Friday, February 29, 2008
Four seasons in one day
This made me chuckle. Looked up the weather for the days ahead yesterday and came across this view of Monday's forecast, which pretty much sums up the English weather, by having pretty much every possible weather symbol in the space of 24 hours.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Film: Black Gold
It's fair trade fortnight! I hadn't actually realised - communication on it has been quiet this year.
However, as part of the week, a film called Black Gold was on the telly.
We're all into sustainability and fair trade anyway, we understand that the trade that we do greatly affects the lives of people in the third world, we see the bigger picture of how we in the UK are very rich and yet we exploit the poor people in the developing world, and we're compelled by our faith and our conscience to do something about it. So we probably didn't need to see this film.
However, it was a good documentary! Unlike things like "Super Size Me", "Farenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine", there is no star of the show. There is no man on a quest. The filmmakers show only their interviewees and the subjects merely speak for themselves. There is a central character - a man who runs a coffee co-operative. But even he is really just a subject of the film. I liked this. I didn't feel someone was desperately trying to prove a point. There weren'y awkward questions; there were just truthful answers.
The film outlined well the difficulties of growing coffee, selling it for a good price and making a living as a coffee farmer. It showed that there are many middlemen in the selling process, who all take their cut of the money. It demonstrated that the price of coffee is mostly decided by rich businessmen in America and the UK.
And it showed how unfair the standard process of trade really is!
Here's some of the figures that I recall. Ethiopian coffee beans sold for 2 Ethiopian Birr per kilo - at the time of making the film this was 57 US cents.
A kilo of beans makes 80 cups of coffee. This equates to 0.71 US cents per cup.
One of the farmers says that selling for 5 Birr instead of 2 would change his life dramatically. 5 Birr is 142.5 US cents per kilo or, given the 80-cups-per-kilo figure, 1.78 US cents per cup.
This means an extra 1.07 US cents, per cup, would dramatically change this guys life.
1 US cent!
Per cup!
And the middle men and Starbucks and Nestle and Tesco and probably even the Fairtrade coffee companies are making millions!
Now, I know that fair trade isn't a long term solution to the problems of the developing world. But for 1 cent per cup of coffee we could transform lives, give people some healthcare, send kids to school.
So what we do? What can I do? I already buy fair trade so I'm already helping in some way. I did have the idea of having a pot by the kettle and putting a coin (of any denomination) in it each time I made a cup of coffee, and giving this money to a development agency. But I'm already paying the fair trade premium, so how much will this help.
Better is to get other people to buy fairtrade and push more of the market that way. Better to campaign for the multinational coffee buyers to set and pay a fair price. Better to make sure others know that such a small amount of money makes such a big difference!
However, as part of the week, a film called Black Gold was on the telly.
We're all into sustainability and fair trade anyway, we understand that the trade that we do greatly affects the lives of people in the third world, we see the bigger picture of how we in the UK are very rich and yet we exploit the poor people in the developing world, and we're compelled by our faith and our conscience to do something about it. So we probably didn't need to see this film.
However, it was a good documentary! Unlike things like "Super Size Me", "Farenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine", there is no star of the show. There is no man on a quest. The filmmakers show only their interviewees and the subjects merely speak for themselves. There is a central character - a man who runs a coffee co-operative. But even he is really just a subject of the film. I liked this. I didn't feel someone was desperately trying to prove a point. There weren'y awkward questions; there were just truthful answers.
The film outlined well the difficulties of growing coffee, selling it for a good price and making a living as a coffee farmer. It showed that there are many middlemen in the selling process, who all take their cut of the money. It demonstrated that the price of coffee is mostly decided by rich businessmen in America and the UK.
And it showed how unfair the standard process of trade really is!
Here's some of the figures that I recall. Ethiopian coffee beans sold for 2 Ethiopian Birr per kilo - at the time of making the film this was 57 US cents.
A kilo of beans makes 80 cups of coffee. This equates to 0.71 US cents per cup.
One of the farmers says that selling for 5 Birr instead of 2 would change his life dramatically. 5 Birr is 142.5 US cents per kilo or, given the 80-cups-per-kilo figure, 1.78 US cents per cup.
This means an extra 1.07 US cents, per cup, would dramatically change this guys life.
1 US cent!
Per cup!
And the middle men and Starbucks and Nestle and Tesco and probably even the Fairtrade coffee companies are making millions!
Now, I know that fair trade isn't a long term solution to the problems of the developing world. But for 1 cent per cup of coffee we could transform lives, give people some healthcare, send kids to school.
So what we do? What can I do? I already buy fair trade so I'm already helping in some way. I did have the idea of having a pot by the kettle and putting a coin (of any denomination) in it each time I made a cup of coffee, and giving this money to a development agency. But I'm already paying the fair trade premium, so how much will this help.
