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Wednesday, 30 December 2009

One of Those Days

On the whole most of my days are Good days but occasionally I have 'one of Those Days' which could have been slightly better.  What surprises me is just how unphased I seem to get by Things these days.  Today, for example, had its moments.

Firstly it's been a wonderful, hot day with a really good breeze this morning.  I've caught up on quite a few blogs. I went to town.  I cancelled Sky TV and got a Freeview box and installed it - in reverse order, I'm not sure why I didn't write it the other way round.

On the way into town an Aussie lad in his step-mother's car drove into the back of The Handbag. He did no damage to The Handbag but hundreds of dollars worth to her car. I almost felt sorry for him. Mind you I did have the advantage of modern technology when I stopped (a woman stepped onto a crossing rather unexpectedly). He was a good way behind but the skid marks were three or four times the length of his (large) car so heaven knows what speed he was doing. Glad Game: he didn't have an airbag. Replacing it would have been greater than the value of her car!

Then I left my car keys in the lock of the boot of the car and went off into town. A kind chap took them into the nearby police station.  The constable left a message on my phone. Fortunately I went into the Police Station first so no-one had to bring the spare keys out to me.  Glad Game:  well, what's not to be glad about that one.  The kindness of people is all about us.

And last night I sat on the deck on the 'phone from sundown until the moon lit the land:

And then I went up to The House and I looked at the moon through Martin's telescope.  I love the moon.

Christmas Dinner: A Reflection

Christmas Dinner as seen through the reflections in Jamie's sunglasses.  It was a wonderful, warm, sunny day and we had Christmas Dinner outside.

Tuesday, 29 December 2009

When Pauline was showing me around Northland we arrived in Kaiwaka in a torrential shower.  I wanted to go into the famous cheese shop there.  We parked in the area between the Eutopia Café and the Cheese Shop. I managed to get a photograph of the café despite the rain but it was closed. It's definitely somewhere to revisit.

You Just Never Can Tell

This morning I wrote to a friend  saying that I thought it was going to be a Very Strange Day today. This morning the air was really heavy. The temperature last evening fell to about 8 degrees despite the fact that it was raining. This morning it was still sort of raining and the air was filled with the scent of the country after the rain.  It pervaded every nook and cranny of The Cottage. I like that. The temperature had soared to the dizzy heights of 18 deg on the deck and the ranch sliders were wide open. The birds wear vying with Sibelius for the attention of my ears.

Just before lunch I decided that I had to pop into Taradale to post a packet to Scotland - a pleasant 15 minutes drive. Taradale, that is, not Scotland!  I really must be more careful about my grammar.  It was still threatening enough for me not to put the hood down - and that is unusual if it's not actually raining.  I popped into the supermarket on the way home for a couple of odds and ends.

As I came out of the supermarket the sky was showing decided signs of improvement.

I've been doing some housekeeping this afternoon.  The mood took me.  How can one person create so much dust?  Oh yes.  I live in the middle of a pasture and orchards.  Despite the fact that the carpets had looked clean I took two complete empties of the vacuum cleaner off them!  That's a LOT of dust and pollen and whatever makes up all that dust.  Anyway you really didn't want to waste valuable blog reading time reading that nonsense.

The real point of the (rather pointless) story is that it is now 1730 and we've had 5 hours of full sun and the temperature is 32 deg C (90ish F).  I thought living in the Outer Hebrides was the place to live for unpredictable weather.  They say you can get four seasons in a single day.  You can but there's not that much difference between the seasons!   So why am I writing this and not sitting in my new sun-lounger with a cool drink in my hand doing a cross-word?  Yes.  Why indeed?

Monday, 28 December 2009

Napier's Christman Tree

In the centre of Napier we have a rather unconventional Christmas Tree.  It's not received universal acclaim in the City.  I rather like it but we have been lucky enough since it was erected to have had plenty of sun to show off its reflective surfaces.  It would be rather uninteresting on a dull day.  One problem is that the sun is so bright it can be hard to see the colours.  In order to photograph the colours I had to stop the camera down to the maximum and reduce the shutter speed to 1/2000 of a second.

