Today was Ride to Work day. Or to put it in its modern parlance, it was "Ride2Work". Dunno why they didn't fiddle with it further to make it Ride2WerkX", or something stupid like that.
Days like today bring out the gumbies by the score. There are those of us who hop on our bikes and plod to and from work everyday with little fanfare and no fuss, and then there are those that ride one day of the year and expect the sort of accolades that are normally reserved for winning Le Tour.
The people I really hate are those that dress up for the occasion. Yes, OK, I dress up in lycra everyday, which is about the stupidest, most ridiculous thing a middle aged bloke can wear - but I was beaten hands down today by a bloke wearing purple fairy wings.
At least I think it was a bloke. (Is it sexist to say "it"?)
FFS, why do these clowns have to show up and turn things like this into a fucking circus? Can we please have one day of the year that is tool-free?
I was so disgusted, I left Hyde Park without collecting a free feed. And believe me, that is a major event. Me turning down food (free or otherwise) is like Craig Thomson knocking back a hooker.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Dopey pedestrian
The Pyrmont Bridge is infested with flag poles. They're not a problem if you watch where you're going.
Which is a problem for some dopes.
I was waiting at the lights tonight when two blokes came walking towards me. One was rabbiting on and gesticulating wildly. He walked smack bang into a flag pole - fast first. His mate didn't even notice.
Dopey then started telling his friend in a very agitated fashion how he had just walked into a stupid flag pole - when he walked straight into a second pole.
Don't ask me how he managed to do that twice without breaking something in his face.
Which is a problem for some dopes.
I was waiting at the lights tonight when two blokes came walking towards me. One was rabbiting on and gesticulating wildly. He walked smack bang into a flag pole - fast first. His mate didn't even notice.
Dopey then started telling his friend in a very agitated fashion how he had just walked into a stupid flag pole - when he walked straight into a second pole.
Don't ask me how he managed to do that twice without breaking something in his face.
Spring swings
Friday last week - just about froze to death because I didn't wear a jacket outside the office at lunch time.
Tuesday - 36 degrees on the way home.
Today - got the chills in the canyons of the CBD at 4pm.
What is it with this weather? It's like living in Melbourne......
Tuesday - 36 degrees on the way home.
Today - got the chills in the canyons of the CBD at 4pm.
What is it with this weather? It's like living in Melbourne......
My disturbingly competitive nature
The first few minutes of any ride are always taken relatively slowly as the muscles are given time to warm up. On most rides, the warmup takes place in suburban back streets where one rarely sees another cyclist. However, I did a longer ride recently where I was out on the main road within 2 minutes, and that road sees a lot of cycle traffic.
About a minute later, this bloke overtook me. He's a bit like me - a definite MAMIL (middle aged man in lycra) who is a bit wide across the beam. I hate it when I get overtaken - the lizard part of the brain kicks in and immediately starts screaming, "KILL THE INTERLOPER". I had to let him go though - I'd done no more than three minutes cycling by that point, so I wasn't going to put the hammer down to catch up. Over the next few minutes, I watched him creep away of me until he was perhaps 250 metres ahead - and as my speed slowly increased as the legs fired up, his gains became smaller and smaller.
Then he stopped pulling away.
And then I started gaining on him.
I took this photo when I finally caught up to him. About a minute later, we parted ways, so I never got to overtake him. I'm sure I'll go to my grave regretting that I never got in front.
More dominant left stats
I remembered to count three times in the last week.
42:21 anti-clockwise to clockwise
20:21 anti-clockwise to clockwise
52:10 anti-clockwise to clockwise
So far, the results have varied from 1:1 to 6:1, with the bulk of the stats supporting the proposition that people prefer to walk/cycle anti-clockwise around a loop.
I'll keep at it for a few more weeks.
42:21 anti-clockwise to clockwise
20:21 anti-clockwise to clockwise
52:10 anti-clockwise to clockwise
So far, the results have varied from 1:1 to 6:1, with the bulk of the stats supporting the proposition that people prefer to walk/cycle anti-clockwise around a loop.