Better is to get other people to buy fairtrade and push more of the market that way. Better to campaign for the multinational coffee buyers to set and pay a fair price. Better to make sure others know that such a small amount of money makes such a big difference!
Honestly!!!
This is a story about something that I did and I don't like that it's a story about what I did because it makes me appear big. I don't record it to make me appear big, I record it to express my sheer exasperation with other people's dishonesty, and the fact that the world EXPECTS dishonesty from me - it has become the acceptable norm and is actively encouraged and it bothers me...a lot!
There's this lovely girl at work who works in the canteen. She's not been there long and she mostly just clears up after us and takes the money. But she's not so good at taking the money. She doesn't really know how much things cost (which, to her credit, is not really her fault - most of us customers don't know how much things cost either!), and she doesn't seem very good at the money handling bit.
The other day I passed her a ten pound note and she accidentally gave me back the ten pound note AND my change. She, in effect, paid me to eat at the canteen!
Now, I've had reason to relate this story to some of my colleagues recently, and every time people have said "I hope you kept it" or "You didn't give it back did you?".
Well, of course I did. I wanted to pay for my lunch. Bless her, she's made a mistake, which I've noticed, and I'm not gonna have her getting into trouble because the till's down at the end of the day because I deliberately accepted more change than I was supposed to get!
Yet, I'm made to feel belittled and silly for doing the right thing. People are astonished that I'm honest. Why is this?
I remember what the Bible says about this: "even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed".
There's this lovely girl at work who works in the canteen. She's not been there long and she mostly just clears up after us and takes the money. But she's not so good at taking the money. She doesn't really know how much things cost (which, to her credit, is not really her fault - most of us customers don't know how much things cost either!), and she doesn't seem very good at the money handling bit.
The other day I passed her a ten pound note and she accidentally gave me back the ten pound note AND my change. She, in effect, paid me to eat at the canteen!
Now, I've had reason to relate this story to some of my colleagues recently, and every time people have said "I hope you kept it" or "You didn't give it back did you?".
Well, of course I did. I wanted to pay for my lunch. Bless her, she's made a mistake, which I've noticed, and I'm not gonna have her getting into trouble because the till's down at the end of the day because I deliberately accepted more change than I was supposed to get!
Yet, I'm made to feel belittled and silly for doing the right thing. People are astonished that I'm honest. Why is this?
I remember what the Bible says about this: "even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed".
Sunday, February 24, 2008
"The Range"
There's a big new shop in Swindon called the range. It reminds me of Trago Mills, in Devon.
It, like Trago's, sells everything. EVERYTHING. I saw paintings, frames, mirrors, DIY goods, car maintenance kit, bike gear, craft supplies, office stationary, food, lighting, furniture, gardening items, fabric and sewing stuff, outdoor and camping equipment, leisure and sports things. I think they even sold kitchen sinks!
And yet, despite the millions of items on show, there was very little I wanted. I mean - there was actually stuff I needed there but most of it just not quite right, slightly too low quality, too cheap and tacky, or...something.
Sally and I have occasionally popped to Trago's (which is like the range but about 8 times bigger...I exaggerate not!) when down in Devon and experienced the same thing. We usually go with a long list of things, and very rarely bring back even half of them. It just seems like a better idea to buy it somewhere else.
I bought a few things in The Range. I will probably go back, but more for the wonder and awe of seeing such a vast range of products under one roof, than to actually buy anything of any real value.
It, like Trago's, sells everything. EVERYTHING. I saw paintings, frames, mirrors, DIY goods, car maintenance kit, bike gear, craft supplies, office stationary, food, lighting, furniture, gardening items, fabric and sewing stuff, outdoor and camping equipment, leisure and sports things. I think they even sold kitchen sinks!
And yet, despite the millions of items on show, there was very little I wanted. I mean - there was actually stuff I needed there but most of it just not quite right, slightly too low quality, too cheap and tacky, or...something.
Sally and I have occasionally popped to Trago's (which is like the range but about 8 times bigger...I exaggerate not!) when down in Devon and experienced the same thing. We usually go with a long list of things, and very rarely bring back even half of them. It just seems like a better idea to buy it somewhere else.
I bought a few things in The Range. I will probably go back, but more for the wonder and awe of seeing such a vast range of products under one roof, than to actually buy anything of any real value.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Fuzzy Logic
A Ride
Out on the bike today for a proper (i.e. non-commute) ride. Did my little run to Cricklade and back in under an hour, which is OK. It was one of those annoying days where the wind seemed to come from all directions. I did an out-and-back ride, which should mean I only feel a headwind half the time, but I felt it for the WHOLE ride. How does that happen?
