Marathon Man

I can recommend the I-view method of watching some Games events.  For one thing there was only two ads at the start of the broadcast, after that uninterrupted and dedicated coverage of the marathon. Mind you the organisers in Glasgow ran the men's and women's marathons in a staggered arrangement so the coverage swapped from one to the other.  Not to mention that the aussie Michael Shelley pulled away from the Kenyans for a memorable win. So those Africans can be beaten to the utter amazement of the English broadcasters. The quality of the display was a noticeably chunky in full screen mode however the half screen option was passable and with no extra charge, you can't argue. This is where pay tv will get its competition. I have been on cable internet delivery for years but when the NBN gets around the place, live streaming will really become a better quality flood.

Bomba Roof Top

I guess I don't get out much but there seems to be a rooftop phenomena around the place.  I know its still winter but this is more of a room with blinds that enclose. You can look down onto the scene below on the eastward side while keeping the weather out from the westside.  We seemed to be a little over the age bracket judging by the other clientele but we'll show these 20 somethings something even though we did leave at 8pm.  The group having a party because their friend had come back from Paris is another new one to me. It used to be a going away thing but now it seems the coming back is also a party starter. I guess I don't get out much.

Sleepless Southern Syndrome

Trying to keep up with a few global sporting activities is a bit of an eye lid breaker lately.  Its a good thing the overnight recording to hard drives has been perfected. Orica Greenedge has been in a form slump not to mention Sky as well. At least there is one aussie that has flown the flag.  A few medals are flowing from the Commonwealth Games now so its not all bad, including world records. One of these days I might try my own grand tour of sorts eg a progressive tour starting with the World Cup in Brazil then move on to the Tour de France and finish off with the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.  Mind you I'm not that much into the soccer but going to a World Cup is a Bucket List thing.  I do have tickets to the next Cricket World Cup but I don't have to go too far for that.

No Q's in Kew

Found myself in an old Kew stomping ground, really a waiting ground or transition area where bike riders came in and paddlers went out during the JLL. You would wait here until the Team Sarcomere bike arrived then having swapped the bib, would run the boat only 50 meters before queuing up because of the narrow entry point on the bank of the Yarra.  I always promised myself I would ride back here sometime to see where some of these other tracks go.  Interesting riding on the dirt sections back to Wilson Reserve. The other interest was riding past the Kew Pumping Station. I no longer have keys for all the gates here but I did deal with a lot of people's business in there. The ride this time was 39km.

Slippery When Wet

I've had many close encounters of the wild life kind on the beach and yesterday was a first.  Although I may have seen this guy before.  We were doing our jog when I spied a seal high up on the dune. It was a small one compared to some of the giants that we saw at the Pope's Eye. For some reason it was trying to get over the top of the dune and into the grass.   Our jogging isn't particularly fast however the closer we got the harder it tried to climb but armed only with flippers and facing a wall of hard sand it kept falling backward.  So then it was a bee line to the water back to the comfort zone as it were. There did not appear to be any injuries. Only the day before we had argued with a dog owner to leash his dog as it was chasing endangered plovers on the same stretch of beach.

Darebin Ck

Did a midweek ride yesterday. Found my way across to the Darebin Ck trail.  Turning south the trail goes as far as Heidelberg Rd with a new cycle bridge under the bluestone road bridge.  Quite a sight.  The trail goes cold here even though the Yarra trail is just across the way.  State Govt policy suggests there will be a link here by 2030 and bicycles might fly. Given the money that has been put into a number of trails I do think this will happen.  In the meantime I might try the Boulevarde next time as I saw some riders going that way. This outing was 34 kms in 2 hours, a slow improvement. 

Spa treatment

It's been a week since the "Hit the Wall" incident.  Recovery has been aided by the spa tub on the back deck.  Takes a bit of work to keep the water pristine but after a year of wrestling with the black art of spa pool maintenance I think we now have the gist of it.  The secret is to shock it after every use and be patient about letting the water clear. Also don't ignore cleaning  the filters regularly.  Having used the tub three times this week the water has massaged the sore area. I rode a modest 22 Km this morning but was happy just to finish.  We called into St Ali's on the way back but with a 40 minute wait to get a table we weren't that thirsty. The other note to make was the guy who was towing his son. At the lights the son got off to press the button. The father did not realise this and crossed against the red lights leaving him behind.  This kid must have been only five and was about to chase after the father who was oblivious to his son not being on board.  So we saved a life today. Now to find another coffee shop.