I'll keep at it for a few more weeks.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Why Henry Ford paid higher wages
Interesting snippet of economic history from Tim Worstall:
Ford wanted to reduce turnover among his workers: he was getting through 50,000 a year in order to have a permanent establishment of 13,500. By paying double the wages of everyone else he reduced his training and recruitment bills. Higher wages actually led to a lower total wage bill.
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Thought for the day
Regarding the offensive joke told at a CFMEU dinner about Tony Abbott's chief of staff:
Environment Minister Tony Burke’s office said he expressed outrage to other people on his table and left “shortly after”.
The dinner was in Canberra. Unless Burke has his own car in Canberra, he would have left in a taxi or ComCar (Commonwealth Car).
When you use either of those means of travel, you have to sign a docket. Perhaps the Minister could release his docket for his departure from the dinner, which would show the time he actually left? That way, we could determine what "shortly after" actually means.
Environment Minister Tony Burke’s office said he expressed outrage to other people on his table and left “shortly after”.
The dinner was in Canberra. Unless Burke has his own car in Canberra, he would have left in a taxi or ComCar (Commonwealth Car).
When you use either of those means of travel, you have to sign a docket. Perhaps the Minister could release his docket for his departure from the dinner, which would show the time he actually left? That way, we could determine what "shortly after" actually means.
Gillard, divorce and hiding assets from soon to be ex-wives
The Bunyip asks some interesting questions. Go read the whole thing.
"Prime Minister, at the time you were handed Ralph Blewitt's pre-signed power of attorney, your lover Wilson was a married man with children and in the process of leaving his family in order to take up residence in Melbourne, where for several years he shared his life with you. Would it be fair to say that one obvious advantage of listing Blewitt as Kerr Street's buyer of record was that it shielded Wilson's wealth from his soon-to-be ex-wife and her divorce lawyers?"
Barrel tasting?
I was invited to a regional barrel tasting recently (couldn't attend). We're talking wine barrels here.
Thankfully, it was not an Adelaide barrel tasting. I wonder if anyone will ever be brave enough to organise one of them?
Thankfully, it was not an Adelaide barrel tasting. I wonder if anyone will ever be brave enough to organise one of them?
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Bollocks all round
The Telegraph and the Herald both managed to over-sensationalise a pretty simple story this week when an Army Unimog rolled at Holsworthy Barracks.
First to the Telegraph: Army Mog truck known for rollovers - that's despite a handful of fatal rollovers during 30 years of service. I drove a Mog in the Reserves for a few years after my back packed it in - they were exceptionally hard to roll. In fact, you could drive them across the most amazing slopes without any fear of them tipping. During our training, our instructors literally had to force us scared-stupid trainees to drive them across slopes that we were certain would lead to our early deaths. You had to wear a seatbelt to stop yourself from falling out of your seat sideways! They are the most awesome vehicles, and I totally loved driving them.
We had one local rollover that I know of - an artillery crew were towing a gun somewhere off road and the gun flipped, taking the Mog with it. That's not supposed to happen - they are fitted with towing gear that rotates - but it did happen.
Which brings me to the SMH: Due to their four-wheel-drive capacity they have a high wheel base and are more prone than other vehicles to tipping.
That's total bollocks. Yes, they have a high wheel base, but the portal axles allow the drive train to be mounted relatively low, so the centre of gravity is low. Just because they look tall to a stupid, never-driven-one, never-sat-in-one journalist, doesn't mean that they are more prone to tipping. The most "prone to tipping" vehicle I have ever seen is the Toyota Hilux, and you could drive a Mog straight over the top of the average Hilux.
During my service, there were quite a few vehicle rollovers in the Army. However, most of them were suffered by the (as it was then) newly introduced Landrover Perentie - they were a lot speedier than the Series 2 and 3 Landrovers that they replaced, and quite a few unsuspecting drivers who had grown up in the old gutless petrol Landies rolled them when cornering. It got so bad, the Army was circulating special pamphlets on the danger of rolling the Landrovers - I think there were a few fatalities.