Last time I did this little jaunt I did my back in, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow. Lots of stretching before bed tonight.
A Few Nice Things
I'm noticing lots of cool things about my bike! They didn't give me a manual you know. They seem to assume that if you're buying a proper road bike then you must know what you're doing. But dual-pivot caliper brakes, Sora gear shifters, and Tiagra rear mechs (dérailleurs to the rest of us), are, though mostly familiar, a little bit alien in some respects.
One of the nice things about Fuzzy is that he's got lots of neat little design features that cheaper bikes don't have. Things that make sense to have. Here's a few:
A Photo
By the way, I don't think I've posted it here yet, so here's a photo of Fuzzy the Felt - just to prove that I DO own a nice road bike now:
I'm not so sure about the MTB-style mudguards. But, annoyingly, there's no fixings for proper mudguards on the bike. I may try out race blades one day.
A-nnoying
In other bike news, I got a bit fed up with my local bike shop today. I took the bike in yesterday for its six-week/hundred mile free service and it came back with the transmission (chain and gears) crunching and grinding. The brakes have been tightened and they've true'd up the rear wheel, which was nice of them. But they've messed up derailleur settings before. Grrrr.
A Rant
Why? Why why? WHY? Why do people who make roads put 3-foot-wide drain covers about three feet from the edge of the road? This is exactly the point at which a cyclist riding in "primary position" will need to cycle over it. I've passed many of these today. Options for a cyclist approaching one are:
And finally I'd like to end on...
A High Note
I'm really enjoying cycling again. After a long spell of illness and injury I feel like I'm back and it's great to be in the saddle with the countryside rushing by, wind in my face, heart racing, watching the miles tick by. I love it.
Out on the bike today for a proper (i.e. non-commute) ride. Did my little run to Cricklade and back in under an hour, which is OK. It was one of those annoying days where the wind seemed to come from all directions. I did an out-and-back ride, which should mean I only feel a headwind half the time, but I felt it for the WHOLE ride. How does that happen?
Last time I did this little jaunt I did my back in, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow. Lots of stretching before bed tonight.
A Few Nice Things
I'm noticing lots of cool things about my bike! They didn't give me a manual you know. They seem to assume that if you're buying a proper road bike then you must know what you're doing. But dual-pivot caliper brakes, Sora gear shifters, and Tiagra rear mechs (dérailleurs to the rest of us), are, though mostly familiar, a little bit alien in some respects.
One of the nice things about Fuzzy is that he's got lots of neat little design features that cheaper bikes don't have. Things that make sense to have. Here's a few:
- Quick releases. I know these are standard but I'm still made happy by the fact that I can whip a wheel off in seconds with no tools. Genius!
- Hex-key bolts...everywhere. My sister got me a multi-tool for my birthday last year, but it was pretty useless on the Raleigh as everything was screws and bolts. But pretty much everything on Fuzzy is held tight by bolts that I can loosen and tighten with hex keys. Suddenly my multi-tool is all I need!
- Gear adjustments on the down tube. I wanted to adjust my front dérailleur today and couldn't find the screw thing to do it with. Turns out it's on the down tube. Not REALLY sure why but you can certainly make the adjustment while you're riding, which is pretty cool.
- Dual-pivot brakes. Not sure why these are so good, but they're pretty solid and seem to give even braking on both sides no matter what you do to them.
- Strength. All the components are tough. I know this 'cos I fell of and damaged more of me than of the bike!
A Photo
By the way, I don't think I've posted it here yet, so here's a photo of Fuzzy the Felt - just to prove that I DO own a nice road bike now:
I'm not so sure about the MTB-style mudguards. But, annoyingly, there's no fixings for proper mudguards on the bike. I may try out race blades one day.A-nnoying
In other bike news, I got a bit fed up with my local bike shop today. I took the bike in yesterday for its six-week/hundred mile free service and it came back with the transmission (chain and gears) crunching and grinding. The brakes have been tightened and they've true'd up the rear wheel, which was nice of them. But they've messed up derailleur settings before. Grrrr.
A Rant
Why? Why why? WHY? Why do people who make roads put 3-foot-wide drain covers about three feet from the edge of the road? This is exactly the point at which a cyclist riding in "primary position" will need to cycle over it. I've passed many of these today. Options for a cyclist approaching one are:
- Dive in towards the kerb - more difficult but safer if you can do it
- Dive OUT towards the middle of the road - easier but more liable to upset motorists and/or get you knocked off the road entirely
And finally I'd like to end on...