Fraser (third son of Wendy and Martin) is quite an amazing person.  He is quite dedicated to something if he really wants to be.  He spent a week on holiday once constantly (and I mean constantly) attempting and then perfecting a single gymnastic move because he knew that he should be able to do it to a very high standard.

On the other hand his concentration can be completely non-existent.  We were all having dinner at The House one evening last week when Fraser looked up and suddenly said, in all seriousness, to the table in general "When did Graham come in?"  I'd been there in the same room as him for about half an hour before dinner and we were about 10 minutes into the meal and I was sitting next to him!  And he was completely serious.

And for Christmas he made his Dad a Christmas Card which contained a considerable amount of time and effort:

Sunday, 27 December 2009

A Very Big Thank You

I could go on blogging about my trip to Northland for weeks and I may yet do that.  The time has come, however, to tell you about a magical evening walk.  It is one thing seeing places on a blog.  It's entirely another to walk around those pictures and experience them for one's self.  Which is what I did on a beautiful Sunday evening before I flew back South from Northland.  This was the wonderful culmination of a really wonderful weekend.  A weekend in which I was fortunate enough to experience Pauline's hospitality and a share of her knowledge of the area she knows so well.  For all that - a very big thank you.

The Uppity Downity Mountains from the other side: the view before breakfast

The Vodafone Tower which was the point of focus for my time in Northland.

 A granddaughter with a love of speed

 and scrambling

 The Creek

 On the far side of The Farm

Granddaughters and horses (there's an electric fence between them).

A Certain Theme

There seemed to be a certain theme running through my presents:

Christmas Came and Christmas Went

As I start writing this posting it is 4pm on Sunday 27th. Where did Christmas go?  It's no secret that I am not a Christmassy person.  I never have been for as long as I can recall.  Well, perhaps that's not quite true.  I looked forward to Christmas at my maternal grandparent's who lived a quarter of a mile from us when CJ and I were  young children.  But at the time about which I am talking CJ might not even have been born.  I was really keen on Christmas principally because my hero used to come and visit.  In my memory he always did but, of course, memory playes tricks.  My hero was my Mother's Brother, Uncle Eric.  In a funny sort of a way he remained my hero until he died about 6 years ago.

Anyway this year the two youngest children and Misty came down to The Cottage at 7.45 to summon me up to the House for 8am to open Santa's stockings.  It's great.  Santa brings us all a stocking. - even I.   Well  I  suppose that I have been quite a good boy this last year.

Before Christmas Wendy put up some decorations including a Santa which Catriona immediately declared to be Santa Graham because, in her view, it looked like me.  Hmmm.  I'm not too sure about that.

 Inevitably I felt that I had to recored events for posterity:

I won't have to borrow Santa's needle and thread again to sew buttons on.

Misty decided not to be left out

The children received 'family' gifts.  The air hockey was my favourite

but by far the biggest hit - worth it's weight in occupied children - was the Big Band experience for the Play Station 2

of course Fraser, being Fraser, couldn't just scoot along the ground

and under the flawless blue sky

Martin cooked breakfast and we drank bucks fizz.

Thursday, 24 December 2009

The School Bus Driver Calls

Yesterday morning Mrs Duncan came down the deck with heavy tread.  Well, actually, you don't have to have a heavy tread.  If you are wearing shoes anyone walking along the deck sounds heavy.  Anyway there was Mrs Duncan, the school bus driver, at the door bearing flowers.  "Odd" I thought "Why would Mrs Duncan be bringing me flowers?"  And that was exactly the same thing that the children wondered.  I managed to keep them wondering for most of the day and evening until, when we were having dinner (I catered for the family on Wednesday), Wendy who was not, of course, likely to take anything in this world for granted, read the card and broadcast the results.