I managed to avoid rolling a Landrover - mainly because I flipped a Landcruiser, and that scared the crap out of me. We were issued a batch of Landcruisers as a stopgap measure, and they were even faster than the new Landrovers (the Army never got around to fitting a governor to the Landcruisers, so they flew). I went over the crest of a sandy hill at the Lancelin bombing range with a section in the back. The road totally fell away to one side just over the crest, so when the wheels on that side disappeared into a rut several feet deep, over it went, throwing me and 9 or 10 troops over the side. I'd almost rolled one a day earlier whilst speeding on the beach - I was so busy putting it into the incoming surf that I didn't realise I was about to run out of beach, and when I turned, it went up on two wheels. That was pretty exciting, in an unpleasant way.
During my time in the Reserves, my friends and family managed to survive numerous civilian rollovers. We've had three in the family, and there were plenty of others when I was at Uni. At one B&S that I attended, I watched an old Renault roll several times during the morning-after circle work. Each time, a gang of drunken spectators would flip it back on its wheels, and off it would go again (unless a tyre went off the rim, and a tyre change was required). I won't say that any particular model of car was prone to rolling - the most prevalent feature was a drunken and/or tired driver. Idiot civilian drivers roll cars every day - a Mog rolls once every 10 years, and somehow Mogs are prone to tipping???
One last comment about the SMH story:
The trucks, known throughout the army simply as "Mogs", have been in service since 1982 and feature almost nothing in the way of safety measures for troops sitting on bench seats in the back.
Wrong. They don't "feature almost nothing in the way of safety measures". You can get rid of the "almost" - they have absolutely no safety measures. None. Nada. The troops in the back are totally reliant on a well trained driver up front keeping them safe and sound.
First to the Telegraph: Army Mog truck known for rollovers - that's despite a handful of fatal rollovers during 30 years of service. I drove a Mog in the Reserves for a few years after my back packed it in - they were exceptionally hard to roll. In fact, you could drive them across the most amazing slopes without any fear of them tipping. During our training, our instructors literally had to force us scared-stupid trainees to drive them across slopes that we were certain would lead to our early deaths. You had to wear a seatbelt to stop yourself from falling out of your seat sideways! They are the most awesome vehicles, and I totally loved driving them.
We had one local rollover that I know of - an artillery crew were towing a gun somewhere off road and the gun flipped, taking the Mog with it. That's not supposed to happen - they are fitted with towing gear that rotates - but it did happen.
Which brings me to the SMH: Due to their four-wheel-drive capacity they have a high wheel base and are more prone than other vehicles to tipping.
That's total bollocks. Yes, they have a high wheel base, but the portal axles allow the drive train to be mounted relatively low, so the centre of gravity is low. Just because they look tall to a stupid, never-driven-one, never-sat-in-one journalist, doesn't mean that they are more prone to tipping. The most "prone to tipping" vehicle I have ever seen is the Toyota Hilux, and you could drive a Mog straight over the top of the average Hilux.
During my service, there were quite a few vehicle rollovers in the Army. However, most of them were suffered by the (as it was then) newly introduced Landrover Perentie - they were a lot speedier than the Series 2 and 3 Landrovers that they replaced, and quite a few unsuspecting drivers who had grown up in the old gutless petrol Landies rolled them when cornering. It got so bad, the Army was circulating special pamphlets on the danger of rolling the Landrovers - I think there were a few fatalities.
I managed to avoid rolling a Landrover - mainly because I flipped a Landcruiser, and that scared the crap out of me. We were issued a batch of Landcruisers as a stopgap measure, and they were even faster than the new Landrovers (the Army never got around to fitting a governor to the Landcruisers, so they flew). I went over the crest of a sandy hill at the Lancelin bombing range with a section in the back. The road totally fell away to one side just over the crest, so when the wheels on that side disappeared into a rut several feet deep, over it went, throwing me and 9 or 10 troops over the side. I'd almost rolled one a day earlier whilst speeding on the beach - I was so busy putting it into the incoming surf that I didn't realise I was about to run out of beach, and when I turned, it went up on two wheels. That was pretty exciting, in an unpleasant way.
During my time in the Reserves, my friends and family managed to survive numerous civilian rollovers. We've had three in the family, and there were plenty of others when I was at Uni. At one B&S that I attended, I watched an old Renault roll several times during the morning-after circle work. Each time, a gang of drunken spectators would flip it back on its wheels, and off it would go again (unless a tyre went off the rim, and a tyre change was required). I won't say that any particular model of car was prone to rolling - the most prevalent feature was a drunken and/or tired driver. Idiot civilian drivers roll cars every day - a Mog rolls once every 10 years, and somehow Mogs are prone to tipping???