A High Note
I'm really enjoying cycling again. After a long spell of illness and injury I feel like I'm back and it's great to be in the saddle with the countryside rushing by, wind in my face, heart racing, watching the miles tick by. I love it.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Song 5: (Dare I admit it) Oasis' "Wonderwall"
I'm not really sure what to make of the fact that I've put Wonderwall on the list. It's the quintessential, moany, groany Oasis track that all sing-along guitarists should know how to play. Yet, at the same time, I'm a bit embarrassed about it.
It provokes a reaction in me that's more "Oh yeah...Wonderwall....how predictable" rather than "YES! Wonderwall MUST be on the list".
Still, it's a good one to learn. I THINK the difficulty will be more with the rhythm than the chords (which I don't think are that difficult) or the words (which I, and anyone pretty much any English person my age, will already know).
Or perhaps I'll learn to play it Mike Flowers' Pops style? Now there's a thought!
It provokes a reaction in me that's more "Oh yeah...Wonderwall....how predictable" rather than "YES! Wonderwall MUST be on the list".
Still, it's a good one to learn. I THINK the difficulty will be more with the rhythm than the chords (which I don't think are that difficult) or the words (which I, and anyone pretty much any English person my age, will already know).
Or perhaps I'll learn to play it Mike Flowers' Pops style? Now there's a thought!
Observing the Shibboleth
I'm on my own this weekend as Sally's off on a working holiday. So I'm doing some catching up and messing around. Here's a little video I like. It's a time-lapse of people looking at the "Shibboleth" exhibit at the Tate Modern, in December 2007.
I'm usually more interested with people's reactions to the Turbine Hall exhibits, than to the exhibits themselves. I like this video because there's so much going on. Most people slowly progress along the crack in the floor. But the group on the right refuse to budge as their tour guide conducts a detailed explanation. And old lady stops to take a deeper look. The gallery employee in the red jacket ambles up and down. I wonder what else there is to spot?
I'm usually more interested with people's reactions to the Turbine Hall exhibits, than to the exhibits themselves. I like this video because there's so much going on. Most people slowly progress along the crack in the floor. But the group on the right refuse to budge as their tour guide conducts a detailed explanation. And old lady stops to take a deeper look. The gallery employee in the red jacket ambles up and down. I wonder what else there is to spot?
Online Cycling Tools
I think I've mentioned online route planners before. I'm re-investigating them at the moment - amazing how quickly things move on.
I currently log routes on Bikely. It's fast, easy to use, does nice maps with commentary, and shows elevation profiles.
I just looked again at MapMyRide but it's slow, full of adverts, and though it gives you a map it doesn't give you a way to step through the route - not that I could make out anyway.
Though, my new favourite is the BikeRouteToaster. It's VERY fast, does good elevation profiles and cue sheets (literally, "Turn left at Thomas Street"), and seems to have the easiest route editing functions. The only problem being that it's a bit clunky and lacks some simple things, like having a "home" - you have to zoom in about 8 times at the start of every route.
I'm sticking with Bikely for now, but may convert to the Toaster if they can improve it just a TINY bit more!
I currently log routes on Bikely. It's fast, easy to use, does nice maps with commentary, and shows elevation profiles.
I just looked again at MapMyRide but it's slow, full of adverts, and though it gives you a map it doesn't give you a way to step through the route - not that I could make out anyway.
Though, my new favourite is the BikeRouteToaster. It's VERY fast, does good elevation profiles and cue sheets (literally, "Turn left at Thomas Street"), and seems to have the easiest route editing functions. The only problem being that it's a bit clunky and lacks some simple things, like having a "home" - you have to zoom in about 8 times at the start of every route.
I'm sticking with Bikely for now, but may convert to the Toaster if they can improve it just a TINY bit more!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Washing tip!
One of my purposes of this blog is to write down things that I learn so that:
1) I can remember them.
2) I can share them with others.
Now, the following may be obvious to some. It is to me, now that I've messed up! It's a little fact about washing clothes.
IF you have clothes with Velcro fastenings, make sure that the Velcro fastening is closed before you wash said articles with other items of clothing...
...or you'll get large bundles of stuck together clothes...
...and you'll have to very carefully pull them apart.
(It seems so obvious now!)
1) I can remember them.
2) I can share them with others.
Now, the following may be obvious to some. It is to me, now that I've messed up! It's a little fact about washing clothes.
IF you have clothes with Velcro fastenings, make sure that the Velcro fastening is closed before you wash said articles with other items of clothing...
...or you'll get large bundles of stuck together clothes...
...and you'll have to very carefully pull them apart.
(It seems so obvious now!)
Song 4: R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon"
So, finally, here we are at song 4. I've been a bit lazy about it (it's week 7, I think), but, frankly, I've had more important things to do.