In actual fact Mrs Duncan, in addition to driving the bus, delivers flowers for some of the local florists.  Mystery solved.

The flowers are magnificent and now stand on my table in a vase most suited to them.  The scent they are throwing into the room this evening now all the doors are shut for the night is strong and heady and redolent of long summer evenings.  Which is just as well given that that's what it's like here.

In actual fact the flowers were a gift from Friend Who Knows Too Much  and who, therefore, knows that I love flowers.  I know that she'll be having a wonderful Christmas with Airplane Mad Partner  (He's actually even more mad about a particular football team but tif I mentioned that it would give the game away) and Daughter Who  Loves Horses and Very Artistic Daughter (who sends me the most outrageous Christmas and Birthday cards showing little respect for my grand age).  They are all in England at the moment and, in contrast, to our midsummer they were making a snow bear as I received the delivery.

Tuesday, 22 December 2009

Sunday, 20 December 2009

It's a Small World

Last September CJ, Jo and I went to Carr Farm and in a gift shop there saw some metal artworks.  I had never seen them before and wsa very taken with them and bought one which now sits in my Eagleton home on the outside of the bathroom door.  CJ was very taken with one particular one of some fish - it's the last one on his post (see Carr Farm above).   When I was in Nautical Trenz in Whangarei Town Basin last weekend I saw exactly the same fish artwork that CJ had fallen in love with.  So there you are.  Travel from one side of the globe to the opposite and you can buy exactly the same unusual piece of artwork - made somewhere in between no doubt.  It is a very small world these days.

The Town Basin, Whangarei

It seems hardly possible that a week has passed since I was staying in Northland and a week and two days since I took these pictures in Whangarei.  How time it doth pass so quickly.  These were taken in the Town Basin in Whangarei.

The large and the small

Whilst there's nothing new in a group of new 'old' shops on the water front these have been very well done and there is a superb gift shop called Nautical Trenz (of which more later)
I love the detail and superb quality of this public bench
 And every public place has to have a clock - especially for Scriptor there is a blue post box next to the red and grey one at the base of the tower


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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Birthday, Earth Day!

In doing some research for this post I found out that Earth Day and I have something in common, we are both turning 40 in the year 2010!!!  So, Happy Birthday Earth Day!  That's just downright fun to say.  To be honest with you, I had no idea that Earth Day was that old, I thought it was a much younger, more new fad idea.  Maybe it's just because I think of myself as much younger and newer too, ha!
From the sit ins of the Vietnam war came the lesson of a teach in day that became Earth Day.  A young senator from Wisconsin (doesn't that make you proud Daisy?) by the name of Gaylord Nelson proposed the nationwide teach in day in late 1969 and word traveled like wildfire across the nation, and the world, 175 countries take part in Earth Day.  20 million people participated in the first ever Earth Day, and the response was overwhelming according to wikipedia:
"Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself."
I think one of the most striking things for me in this article is that it reminds me that grassroots movements really do make a big difference, and that one man or woman really can make a huge difference.  They talk about all of the various groups that were trying to save the whales, and fight pollution, and were horrified by these gargantuan oil spills that were happening coming together and realizing that they all had a common goal and common values.  And here we are 40 years later blogging about it on a computer system that those folks would never have dreamed of; I mean to me, that is simply astonishing!

My friend Tiffany has a great Earth Day post at her blog today as well,  I really enjoyed reading it this morning, thanks Tiffany!  I couldn't agree with you more.

1 comment:

Daisy said...

Yes, I'm very proud of Gaylord Nelson! We teach our students about his work and his life; he was quite an environmentalist before the term existed. Thanks to Sen. Nelson, environmental education is mandatory in my state. Every student learns about his/her natural world.

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Saturday, 23 February 2013

Impact of Redundancy on Workforce

In the current economic times it is often difficult to ensure that staff stay motivated and productive. An increase in absence levels in due to Stress and anxiety has been sited as a direct result of the economic pressure being felt across the economy which in turn adds pressure to employees to work harder, faster and smarter. Dealing with change in an organisation is valueable skill and often one which is purchased from consultancy firms to address. Independent consultancy firms are seem as less emotionally attached to the company and therefore they can provide the impartial advice around how to best restructure.

