start hand over hand and bring it in quick, but not quick enough. My kite goes into the drink, mere feet off shore.

My kite's wet, but the other guy lost his kite. When it went down, it went down between two anchored motor boats, and I suspect that it fouled on an anchor chain, and got cut through by barnacles. I don't know how much he lost, but the kite was 200 RMB (~$31 USD). I think he lost most if not all of the string of lights except for those that were attached below the point where the line broke.

We part ways from the beach, me with my soggy sandy kite, and all of my gear (plus one of the lights he gave me). But on the way home, I stopped to get something to eat. I was 3/4 the way home when I realized I didn't have my kite with me. I've backtracked my steps to the restaurants I went to (one was closing, the other was still open)... closing one was still cleaning when I got there, and remembered that I had the kite, where I actually bought dinner was dark when I got there.  I do have a chat line with them to verify that they have my favorite dish, and they didn't remember seeing it.  There's one other place I stopped at before I noticed it was gone, but by the time I got back there, it too was closed.

My name and email address is on the kite, so I've still got a chance to get it back if it's not there. The sad thing is that I was planning on writing my name and email address on the kite bag, and putting a handle on it so I could hook it on the bike.

So, I'm really bummed right now, but feeling a lot of gratitude to the people of Yantai for all their help.

[Edmond Dragut]

Karma ?

[K'Tesh]

7 hours ago, Edmond Dragut said:

Karma ?

Just what do you mean by that?

 

[John Barresi]

Knowing Edmond somewhat, my first assumption is that it’s not intended as negative but I am curious to hear his reply.

[K'Tesh]

A few people have been in touch with me regarding Edmond's post.  They've explained that Edmond is not a native English speaker (which I had already gathered (I'm an English as a foreign language teacher, it's my job to know things like that)), and he usually means well, but sometimes has problems with the language.

[K'Tesh]

OK...  Today's news. 

I was able to backtrack to the closed restaurant and found the kite there.  I took it to my "Lair" and washed the sand and seaweed off of it.  I've also written my name and email address, as well as the phone number of the school's secretary (her idea) on the kite bag.  So, if it gets lost again, someone can call her and she'll notify me.  I've also added a handle to the bag to allow me to hang it from my bike, and not need to hold it (or put it down when grabbing something else).

My new spool has had a few issues...  The supplied strap was too short, and was cutting into my neck.  I made another strap for it, but it was too long, and it was cutting into my neck (despite me adding a pad to it), also the hooks I was using came from another bag that I have but wasn't using, but they kept opening up at the oddest moments.  I've since shortened the new strap, and took the hooks from the spool's original strap.  I also added a neck pad made from a microfiber (microfibre?) washcloth.  It's working a treat.  I could feel the spool moving as I was bicycling (how I get around about here), but the strap didn't feel like it was trying to cut my head off.  FWIW, The new strap is only about 4" longer than the original.

The sky is hazy (heat ~30C/(High 80's F) and humidity is pretty high)(read: Hot and sticky).  Winds are strong but I can't determine wind direction from here as the many tall buildings make things very strange.  I'm planning on flying later on, closer to sundown, presuming that no afternoon storms spring up.

 

[Exult]

Your kite loss pain and frustration is evident. Perhaps some "I've lost my kite" notes if possible to put up in public? Losing kites is something of a paranoia of mine. It has happened on the subway that I panicked for a second after getting off only to realize that I never brought my kite bag that day. I always finish a session by checking around for forgotten items and even then I almost missed a Rev once lying flat on the ground behind a bump. Except when traveling for several hours on a train or bus I put an arm through a handle or lean the bag/sleeves against me. The principle is that I should not be able to leave without noticing the bag.  If I find a good long key ring yo-yo (rolls up the string by itself if not under load) I'd fit a small carabiner to it so that I'd be physically attached to the bag.

Best Luck with getting your kite back!

[K'Tesh]

3 minutes ago, Exult said:

Best Luck with getting your kite back!

3 minutes ago, Exult said:

Thanks for that!

I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you'll already know I recovered the kite.

[Edmond Dragut]

remember your latest remarks about kevlar lines? remember your" non negative" "THINK WHATEVER YOU WANT" after i wish you good luck ? i write KARMA with a single thing in mind, karma.if that is negativity i take responsibility of but on the same time i am sorry for your loss and i post already in the past mi feeling about other fliers loss. 

Yes i am not an native English speaker and also i have deep European education where an advice is taken with a THANK YOU and is your business how you act after. like an European i said  KARMA just to show you dear teacher how fast some things may happen and how all of us may need to pay a bit more attention even at using the choice of words.

happy for you to get the kite back.