I've chosen this one because I mostly know it already - I just need to firm the words up in my head, get the order right, and learn the chords for the bridge and chorus (the verse is just C and D - with D played as a C shape starting on fret 3).
For reference the verse lines are:
It's a good guitar song. Easily recognisable, easy to play, but I find it quite hard to sing right. I think it's a bit high for my voice. Not that I can sing anything properly anyway.
4 days to do it (changeover day is Tuesday) and then pick something more complicated for next week.
P.S. I've given up stating what key things are in - this would be a useful thing for an index of my songs I've learned, just to trigger the memory a little, but I don't really understand which of the chords in the song is the key and, with Song 3, I got it wrong anyway 'cos it needs to be played with a capo on fret 5. Oops!
I've chosen this one because I mostly know it already - I just need to firm the words up in my head, get the order right, and learn the chords for the bridge and chorus (the verse is just C and D - with D played as a C shape starting on fret 3).
For reference the verse lines are:
- Mott the Hoople...
- Andy Kaufman...
- Monopoly 21...
- Mr Fred Blassie...
- Let's play Twister...
- I'll see you in heaven...
- [Chorus...losing touch]
- Moses went walking...
- Newton got beaned...
- Egypt was troubled...
- Mr Charles Darwin...
- [Chorus...having fun]
- Here's a little agit...
- Here's a little ghost...
- Here's a truck stop...
- Mr Andy Kaufman's...
- [Chorus...losing touch]
- Lots of "If you believe"'s....
It's a good guitar song. Easily recognisable, easy to play, but I find it quite hard to sing right. I think it's a bit high for my voice. Not that I can sing anything properly anyway.
4 days to do it (changeover day is Tuesday) and then pick something more complicated for next week.
P.S. I've given up stating what key things are in - this would be a useful thing for an index of my songs I've learned, just to trigger the memory a little, but I don't really understand which of the chords in the song is the key and, with Song 3, I got it wrong anyway 'cos it needs to be played with a capo on fret 5. Oops!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Persistent Prayers Paying Off
This is a follow up to the post about praying for good health.
Last Sunday our church had a "Healing and Wholeness" service. They do this a couple of times a year and the idea is that we believe God wishes, in some cases, to heal us, and, in all cases, to bring us wholeness.
And so I had Sally and one of the Elders pray for me in person.
Talking about being prayed for is weird, mostly because spiritual things aren't easy to describe in words. In some cases you don't feel anything when you're being prayed for. In other cases you will get a sense of peace, or happiness. Sometimes there is a physical sensation of some sort. And at other times more unusual things happen - for example, I've seen people fall over, semi-conscious, kinda like shutting down physically so that God can work on the spiritual stuff - forced meditation I guess!
Anyway, in this case not much seemed to happen. Does that mean that nothing has actually happened? No! Not really. I believe that whenever we speak to God something happens - he hears us, understands us, and though we may not see, hear, or feel the effects, we have made a request and had it heard. A bit like sending a letter to Santa - nothing happens when you send the letter, but you will (eventually, if you're a good boy/girl) get some kind of response!
And on that Sunday certain things started moving. Later, at home, I prayed and had my own little conversation with God. Again, it's hard to explain how but I felt that God "spoke" to me - not in words as such, but a message arrived in my mind or my spirit or something - and he said that I could "start thinking again". Certain things, in my head, have kinda been on hold while all this illness and injury has been ongoing. God was telling me that I could take those things off hold.
That was a bit odd as I didn't feel any dramatic improvement at that point.
However - in the morning, on Monday, I felt like a different person! Really, overnight the pain had gone from being a painful, broken, sort of pain, to being a tired, weary, will-be-better-soon sort of pain. Psychologically I felt MUCH stronger too. It really was a remarkable change - I suddenly felt like me again. Oh, and I was really hungry!! My appetite increased substantially!
Following that I've had a steady week - the pain has come and gone a bit, but it's not felt harsh and difficult, it's continued to feel like recovery rather than injury. I've been laughing, smiling, joking, and enjoying myself.
I'm not about to enter into a discourse on the nature of prayer and answers to prayer here - maybe another time - I just want to record my experience and give thanks for it. I'm happy for people to dismiss this as coincidence, or psychology, or a perfectly normal physical recovery. But I know that something slightly more than that has happened. As William Temple once said: "When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't."
Last Sunday our church had a "Healing and Wholeness" service. They do this a couple of times a year and the idea is that we believe God wishes, in some cases, to heal us, and, in all cases, to bring us wholeness.
And so I had Sally and one of the Elders pray for me in person.