One last comment about the SMH story:
The trucks, known throughout the army simply as "Mogs", have been in service since 1982 and feature almost nothing in the way of safety measures for troops sitting on bench seats in the back.
Wrong. They don't "feature almost nothing in the way of safety measures". You can get rid of the "almost" - they have absolutely no safety measures. None. Nada. The troops in the back are totally reliant on a well trained driver up front keeping them safe and sound.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Petition rigging
Yes, it really is that easy to sign these things with a totally bogus name. Thanks to the Bunyip for bringing this to our attention.
I wonder if I can sign up the entire cast today?
Friday, 5 October 2012
The very dominant left
I blogged earlier in the week about the supposed human preference for travelling anti-clockwise rather than clockwise. My last traffic count of people going around The Bay was inconclusive.
I remembered to count twice this week.
The first was 106 to 17 - a ratio of over 6:1.
The second was 48 to 9 - still a killer ratio in favour of anti-clockwise.
Two surveys do not a theory make, so I'll try to remember to count a few more times next week.
I remembered to count twice this week.
The first was 106 to 17 - a ratio of over 6:1.
The second was 48 to 9 - still a killer ratio in favour of anti-clockwise.
Two surveys do not a theory make, so I'll try to remember to count a few more times next week.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Hey, where did the pain go?
As I mentioned earlier today, I had a short break from the bike recently. The first few days back in the saddle were ok, but by day 4, my legs were screaming at me. Not when I was riding, but when I was doing very little, such as sitting around the office or trying to lever myself off the couch. I was reduced to hobbling around the house almost in tears.
Things are much better this week. The legs have finally hardened up again. Or I have lost all feeling below the waist. Better go stub my toe on something and see if it hurts.
The pain might be gone, but so has the power. I barely crawled home over the Anzac bridge today - first hot day of spring (33 degrees) and a pretty brisk head wind - and my legs struggled to maintain any sort of pace at all. Perhaps I haven't hardened up at all - and I am really as soft as a very squishy marshmallow.
Things are much better this week. The legs have finally hardened up again. Or I have lost all feeling below the waist. Better go stub my toe on something and see if it hurts.
The pain might be gone, but so has the power. I barely crawled home over the Anzac bridge today - first hot day of spring (33 degrees) and a pretty brisk head wind - and my legs struggled to maintain any sort of pace at all. Perhaps I haven't hardened up at all - and I am really as soft as a very squishy marshmallow.
Torn
I'm torn between being obsessive about reaching a simple goal and relaxing and living life a little.
The goal? I'd love to have a flat stomach again. It's hard in lycra - it makes guys that weigh 64kg with 2% body fat look like they have a pot gut. For blokes like me, it's pertinent to ask how many days until the twins are due. But it would still be nice to totally get rid of the beer gut after lugging it around for 15 years.
I've slowly been chipping away at it - there's no dramatic secret. I simply ride at a reasonably quick pace for 70-90 minutes 5 days a week, and try and fit in a longer ride on one day of the weekend. Every now and then, I have to pull the belt in another notch, and I know I am getting somewhere. Even the love handles are harder to grab hold of. The more miles I ride, the faster it disappears. Simple.
But it's easy to backslide. I had a few weeks off due to illness, and the guts suddenly reappeared. Getting rid of it is all about discipline - doing the miles is the main part. I find that if I am riding, I want to eat well, avoid grog, fast food and soft drinks. It's a virtuous circle.
However, I am cognisant of the fact too much riding can make Jack a dull boy. I've been invited to plenty of events in the CBD that occur after work (like seeing James Dellingpole when he was in town) and I have ignored them because it would mean catching the bus home - a day without riding (because I would have to bus in the following morning as the bike would be at work).
Resolving this dilemma isn't going to be easy - I'm not very good at balancing things.
The goal? I'd love to have a flat stomach again. It's hard in lycra - it makes guys that weigh 64kg with 2% body fat look like they have a pot gut. For blokes like me, it's pertinent to ask how many days until the twins are due. But it would still be nice to totally get rid of the beer gut after lugging it around for 15 years.