P.S.

for non native English speakers this is the meaning i find explained 

Whatever is a slang term meaning "whatever you say" , "I don't care what you say" or "what will be will be". The term is used either to dismiss a previous statement and express indifference or in affirmation of a previous statement as "whatever will be will be".^[1] An interjection of "whatever" can be considered offensive and impolite or it can be considered affirming. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the word became a sentence in its own right; in effect an interjection, often but not always, used as a passive-aggressive conversational blocking tool, leaving the responder without a convincing retort.^[2]

 

[Edmond Dragut]

for the ones who do not know about i am taking here is the link 

 

[K'Tesh]

buna Edmond,

I think you and I got off on the wrong foot. 

Your message prior to the "whatever" comment you cited by me felt very troll-ish.  I've not interacted with you before, and haven't had a chance to read any of your posts.  I was unsure of your meaning, and I measured my remark to try and not start a flame war. I realize that English is not an easy language, we have ambiguity everywhere, there are often several meanings for the same word (patient for example, someone under the care of a doctor, or someone who is willing to wait?).  Even "Good Luck" can be twisted into a negative.  "Whatever" wasn't intended as the dismissive meaning, but it's likely that you were struggling to decrypt the version that it was meant to have.  Also because this is a typed medium, you can't tell if someone is being serious, or snarky, typing doesn't give you "tone" clues. Then there's the whole idiom thing (e.g. wrong foot).

Karma implies that good things happen to people who deserve it, and bad things happen to people who deserve that.  My kite going swimming was bad.  My friend's kite going swimming, being lost, and all the lost lights that he had was a bad thing.  "Karma ?" was not the response I was expecting.

So with that, I hope we both have learned something.

Toate cele bune

[K'Tesh]

Tonight's flight report.  Winds were strong and from the ESE...  Translation, though there was wind, those tall buildings blocked most of it.  At one point, the line is screaming off the reel, and then the kite was literally slammed into the ground.  I kept moving west and trying again.  I got the kite up, and it felt like I had found a spot with "clean" air, then the kite got twisted up, and ended up in a power dive.  Yup...  it didn't go flying...  it went swimming... again. 

I walked all the way down to the far end of the waterfront, and the wind was swirling.  At that point I called it a night, and headed home.  Oh, and all those tall buildings?  The only ways out of the waterfront area are by going between them.  I nearly was blown off the bicycle trying to make it home (which is south, and uphill).  Oh joy...  headwinds on an uphill.

[Edmond Dragut]

am onoarea K'Tesh

i am happy you see mi point and trust me English is not hard at all comparing with Romanian (my native language how you already figure out ) or German or French, end because here everything is on writing i use the base of the words. if you will find my past posts you will find quotes when i want to use a different meaning ( or to quote somebody ) of the word and from what i know in writing is the only way to show a twist,I also know the content after a word create the meaning. 

i say what i know and i write what i think without to try to offend ore to create acidity so i am glad if we may agree and shake the hands.any resentment from mi side 

cu deosebita stima

Edmond

P.S. 

am onoarea is also used like i respect you, is a privilege (to speak or to meet)  you and couple more. 

cu deosebita stima is all the above plus a great deal of honor.

Romanian is one of the oldest still living language (direct from Latin base) of the world and in vocabulary are included words from other old languages ( Germanic, Slavic, Turkish, Greek, Tamil )  and new ones during of the past 2000 years. i tell you this to understand better the complexity and choice of word use from my side. 

Multumesc

[Breezin]

Hmmm I read both K'Tesh and Edmonds posts with much interest. The struggles, persistence  and sharing the experience by K'Tesh is much appreciated. In matters of safety Edmond is very adamant about keeping myself and others around me safe. Pulls no punches and is very blatant in expressing his opinion on safety. Seems to me that his opinions have come from a lot of personal experiences and are much appreciated. I pay a lot of attention to the discussions on safety. In my short time at this I've done some foolish things. Feel fortunate that myself and others have not been hurt. Mostly getting tangled in lines from self launching kites that I hadn't set properly. In 20+ winds things happen pretty freaking fast. Even now I've been in high winds set the kite. Winds gust a bit from a different direction and kite will take off. In 20+ I rarely walk down the line to and from the kite. Walking in a arc I then approach from behind. One time I leaned down without my hand on nose. Kite came up and popped me in the jaw. Watery eyed, bruised and pissed  lesson learned.☮️

[K'Tesh]