Talking about being prayed for is weird, mostly because spiritual things aren't easy to describe in words. In some cases you don't feel anything when you're being prayed for. In other cases you will get a sense of peace, or happiness. Sometimes there is a physical sensation of some sort. And at other times more unusual things happen - for example, I've seen people fall over, semi-conscious, kinda like shutting down physically so that God can work on the spiritual stuff - forced meditation I guess!
Anyway, in this case not much seemed to happen. Does that mean that nothing has actually happened? No! Not really. I believe that whenever we speak to God something happens - he hears us, understands us, and though we may not see, hear, or feel the effects, we have made a request and had it heard. A bit like sending a letter to Santa - nothing happens when you send the letter, but you will (eventually, if you're a good boy/girl) get some kind of response!
And on that Sunday certain things started moving. Later, at home, I prayed and had my own little conversation with God. Again, it's hard to explain how but I felt that God "spoke" to me - not in words as such, but a message arrived in my mind or my spirit or something - and he said that I could "start thinking again". Certain things, in my head, have kinda been on hold while all this illness and injury has been ongoing. God was telling me that I could take those things off hold.
That was a bit odd as I didn't feel any dramatic improvement at that point.
However - in the morning, on Monday, I felt like a different person! Really, overnight the pain had gone from being a painful, broken, sort of pain, to being a tired, weary, will-be-better-soon sort of pain. Psychologically I felt MUCH stronger too. It really was a remarkable change - I suddenly felt like me again. Oh, and I was really hungry!! My appetite increased substantially!
Following that I've had a steady week - the pain has come and gone a bit, but it's not felt harsh and difficult, it's continued to feel like recovery rather than injury. I've been laughing, smiling, joking, and enjoying myself.
I'm not about to enter into a discourse on the nature of prayer and answers to prayer here - maybe another time - I just want to record my experience and give thanks for it. I'm happy for people to dismiss this as coincidence, or psychology, or a perfectly normal physical recovery. But I know that something slightly more than that has happened. As William Temple once said: "When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't."
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Back-on-Bike Silliness
Yes, after my big back recovery (not quite there yet but an awful lot better!), it was back on the bike today (too wet for Fuzzy but took the Raleigh - which I'm thinking of calling "Walter" - to work).
My routine for cycling is quite complicated. I need to get all the right things to the right places. This means I:
1) Wake up
2) Have breakfast and stuff and put cycling gear on.
3) Pack clean clothes (underwear and shirt) - my jumper and jeans/trousers having previously been taken there and stored in a locker.
4) Remember to pack gadgets (phones, organiser, etc) in bag.
5) Remember to pack security pass in bag.
6) Remember to take keys.
7) Pack lunch/snacks in bag.
8) Get keys, wallet and change from my "home" jeans.
9) Get bike from shed.
10) Put helmet, gloves, shoes, jacket, etc on.
11) Go to work.
Then...at work:
1) Lock bike
2) Put lights in bag
3) Put computer in bag
4) Put saddle pack in bag
5) Take helmet and gloves off
6) Enter office.
7) Shower and change, taking trousers and jumper out of the locker and replacing them with bike stuff.
8) Remembering to take keys and computer into the office.
And then reverse the whole process when I get home.
It's not simple and, inevitably, goes wrong occasionally. Usually something simple like leaving my keys in my jeans or putting my lights in the wrong place when I get to the office. It's such a complicated routine that the slightest little thing throws me and risks the whole thing imploding a mess of clothing, gadgets and bike stuff.
Today, I made a slightly more embarassing boo boo, which I blame fairly an squarely on not having done the routine for a week...I forgot to pack a shirt!!! Which left me with the tricky dilemma of choosing between wearing a jumper with no shirt underneath - and hoping nobody notices. Or wearing a long-sleeved, and not particularly attractive-looking, orange and black cycle jersey all day under the jumper - and hoping nobody notices.
What would YOU do?
My routine for cycling is quite complicated. I need to get all the right things to the right places. This means I:
1) Wake up
2) Have breakfast and stuff and put cycling gear on.
3) Pack clean clothes (underwear and shirt) - my jumper and jeans/trousers having previously been taken there and stored in a locker.
4) Remember to pack gadgets (phones, organiser, etc) in bag.
5) Remember to pack security pass in bag.
6) Remember to take keys.
7) Pack lunch/snacks in bag.
8) Get keys, wallet and change from my "home" jeans.
9) Get bike from shed.
10) Put helmet, gloves, shoes, jacket, etc on.
11) Go to work.
Then...at work:
1) Lock bike
2) Put lights in bag
3) Put computer in bag
4) Put saddle pack in bag
5) Take helmet and gloves off
6) Enter office.
7) Shower and change, taking trousers and jumper out of the locker and replacing them with bike stuff.
8) Remembering to take keys and computer into the office.
And then reverse the whole process when I get home.