Unfortunately large organisations go through peaks and troughs of redundancy programmes and recruitment campaigns and against the backdrop of difficult financial times many employees lose their job. Looking at the impact on the affected individuals is perhaps the main focus and rightly so but do companies pay enough attention to the knock on effect of this?

Legislation in employment is strigent, difficult to navigate and often leads to very interesting situations which can damage the attitudes of the remaining workforce. A large organisation does not have the flexibility to simply move resource around and often has a recruitment campaign as a result of a redundancy programme. This would seem crazy, as you are losing the skills you wish to retain and having to go to the employment market to buy in new skills, which will not be effective for at least 3 months (average time employee takes to become productive in a new job). This is due to the terms of reference of a job and the clearly defined legislation that exists to ensure that employees are treated fairly, you may not change the majority of an employees role without having to displace and reinterview them for the new position. This can also be triggered during a company buy out or merger. The two existing sets of staff having completely different role profiles and responsibilities. Legislation is more difficult the more documented an organisation becomes, so with all the protection a role profile will offer the company and individual it can also be the hurdle which makes the employee lose their job or the organisation lose a valuable asset.

Managing change

The morale of many employees at risk, of redundancy or having been selected to be made redundant with a notice period of 3-6 months, is often low which means that you have a risk in your business that needs to be managed closely, sensitively and without prejudice. If they become dissengaged this can have a knock on effect to other members of the organisation, cause friction amongst co-workers who have to pick up any slack in the workload and put pressure on managers who are under qualified to deal with emotional issues. Managing change is an entire industry and there are ways to ensure engagement levels remain high until the exit date, ensuring the employee feels included without enforced participation in irrelevant meetings and ensuring the impact on the wider workforce is minimalised through clarity around the reasoning and next steps of any redundancy. Some companies prefer to purchase external consultants to come in and provide this clear direction to their managers and hopefully educate their management pool for any future issues that can arise.

Garden leave

As a last resort often companies will pay the employee to not be at work, instead having others do their activity and allowing the employee to refresh their CV and work on skills for a career move. This is not preferred as it can send out a negative message about that employee and cause friction which may be difficult with any future dealings. In large companies it is never a good idea to burn bridges as they may well be back one day to help the business again. Garden leave is difficult and expensive to manage and therefore would only be if the negative impact on the business or the individual was such that the subsequent cost was worth it.

Good Leavers

A good leaver is always a good sign, and through continued dialogue can be acheived easily. With many large organisations it is worth discussing future opportunities and the impact the last few months will have on any future employment with the company. Employees will know that in today's world a career is no longer a 40 year sentence at the same company but a smaller collection of roles which add to their diversified CV and experience. So the likelyhood of them coming back to a company is higher than ever before. Also ensuring that the management recognise the effort against a backdrop of a difficult event is a good tool to ensure the employee remains engaged.


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Saturday, July 24, 2010

What really matters... It was good, yeah?

Well, although I'm open to discussion, it was. The three Obelisk stage head-liners were everything I could have imagined and more.  I never really expected Florence and The Machine to disappoint, and she certainly didn't on what was her first ever festival headline slot. Vampire Weekend was not likely to let the team effort down either and on the Sunday evening it certainly didn't.  The one that evoked trepidation was the Saturday choice. I was totally wrong and now I admit it unreservedly - Belle and Sebastian was perfection for the Saturday evening slot at Latitude. I once had the impression that Stuart Murdoch was something of a curmudgeon; if that was so then no longer is it true.

When all said and done, however, it was still the new and/or relatively obscure acts that bent my ear and this is where I will resume very shortly.  What I will say is this; taking the music as a whole it was the fourth and best Latitude Festival I have attended.  To add to the Obelisk stage comments, and not wishing to leave this post unillustrated, here is another artist that appeared there, and I was lucky enough to see, over the weekend.

