15C, clear but winds strong. CK19 miles.
Not up to a full ride today so playtime on the fixed-gear bike instead. I tried doing a track stand on a quiet road. Erm, it’s not as easy as it seems. The problem, for me I suppose, is fear of falling off. Very slow speed control is okay, but kicking backwards to cancel a leftwards fall is, so far, impossible.
More time another day.
15°C, clear sun.
Nerdity– fitted new RAM to my main computer, doubling it up to 4GB. Windows XP only recognises 3.66GB, but that’s still a huge increase on 2GB. There are some technical reasons why you don’t get to use all 4GB, but upgrading to Windows 7 should reveal it all.
The first two runs crashed out with a blue screen, but I’ve changed settings in the BIOS, and the last run worked without a hitch. Microsoft FSX seems to run a little faster now, but I didn’t test it very rigorously. It has a latency of 5-5-5-18, but I don’t really know what that means right now. I have a little book though.
Nerdlessly: the pond has built up edges on the lower side, it now has a water butt full of water more than this morning. A good few hours effort, it’s great to work outside on a clear sunny day. I need to plant some grasses round the rim to stabilise the bricks + mud around the shore.
5-12C, light cloud, fairly calm.
I have picked up something, my legs were so empty today that I got to work late. No other symptoms, just minimal energy. It’s like this before a cold, but then it’s like this before clearing up again. Wait & see.
18°C, Light SW, mostly sunny. CR:63 miles
Why the need to park like this? There is a guy in the corner house that has a pushchair for two kids. I presume he has to divert into the road, but that’s okay because your car is all white and perfect and lovely and new and you are so so proud of it. And it cost you all of your money.
This was on a quiet residential side-road. There is hardly any traffic on this road, the other parked cars provide some form of shelter and swiped side-mirrors are not a problem here. I can see that you have folded the mirrors so that people who have to squeeze passed don’t hurt them.
This says something interesting: BBC. The author draw parallels between alcohol belief systems and mythology in religions. In effect, she’s arguing that alcohol is used as an excuse for bad behaviour here in the UK, in contrast to other countries where there is no visible link. Personally, I worry about its authenticity but the idea that we Brits should be responsible for our behaviour regardless of how much we’ve drunk is useful. “It’s not my fault, I was drunk” holds no truck with me.
17°C, sunny with building wind.
Bessie has been diagnosed with vestibular disease. It’s her inner ear that is at fault and it makes her feel vertigo, hence the nausea and poor balance. Some cure can occur after the injections that she’s had- antibiotics, anti-nausea & something else. If it’s part of a more general condition the outcome could be grim. We’ll know by tomorrow.
18°C, strong W, thick cloud.
Old Bessie is not well. She’s curled up now and relaxed but is very unsteady on her feet this evening. She had a bit of a turn earlier, she staggered into the living room and could barely stand. Her head seems tilted to one side slightly. Thinking back, she wasn’t too agile this morning on her early walk either. I don’t know whether she’ll get through this winter. The vet says she is 13 years & 11 months. She has an appointment in the morning to keep. An old dog that has me worried.
14°C, grey sky.
Film: Animal Kingdom. Review. It had all the tension of a David Lynch film, I was gripped and genuinely anxious about what would happen next. The film contained violence but didn’t indulge in a butcherfest as some films do. It met my need for fine cinematography, sound-scapes and therefore mood. I recommend.
However, I’m having trouble with this TV set because it makes that high pitched transistor whine. It reminds me of those mosquito alarms.
13° upto 28°C later
I have a cold and we’re basking in an Indian Summer. That’s not irony it’s just a co-incidence. this cold has been threatening for a week now and will probably drag on for another.
27°C, clear & still
Two loosely related news stories this week have caught my attention with their retrograde trend. One, proposes to raise the speed limit on motorways to 80mph. This has sparked numerous threads on forums (or is that fora?), interviews in TV and is said to be opposed by “environmental groups”. What worries me about the debate is its one-dimensional nature. MPs and most commentators seems to think there is only one reason against a change- safety. It’s almost as if they haven’t considered that there are other reasons at all. As I get older I am increasingly pushed towards the view that our leaders & decision makers are just plain stupid.
Look guys, here are some factors to consider just so you don’t have to think any up yourselves: fuel consumption (oil is going to run out eventually), noise, wear (on cars and on the roads), fear (cars full of kids because mums fear the traffic). All of those problems increase with speed.
Micycle 