Abrasive Tour de France

TDF is often a good travelogue, gives plenty of ideas for the next time you happen to be passing through France. Those pavé have caused some trouble again.  It makes you think of the farce that those Soccer players go through when a slight knock sends them screaming and everyone waits for 5 minutes until the magic spray fixes them up and it was during the World Cup which is more embarrassing. Compare that to the TDF riders. Three crashes in two days at 40 km/h, welts, abrasions and sprains on all parts of the body then you often get up and continue for another 100 plus kms of riding.  Tuff Stuff.  I am still hurting from the bounce into the wall incident (see airborn below) but I should be able to get on the bike tomorrow.

Alignment of the Planets caused Follow Through Incident

Went to a show called Elemental. Can't remember the last time I went to a planetarium. This was more show than science.  A lot of poetic license was used to illustrate the lastest thinking on weighty matters like the cosmos and bikini design.  All the theories were mentioned Big Bang, Dark Matter, String Theory.  Sometimes a big bang is known to produce dark matter.  Whoever introduced strings into the design of a bikini is to be commended. This also was known as string theory with the final conclusion being tied into knots. Quite a juxtaposing revelation when most problems require unravelling the knotty part. 
All in all the show was worth a look. The use of live music whilst gazing at the night sky brought back memories of walking across an outback plain in South Australia some yar ago. The night sky was so big it seemed heavy with the stars.  Trying to navigate a straight line that night was harder because we just kept star gazing. 

Controlling the Air Traffic

I have done some training in my day. Years ago in school if you got at least a mark of 50% then you passed. Not too long back I studied for a Microsoft test which required a minimum 72%. This seemed a bit rude to me at the time, especially after I got 70%. The course admin said I was only one question off and I would get it next time I sat the test. But first I had to pay the course fee over again which would eventually get me back to my second go at the test.  No thanks.  In that case I saved a lot of dollars and never had to revisit the constant updates required for certification.
Take the case of training for an Air Traffic Controller (ATC). Over a 16 month period every course requires a pass mark of 100%. My daughter has been sweating through this and has now come out the other side. Hooray. No mistakes allowed when the stakes are sky high, as demonstrated in one episode of Breaking Bad eg  90% mundane 10% terror. The ATC scene is a bit of a boys club but the real show is now on.   I know the sky over the Indian Ocean is in good hands.

Airborne Supremacy

I have a rib problem.  Mostly bruising I think, but it is a pain to breathe. I did some trampolining last night.  It is a tricky business. Some would say that retirees should not be bouncing around in purpose made jumping socks. Dodge ball is OK lots of padding there. Jumping into the pit of foam is easy to get into but getting out is another story. However, beware of the professional rigs with unpadded walls designed for landing on aka Cirque du Soleil style.  I jack knifed into the wall rather than gaining any purchase on top of the wall. Then there is the added problem of landing back on the tramp and bouncing around a bit more in a semi stunned state.  All in all a dizzying experience but there is still some physicality in this retiree.

Offline maps for travelling

My windows phone has an app called Here Maps from Nokia. This is now available on Windows 8.1 and has an offline option allowing you to download any country's map in the world.  I still use the TomTom for in car navigation while travelling but this is a good backup and maybe handy if you are walking the back streets of Rome and you have the tablet in the backpack. It is a freebie app from the windows store. For subsequent map downloads you need to search for the location first and add it to a collection then a button allows for downloading.

Casey Golden Trio

We checked out the Jazz Club last night.  An intimate venue which lets you get close to the action.  The Casey Golden trio were certainly jazzing the place up. All their own original tunes as well.  Room for a grand piano, drum kit  and somewhere to stand at the bass left the small stage fairly tight. As well as the ABC jazz guys recording for their radio show. Jazz is a different style for us given that we would travel kms to hear Jethro Tull.  Showing my age here again.  This trio work well together. I notice lots of eye contact as part of the concentration to ensure the timing is true. This is calm listening compared to ACDC but well worth going along to the Jazz Club.