This is the performance of her first single 'Like A Star' and it only served to confirm that she is.  She then left to perform the whole set again at Somerset House in London that evening.

Corinne Bailey Rae, on the main stage on Saturday afternoon, was quite infallible.

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 RSA.ie - FAQ's on Vehicle Laws

Do you have a question about your vehicle and the law?

Here you will find straightforward answers to questions about what standard your vehicle should meet under Irish law.  Please click on the topic below that best suits your query.

Agricultural Vehicles

Braking, Lighting & Visibility, Plating, Coupling, Speed Rating, Towing, Seatbelts, Agricultural & Vintage Tractors, Weights & Dimensions, Work/Ploughing Lamps

Alternative Cars and Fuels

Autonomous or Driverless Cars, Vehicle Safety Features, Electronic and Hybrid Cars, Low Emission Zones

Buying a used car

Buying 2nd hand, Written off Vehicles, Clocked Cars, End of Life Vehicles (ELVs)

Heavy Commercial Vehicles

Weights and Dimensions, Reflective Markings, Cyclops/Class VI Mirrors, Loading & Load Security,Abnormal & Indivisible Loads

Light Commercial Vehicles

Information relating to Light Commercial Vehicles

Heavy Trailers (O3 & O4)

Weights and Dimensions, Roadworthiness Testing, Braking, Lighting & Visibility

Light Trailers (O1 & O2)

Laws on towing a light trailer, Calculating the Towing Capacity, Braking requirements, Driver Licensing, Towing a broken down vehicle

Seatbelts and Safety Restraints

Laws on general seatbelt use, seatbelts in school buses, seatbelts in motorhomes and motor caravans, wheelchair restraints

Special Permits

Who needs a special permit, how to apply, what documentation is required, owners declaration

Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSVs), Special Purpose Vehicles

Laws on Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSVs) e.g. Limos, taxis etc. Vehicles used for a Special purpose (e.g. armoured vehicles, ambulances etc.) and Mobile Machines (e.g. Cranes, Cherry Pickers etc.)

Type Approval and End of Series

Type Approval Rules for Cars, Light Trailers and Applying for an End of Series (EOS) Derogation

Vehicle Modifications

Laws on modifying, converting or reclassifying a vehicle, Downrating or Uprating, Converting from Private to Commercial (M1 to N1)

Vehicle Parts

Bull Bars, Tyres and Wheels, Spare Wheels, Tyre Labelling, Vehicle Glass and Driver Vision, Window Tinting, Lighting Laws, Emergency Flashing Lights, Fog Lights, HID Lights, DRLs,

Vehicle Recalls

The law on vehicles that are recalled as a result of a defect

Vehicle Registration

Applying for a changing a vehicle ownership, Amending the Vehicle Registration Certificate

Two Three Wheeled Vehicle

Motorbikes/Motorcycles, E-Bikes, Pedelecs and Battery Scooters, Rickshaws, Tuk-tuks and Moto-Taxis, Quads and ATVs, Golf Buggies and Ride-on Lawnmowers


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text: Review RSS feed - mmlee91 - Mod DB Subscribe to the Mod DB mmlee91 review feed, and get the latest updates as they are posted. en-us Sat, 24 Mar 2018 12:18:38 +0000 Copyright 2018, DBolical Pty Ltd Reviews 180 Review RSS feed - mmlee91 - Mod DB 120 90 Star Trek: Continuum review by mmlee91 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:29:55 +0000 reviews259322 Absolutely excellent mod - very impressive work! Well worth all the anticipation this week! Absolutely love the effects of all the weapons and the ship rendering is extremely well done. I love the way ships manoeuvre around each other, phaser arcs and torpedoes are some of my favourite parts, simply stunning! Another excellent thing is the fact that warping around the map is actually a viable option, opening up the tactics a bit more than vanilla homeworld. There are a few things that I would like to see changed, things which I assume will be addressed in future releases - Firstly, cloak effects are quite haphazard at the moment, though i gather from a previous comment that this is being looked into for the next version. Also I wonder if the shipyard mechanisms can be tweaked slightly so that ships don't simply appear out of nowhere. I also felt that the time in which it takes to build the shipyards should be shortened (at least for the first level shipyard) as it tends to slow down the game somewhat in the middle. My last little gripe is that the custom maps lack lighting, which i dont think does the ships justice. Certainly, its realistic for space, but I'd love to see my ships a bit more. Overall, an absolutely brilliant piece of modding from a great team, breathing new life (and new frontiers) into an old game. I can't wait to see where this goes from here!