It's not simple and, inevitably, goes wrong occasionally. Usually something simple like leaving my keys in my jeans or putting my lights in the wrong place when I get to the office. It's such a complicated routine that the slightest little thing throws me and risks the whole thing imploding a mess of clothing, gadgets and bike stuff.
Today, I made a slightly more embarassing boo boo, which I blame fairly an squarely on not having done the routine for a week...I forgot to pack a shirt!!! Which left me with the tricky dilemma of choosing between wearing a jumper with no shirt underneath - and hoping nobody notices. Or wearing a long-sleeved, and not particularly attractive-looking, orange and black cycle jersey all day under the jumper - and hoping nobody notices.
What would YOU do?
Friday, February 01, 2008
Song 3...still? What's happening?
OK, so I should make it clear at this point that, in my head at least, if not on paper, "52 songs" is a concept, not a target. I never thought I'd learn 52 songs this year, but the idea was to learn SOME pop songs this year, the 52 Songs concept was to give me some discipline to do it, and that's what I will continue to do!
So, I considered choosing another song to learn but with the bad and busy week I've had I decided to drop it and learn the last two verses of "Nothing Ever Happens". I now know all the words and just need to learn the musical bridge before verse 4.
It's a cool song. I don't know for sure, but I guess it's about how we all go about doing our business and work and shopping and stuff, we all have our routines. But nothing really ever happens, and "we'll all be lonely tonight, and lonely tomorrow. We don't achieve anything by just plodding through a working, consumerist, selfish life.
It reminds me of a book in the Bible called "Ecclesiastes", which starts off:
Here's something else I read about life recently. This is Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, writing about the time when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and gives examples of how to do this:
Of course, this is a huge challenge for us, especially in our me-first culture. It's a huge challenge for me personally - it sounds massively exciting living that way, but I find it incredibly hard too.
I'm fortunate to have some incredibly loving and generous people around me in the shape of my close friends and family. They are all different and astonishing in the ways that they love others and live life to the full, and I'm hugely thankful for them.
In other places, I don't see much of this kind of life at all. I hardly know my neighbours for example. I hope that as the weather improves and we start chatting over the fences and in the street, we will get to know them and have opportunities to be generous towards them.
Del Amitri don't give suggestions as to how to get out, meet people and find an exuberant life (I like the word exuberant - I must use it more!). But they make us think - what are we doing here? How can we make life worth living?
---
P.S. I got a little carried away there - I suspect next week's song won't be anywhere near as interesting!
So, I considered choosing another song to learn but with the bad and busy week I've had I decided to drop it and learn the last two verses of "Nothing Ever Happens". I now know all the words and just need to learn the musical bridge before verse 4.
It's a cool song. I don't know for sure, but I guess it's about how we all go about doing our business and work and shopping and stuff, we all have our routines. But nothing really ever happens, and "we'll all be lonely tonight, and lonely tomorrow. We don't achieve anything by just plodding through a working, consumerist, selfish life.
It reminds me of a book in the Bible called "Ecclesiastes", which starts off:
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.
What does man gain from all his labour
The point of life is not just to wake up and follow the same old routine every day. That's not life. That's missing the point!at which he toils under the sun?”
Here's something else I read about life recently. This is Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, writing about the time when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and gives examples of how to do this:
Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and go ahead and do it. Think of what you'd really like someone to do for you, and do it for them. Think of the people to whom you are tempted to be nasty, and lavish generosity on them instead. These instructions have a fresh, springlike quality. They are all about new life bursting out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete and startling everyone with their colour and vigour...Imagine if even a few people around you took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant, different, astonishing.Doesn't that sound exciting?!
Of course, this is a huge challenge for us, especially in our me-first culture. It's a huge challenge for me personally - it sounds massively exciting living that way, but I find it incredibly hard too.
I'm fortunate to have some incredibly loving and generous people around me in the shape of my close friends and family. They are all different and astonishing in the ways that they love others and live life to the full, and I'm hugely thankful for them.
In other places, I don't see much of this kind of life at all. I hardly know my neighbours for example. I hope that as the weather improves and we start chatting over the fences and in the street, we will get to know them and have opportunities to be generous towards them.
Del Amitri don't give suggestions as to how to get out, meet people and find an exuberant life (I like the word exuberant - I must use it more!). But they make us think - what are we doing here? How can we make life worth living?
---
P.S. I got a little carried away there - I suspect next week's song won't be anywhere near as interesting!
Taking up Twittering as Facebook Flops
Who knows when and by whom this is being read, but as I write there is a new little box in the top-right-hand corner of my blog showing something called "Twitter" updates.
This is a little something I've been playing with and I want to explain why.