I've slowly been chipping away at it - there's no dramatic secret. I simply ride at a reasonably quick pace for 70-90 minutes 5 days a week, and try and fit in a longer ride on one day of the weekend. Every now and then, I have to pull the belt in another notch, and I know I am getting somewhere. Even the love handles are harder to grab hold of. The more miles I ride, the faster it disappears. Simple.
But it's easy to backslide. I had a few weeks off due to illness, and the guts suddenly reappeared. Getting rid of it is all about discipline - doing the miles is the main part. I find that if I am riding, I want to eat well, avoid grog, fast food and soft drinks. It's a virtuous circle.
However, I am cognisant of the fact too much riding can make Jack a dull boy. I've been invited to plenty of events in the CBD that occur after work (like seeing James Dellingpole when he was in town) and I have ignored them because it would mean catching the bus home - a day without riding (because I would have to bus in the following morning as the bike would be at work).
Resolving this dilemma isn't going to be easy - I'm not very good at balancing things.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Failing to use The Force
Did a lap of Homebush over the weekend. As I was approaching the park, I saw a bloke in the distance consulting a map. I went on a bit of a meander in another direction, and then met up with him about 10 minutes later. He looked lost, so I asked him if that was the case.
Yes, he had no idea where he was going. He wanted to see all the big stadiums. I told him that Olympic Park has a simple loop road around it - go in either direction, and you'll find what you are looking for. There was a constant trickle of cyclists going past in both directions, and most of them would be doing the loop. I told him to just jump on someone's wheel and he'd be right.
He looked at me very sceptically, but I could see him turning that idea over in his head as I pedalled off.
What fascinated me is that he was on a very flash bike that was covered in all sorts of electronics - yet he lacked a handlebar mounted GPS. His bike had just about every other gadget short of a bread maker and a coffee machine. It actually beeped at him as we were talking (perhaps the toast was done?)
I'm amazed that he didn't know enough to trust in The Force.
Yes, he had no idea where he was going. He wanted to see all the big stadiums. I told him that Olympic Park has a simple loop road around it - go in either direction, and you'll find what you are looking for. There was a constant trickle of cyclists going past in both directions, and most of them would be doing the loop. I told him to just jump on someone's wheel and he'd be right.
He looked at me very sceptically, but I could see him turning that idea over in his head as I pedalled off.
What fascinated me is that he was on a very flash bike that was covered in all sorts of electronics - yet he lacked a handlebar mounted GPS. His bike had just about every other gadget short of a bread maker and a coffee machine. It actually beeped at him as we were talking (perhaps the toast was done?)
I'm amazed that he didn't know enough to trust in The Force.
The ABC, child labour, and stupidity
I had a few free minutes on the weekend, so I flicked on the idiot box and did a bit of channel surfing. I settled on an ABC program called Renovations, because they got away from the old barn that was being renovated and visited a brick works that produces hand made bricks. That was much more interesting.
The brick works had been around since the 1840s (I think) and yes, they were making bricks mostly by hand. The clay was mixed by machine, but a bunch of blokes spent all day slapping a blob of clay into moulds by hand, turning out the moulds by hand, stacking the bricks in the kiln by hand and then stacking the fired bricks outside (to dry? None of this was explained). Most of the discussion centred on child labour, and how kids as young as 5-8 are working in brick factories and building sites in the third world today.
It looked like hard work, lugging all that wet clay and unfinished and finished bricks around, and the host and some academic sounded appropriately horrified at the use of child labour.
At the very end of that segment, the host made a comment along the lines of, "The industrial revolution really was a horrible, shocking thing".
No, no, no, no, no - you idiots.
What they showed in this small brick works was how things were done prior to the industrial revolution. They showed how bricks have been made since the times of ancient Egypt - by hand, and using kids. There was no mechanisation and no factory system - it was a collection of individual brick makers renting space and equipment from a brick master. The individual brick makers brought their kids to work.
The industrial revolution swept all that away with the introduction of mechanised brick making equipment, which eliminated the need for child labour. A modern, mechanised brick works probably employs the same number of people, and produces 1000 times more bricks than the by-hand blokes.