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Vehicle Lift in ReddingRSSE, Inc. is a veteran company in the fueling industry that offers a variety of cost-effective solutions for new and existing gas stations. With more than five decades of service behind us, you can be sure we know the ins and outs of what it takes to run a successful fueling business. This not only involves the construction of the site and its long-term maintenance, but also the safe and secure installation of your equipment. We’re sure you’ll find that working with our highly qualified vehicle lift install technicians and repair experts in Yuba City will put your facility at an advantage over your competitors.

Unfortunately, lifts are installed incorrectly more often than they should be by inexperienced and non-certified installers. This leads to dangerous situations that put lift operators and customers at serious risk. We make safety our primary concern whenever we are hired to carry out a vehicle lift install. RSSE is an authorized installer of major lift manufacturers and comes highly recommended for the service we provide.

Another mistake that service station owners make is to allow lifts with problems to continue being used despite needing repair. To prevent long periods of downtime and overly expensive restorations, we keep your vehicle lifts repaired and efficiently serviced. We can also frequently support hard-to-find parts for older products as well.

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Contact RSSE, Inc.


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Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Victoria's Secret catwalk show

The 10th November was the date for the Victoria's Secret annual lingerie catwalk show, which was a super glamorous affair as always. With all the favourite supermodels, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr and Candice Swanepoel, as well as music from Maroon 5 and JayZ and of course a $2.5 million bra to be showcased, it will surely be one to watch when it's aired on CBS network in the US on the 29th November.

You can watch the show on the 29th on the VS website, but I thought I'd post my favourites from the show below! Enjoy!

Ruby Lou x

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Minx Bikini

It's been pretty busy again for me over the past few weeks, but I thought I would resurface in the Bloggersphere to give a little update on a recent project!

Over summer, I was a Design Consultant for a new sexy bikini brand called Minx Bikini, details to come soon as they are still in the process of launching but they are definitely one to watch!

See the below video for a sneak preview on some of the collection which had its first photoshoot on a beautiful beach not far from Cape Town, South Africa.....

More details to follow soon....!!

Ruby Lou x


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Monday, January 30, 2012

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s. Obiang has also been Chairperson of the African Union from 31 January 2011 to 29 January 2012.

Early Life
Born into the Esangui clan in Acoacán, Obiang joined the military during the colonial period, and attended the Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. He achieved the rank of lieutenant after his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, was elected the country's first president. Under Macías, Obiang held various jobs, including governor of Bioko and leader of the National Guard. He was also head of Black Beach Prison, which was notorious for subjecting inmates to severe torture.

After Macías ordered the murders of several members of his own family—including Obiang's brother—Obiang and others in Macías' inner circle feared the president had gone insane. Obiang overthrew his uncle on 3 August 1979 in a bloody coup d'état. Macías was placed on trial for his activities over the previous decade and sentenced to death. His activities had included the genocide of the Bubi. He was executed on 29 September 1979 by firing squad.

Obiang declared that the new government would make a fresh start from Macías' brutal and repressive regime. He granted amnesty to political prisoners and ended the previous regime's system of forced labor. However, virtually no mention was made of his own role in the atrocities of his uncle's rule.

Forbes magazine has said that he is one of the wealthiest heads of state, with a net worth of US$600 million. Official sources have complained that Forbes is wrongly counting state property as personal property.