2 hours ago, Edmond Dragut said:

am onoarea K'Tesh

i am happy you see mi point and trust me English is not hard at all comparing with Romanian (my native language how you already figure out ) or German or French, end because here everything is on writing i use the base of the words. if you will find my past posts you will find quotes when i want to use a different meaning ( or to quote somebody ) of the word and from what i know in writing is the only way to show a twist,I also know the content after a word create the meaning. 

i say what i know and i write what i think without to try to offend ore to create acidity so i am glad if we may agree and shake the hands.any resentment from mi side 

cu deosebita stima

Edmond

P.S. 

am onoarea is also used like i respect you, is a privilege (to speak or to meet)  you and couple more. 

cu deosebita stima is all the above plus a great deal of honor.

Romanian is one of the oldest still living language (direct from Latin base) of the world and in vocabulary are included words from other old languages ( Germanic, Slavic, Turkish, Greek, Tamil )  and new ones during of the past 2000 years. i tell you this to understand better the complexity and choice of word use from my side. 

Multumesc

Hi Edmond,

There was some back channel conversations going on.  Someone let me know you're Romanian, that's how I found out.  Google translate did the rest.  I read and speak English fluently (though it was my 2nd language (Hawaiian Pidgin (which is actually a creole language) being my first).  I left Hawaii when I was almost 6, and lost the accent and the language (for the most part).
 

Now, it's almost a quarter past one in the morning...  Time for bed.

Peace.

[makatakam]

English is not my first language either. Polish is. I speak, read and write both fluently. I have noticed, and this is probably true among all languages, that any language as defined by a dictionary is not nearly the same as the definition given it by common usage. What it means on the street is not the same as in the book. This is what makes the transition from most languages to English difficult. In most languages words, as defined, rarely have more than two or three meanings and are much easier to understand when used in context. The English language, on the other hand, gives several definitions to each of many words so that the meaning (intent) is not as easily understood, even in context. Even the English spoken in different regions/countries takes on completely different symantics depending on the location. For example, the same word can have different meanings in street use depending on whether used in England, Canada, the United States or Jamaica. In some parts of the world you'll know the words but understand nothing. Common usage is what makes the language. What is taught in schools is not. Finding a common language is what makes life interesting.

Therefore, I have no idea of what to do or say, except "Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe".

[Edmond Dragut]

i am probably blunt and blatant because is what i think and i share. i do not go on details when i explain i try just to make the people to comprehend the danger and for better understanding YES last year at one kite festival (is not important witch one) inside of performers area i was in path of a loose 4 fits delta kite with kevlar line with stake winder. i had at that point two quads and a dual line parked in around 15 mph wind and you guess what happened? i may be the biggest unlucky person but all three lines was cut. two lines for one quad, one line for the second quad and one line for dual. on top of that mi wife had a really nasty burn over the shoulder when the kevlar line past her. mi biggest concern was my wife and i forget about 200$ lost in lines.  thank God they do not have lines glazed with glass.

again i am sorry if i create a big dispute, i tried just to rise awareness " have fun, smile and breath "

[John Barresi]

The quality and tone of this exchange continues to validate the pride I have for all of you, and the community that YOU ultimately create and manage here. 🙏🏻

Thank you.

[K'Tesh]

Ok... I'm back again...

Edmond, I'm really sorry to hear about the damage and injury caused by your experience with Kevlar lines.  I've also had a kite cut down by someone else's poor choice in lines.  At a kite fly I organized in Ashland, Oregon, back in the 1980's, someone was flying one of those old plastic delta Hi-Flier type kites (that oldtimers may remember being the kites of choice when we were kids (cheap and reliable)) on over a thousand feet of monofilament fishing line.  My Trilby 8 pack was flying in the only open space suitable for a stunt kite though there was a lot of space still in the park for other fliers. I had no visual indication of their kite... it was too far out to see when your vision is focused on 8 kites spinning and twirling a 150' away.  Nobody in the crowd around me apparently could see it either, as nobody told me that there was another kite flying there..  Every now and again, I'd fly close to the line, and this group of people sitting on a blanket would get excited, but I couldn't see why.  My kite was nowhere near them (or so I thought).  Turns out they were trying to warn me away from their invisible line.  You can guess what happened.  One second my kite is flying fine, then they start shouting something I can't hear (again), next thing it was like my kite hit an invisible wall and starts fluttering to the ground like a butterfly hit by a shotgun blast.  My kite's bridle was cut through in a couple of places, a few of the sails were badly sliced.  Their $2 kite was lost, as well as all the line they had played out. I ultimately had to replace a couple of the sails and the cut bridle lines... Not much actual $$$ lost, but for an unemployed high school student it was.