By the way, I voluntarily started working on a building site at age 7, mixing cement, carting cement and carting bricks for the brickies who were putting up a commercial building next door. I did it because it was an interesting thing to do. I got to learn how foundations were laid, how to mix mud to the right consistency, how to use a string and plumb bob, how to slap mud on bricks, lay them and build in single and double brick. It was more fun than building things with Lego. And they let me use the compactor, which was excellent. It's not something I'd want to do for a living at that age, but I survived it, and the carting of bricks certainly improved my strength.
The brick works had been around since the 1840s (I think) and yes, they were making bricks mostly by hand. The clay was mixed by machine, but a bunch of blokes spent all day slapping a blob of clay into moulds by hand, turning out the moulds by hand, stacking the bricks in the kiln by hand and then stacking the fired bricks outside (to dry? None of this was explained). Most of the discussion centred on child labour, and how kids as young as 5-8 are working in brick factories and building sites in the third world today.
It looked like hard work, lugging all that wet clay and unfinished and finished bricks around, and the host and some academic sounded appropriately horrified at the use of child labour.
At the very end of that segment, the host made a comment along the lines of, "The industrial revolution really was a horrible, shocking thing".
No, no, no, no, no - you idiots.
What they showed in this small brick works was how things were done prior to the industrial revolution. They showed how bricks have been made since the times of ancient Egypt - by hand, and using kids. There was no mechanisation and no factory system - it was a collection of individual brick makers renting space and equipment from a brick master. The individual brick makers brought their kids to work.
The industrial revolution swept all that away with the introduction of mechanised brick making equipment, which eliminated the need for child labour. A modern, mechanised brick works probably employs the same number of people, and produces 1000 times more bricks than the by-hand blokes.
By the way, I voluntarily started working on a building site at age 7, mixing cement, carting cement and carting bricks for the brickies who were putting up a commercial building next door. I did it because it was an interesting thing to do. I got to learn how foundations were laid, how to mix mud to the right consistency, how to use a string and plumb bob, how to slap mud on bricks, lay them and build in single and double brick. It was more fun than building things with Lego. And they let me use the compactor, which was excellent. It's not something I'd want to do for a living at that age, but I survived it, and the carting of bricks certainly improved my strength.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Queenslanders
We had a BBQ lunch today and invited a Queenslander.
Before we tucked into the prawns, I was very careful to explain that the bowl full of water in the middle of the table with a lemon floating in it was not lemon soup.
Racing in the wet
Cycling Tips has some great photos from a very wet race in Italy. I wish I could take photos like the ones at that blog.
I like riding in the rain, but I'm not sure I'd like it after six and a half hours. Have a look at the later photos, and how much filth is on the faces of the riders. It's amazing how much crap gets flicked up into your face from the tyres in front.
Thank goodness for the invention of cycling knicks and lycra - if it wasn't for that, you'd chafe like crazy every time it rained a bit.
Some of you old buggers might like the 2nd photo from the top. At 70, Gimondi still looks pretty fit and attractive to the ladies.
Violence against women - Afghan edition
Disturbing, weird and just downright nauseating.
In late 2009, U.S. and British forces ordered a study of Pashtun male sexuality. They were worried that homosexuality and pedophilia among Afghan security forces and tribes could create cultural misunderstanding with allied troops, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Examiner.
...
Afghan women, emboldened by the presence of U.S. troops. have complained about beatings they've suffered at the hands of their husbands. The domestic violence reportedly stemmed from the inability of the women to become pregnant and produce sons, highly valued in Afghan society.
When U.S. civil affairs teams (and other special forces units) quietly investigated the problem, they quickly discovered a common denominator. Virtually all of the younger men who beat their wives (over their inability to become pregnant) had been former "apprentices" of older Afghan men, who used them for their sexual pleasure. Upon entering marriage, whatever the men knew of sex had been learned during their "apprenticeship," at the hands of the older man. To put it bluntly, some of the younger Afghans were unfamiliar with the desired (and required) mechanics for conception.
To remedy this situation, the Army called in its psychological operations teams, which developed information campaigns in Pashtun areas, explaining the basics of heterosexual relations and their benefits, in terms of producing male offspring. It may be the only time in the history of warfare that an army has been required to explain sex to the native population, to curb the abuse of women and young boys--and retain U.S. influence in key geographic areas.
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