A Brief History of Social Networking in the Wintle Household
I was never into MySpace as a social networking tool. Too cluttered and didn't really get what it was all about. Then, a while back, Facebook became popular. It was a real big thing in 2007 and I became a fully-addicted member in about May time. I was a bit skeptical about it. but I've really enjoyed using it to keep up with what's going on with my friends. It DOES have some Friends-Reunited type functionality, but I've rarely spent much time reconnecting with old friends. I mostly use it to watch the short status updates of my real-world friends, share photos, and to play Scrabulous (clever online version of Scrabble).
More and more on Facebook, the advertising is creeping in, and the small amount of useful functionality is becoming obscured by alerts that I'd rather not see, and invitations to use pointless applications.
It seems I'm not the only one with "Facebook Fatigue" either, as this article from The Register suggests.
Blogs!
I also enjoy reading other people's blogs in order to keep up with them. This is also a kind of social networking for me. And, of course, one of my reasons for writing this stuff is so that other people can keep up with me (not many do, but that's OK - there are other reasons to write).
But my blog entries take a lot of time to write and I'm often a week or so behind where I actually want to be with posts.
"Micro-Blogging"
The status updates in Facebook are really a kind of "micro-blogging". Small statements about what's going on with your life to allow others to keep up with you.
I've not looked up a definition of "micro-blogging" but the concept seems to be a series of small notes that track those smaller updates and thoughts that occur between longer "macro blog" entries that people might be publishing about themselves.
I would, in fact, much prefer it if the people I use Facebook to keep up with would do some form of Blogging or "micro-blogging".
Twitter
Twitter is a tool that allows this sort of thing. It's stupidly simple. You can write a status update of 140 characters from the web, your phone (by SMS or mobile web), or using a Google Chat. These can be read by your "followers".
You can also choose to "follow" others, and you can choose to get updates from others from the website, by SMS, or through your Google Chat.
So, I have been doing a bit of Twittering to see if anyone follows.
It feels a bit silly and self-indulgent. But so did Facebook when it started. I wonder if others would follow me in defecting if they knew what it was and why I was doing it? I wonder if others are fed up of the constant hassling of Facebook applications and just want to know what's going on with their friends and family?
Maybe Twitter gives information overload if you have too many people that you're following? I'm not sure. But my future feels like it's more with micro-blogging, using whatever tool, than with Facebook.
This is a little something I've been playing with and I want to explain why.
A Brief History of Social Networking in the Wintle Household
I was never into MySpace as a social networking tool. Too cluttered and didn't really get what it was all about. Then, a while back, Facebook became popular. It was a real big thing in 2007 and I became a fully-addicted member in about May time. I was a bit skeptical about it. but I've really enjoyed using it to keep up with what's going on with my friends. It DOES have some Friends-Reunited type functionality, but I've rarely spent much time reconnecting with old friends. I mostly use it to watch the short status updates of my real-world friends, share photos, and to play Scrabulous (clever online version of Scrabble).
More and more on Facebook, the advertising is creeping in, and the small amount of useful functionality is becoming obscured by alerts that I'd rather not see, and invitations to use pointless applications.
It seems I'm not the only one with "Facebook Fatigue" either, as this article from The Register suggests.
Blogs!
I also enjoy reading other people's blogs in order to keep up with them. This is also a kind of social networking for me. And, of course, one of my reasons for writing this stuff is so that other people can keep up with me (not many do, but that's OK - there are other reasons to write).
But my blog entries take a lot of time to write and I'm often a week or so behind where I actually want to be with posts.
"Micro-Blogging"
The status updates in Facebook are really a kind of "micro-blogging". Small statements about what's going on with your life to allow others to keep up with you.
I've not looked up a definition of "micro-blogging" but the concept seems to be a series of small notes that track those smaller updates and thoughts that occur between longer "macro blog" entries that people might be publishing about themselves.
I would, in fact, much prefer it if the people I use Facebook to keep up with would do some form of Blogging or "micro-blogging".
Twitter is a tool that allows this sort of thing. It's stupidly simple. You can write a status update of 140 characters from the web, your phone (by SMS or mobile web), or using a Google Chat. These can be read by your "followers".
You can also choose to "follow" others, and you can choose to get updates from others from the website, by SMS, or through your Google Chat.
So, I have been doing a bit of Twittering to see if anyone follows.
It feels a bit silly and self-indulgent. But so did Facebook when it started. I wonder if others would follow me in defecting if they knew what it was and why I was doing it? I wonder if others are fed up of the constant hassling of Facebook applications and just want to know what's going on with their friends and family?
Maybe Twitter gives information overload if you have too many people that you're following? I'm not sure. But my future feels like it's more with micro-blogging, using whatever tool, than with Facebook.
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