In retrospect, had they sent someone over to actually tell me that there was a kite out there, we wouldn't have had a problem.  Better still would be if they hadn't flown a kite on an invisible line, or perhaps yielded that area to me (there was a lot of space for them all over the park, but not so much for me, and I was the one who had organized it.

 

[K'Tesh]

Last night's flight... 

Winds are from the ENE, but very light when I arrive around sunset.  I sit and blow bubbles trying to recover the strength to return home after a long hot day at work (3 classes, and tons of report cards).  The kids were well behaved in the first of the kid's classes, but I came into the 2nd class with one kid screaming as his father is lifting him up and carrying him out of the classroom, and another kid crying to his mother.  Of course I'm concerned but I can't understand Mandarin all that well, but I'm guessing a fight had just been split up.  I'm told to go ahead and start the class by the Chinese teacher (the CT).  Class goes well, but the room is quite hot, and it's muggy.  Worse, they didn't bother to turn on the AC until 10 minutes before class, and had left the curtains open all afternoon on the SW facing side of the building...  Think greenhouse combined with sauna, and you get the picture.

I'm drenched in sweat, I smell bad (even to myself), I'm tired, and when I get out to the waterfront, and I can't fly.  Worse still, while biking to the waterfront, I'm fighting a strong headwind created by the tall buildings, and hoping that this is a good sign for flying.

After a while the winds pick up, and I decided to actually try to fly.  The kite goes up quickly at first, so well in fact I decided to attach a string of lights...  More line, and I attached a 2nd string of lights...  But this can't get off the ground.  So, I reel it in, remove it, and let the kite go higher.  Then I try the 2nd light string again...  No dice...  A third attempt is in vain, and I give up on the 2nd string of lights altogether.  The kite then starts to drop, and despite good winds at ground level, it just won't climb.  I finally reel it in, and remove the first string of lights, in a hope that I can let out more line, get some good wind, and then put up one or more of the lights.  For all the line I played out, I was never able to get the kite to stay up consistently.  My friend showed up, and took over while I wrapped the lights up, and like me, he was able to get it to take line every now and again, but it wouldn't stay up for long.

So, tired, sweaty (stinky), and frustrated I headed off to find something to eat, and go home.  The good thing though is that I was able to get all the loose line that was on the real played out, and wound back on a tad tighter (no loose loops).  I've got to get some time to work on that 9' DFM kite (I couldn't yesterday... too hot in the "Lair").

Now, I have to go...  Today my 1 on 1 class starts at 10am, and I've got to get through all the report cards before I can do anything else.

[K'Tesh]

Tonight's a bust...  No wind when I went out there.  There was a breeze behind the tall buildings, but the waterfront was dead calm.

[K'Tesh]

Didn't even try to fly yesterday.  I was informed around 5pm that I had a demonstration lesson instead of my typical "English Corner".  This was unique as it was at a public school several miles away.  Fortunately, I was driven there and back again.  I even had to turn down a free dinner from the boss as I had a ton of report cards dropped on my desk Thursday night to finish for today's classes.  I worked on them at a McDonald's until they turned off the lights (I had about 5 left to do).

Today was one of my long days at work.  The morning was hot and muggy.  I was dripping wet within 20 minutes of arriving in class.  Fortunately, someone found the remote for the AC, and we got that turned on.  As the day continued, it just got hazier and hazier (fog).  So, by the time I left this evening, it was nice and cool.  However, there was no wind.  I've left the kite and the line at work in anticipation of getting off early tomorrow (thanks 1/2 of my advanced students having to take a test this week (on Sunday)).  I just hope there's wind tomorrow.

May the wind be at your back!

 

[K'Tesh]

Today sucked...  The kite wanted to go up, and it would for quite a distance, but the moment I wanted to attach a light to it, the wind would die.  Of course my lights that did get up, went swimming.  One crazy incident...  I'm reeling in like crazy to keep the line up and over the guys who were fishing on the waterfront, but then it dropped sharply into one of their rods. of course it got tangled up on the light.  Several attempts to launch, but the wind wasn't cooperating.

[K'Tesh]

Well with my pending trip back to the US, and lousy conditions, all kite flying (and making) in China for me has been suspended indefinitely.

I'm debating taking a couple of kites back stateside with me.  I suspect I will, as a coastal trip is planned.

[Wayne Dowler]

Best check any altitude restrictions at places you go!