In 2003, Obiang told his citizenry that he felt compelled to take full control of the national treasury in order to prevent civil servants from being tempted to engage in corrupt practices. To avoid this corruption, Obiang deposited more than half a billion dollars into accounts controlled by Obiang and his family at Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., leading a U.S. federal court to fine the bank $16 million.

In 2004 an attempt to depose Obiang was thwarted. One of those involved was Mark Thatcher, son of the former UK Prime Minister. In 2008 American journalist Peter Maass called Obiang Africa's worst dictator, worse than Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

With the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, Obiang became a contender for the longest ruling non-royal head of state however, using different definitions, Paul Biya of Cameroon and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen have been heads of state for longer.

Obiang is believed to be suffering from terminal prostate cancer. He reportedly favours that his son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue succeeds him.

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The Irish Parliament agree to challenge the European Commission’s decision on collecting from Apple 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes

As we reported, last week the Irish government announced its decision to appeal to the court of the European Union on the decision of the European Commission, according to which Ireland needs to recover from the Apple 13 billion euros of unpaid taxes. Today, it is the decision of the government was approved by the Irish Parliament with a score of 93 votes against 36. The vote was the result of a 12-hour debate.

The Irish government does not believe that Apple was granted tax privileges that violate the laws of the European Union. Recall that the results of the investigation conducted by the European Commission showed that in the period from 2003 to 2013, the effective rate of tax paid by the company decreased from 1% to 0.005%. While acting in Ireland, the rate in the absence of benefits is 12.5%, being the lowest in the EU.

Source: Reuters

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Jonathon's Racing Attacks and Adventure Packs!

Amazing racing and training adventures on roads and mountainous/hilly TRAILS, freewaybikehike and triathlons. Dreams of a SIX FOOT 45km finish,(DONE 2011,2013,2014,2015!),then ULTRA-TRAIL AUSTRALIA (50km DONE 2016!), memorable Melbourne Marathon and Gold Coast racing. Over a decade dreaming of a SUB 3HR MARATHON, sub 18min 5k, sub 38min 10k, sub 90min Half marathon etc...(shattered? or still realistic?)

My Photo
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia

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42.2km SB; 2004; 3.55 2005; 4.02 2006; 4.18 2007; 4.10 2008; 3.55
2009; 4.11 2010; 4.05 2011; 4.02 2012;3.49 2013; 4.12 ... 2014; ; 4.08 ...2015; 4.00
2016; 4.11
More ongoing GOALS;
***PB's pursuit; 5k 21.49, 10k 41.01 21.1k 1.41, ...42.2k 3.49

MM and the G!...

In recent years I have been enjoying races like;
December; 6-INCH(46km offroad)2005;--6 hrs 25 min...
2006; 7hrs 04 min 2008; 7hrs 00min...2009; 6hrs 16min
...2010:--5hrs 49min..2011:---5hrs 30min..2013---7 hrs 24min... 2014--- 7 hrs 06min 2015--6hours 43min ...2016---6hours 41min
October; Melbourne Marathon 2007; 4hr 10 . 2008 DNF at 23km..
2009 4hrs 11. 2010 4hrs 05min...2011;4hrs 02min...photos
2012; 3hrs 49min 52secs PB!... ..2013; 4.12 2014; 4.08 2015; 4.05... 2016; 4.53
Rottnest Marathon 2004; 4hr 32min ... 2013; 4hr 16min
August; City to Surf most years since 1997 see HERE for details,photos.
PERTH C2S PB's; 4K;17min 25 (2002) 12K;52min 52 (1997)
21.1K;1.54.20 (2007) 42.2K; 4.00.20 (2015) (2010 video)
GOLD COAST; 2012 HALF; 1.44 2013 HALF; 1.47 2014 HALF 1.49
2015 4.11 ..., 2016 4.11
PERTH Marathon(42.2km)
2004; 3hrs55min
2005;--4 hrs 02 min. 2006; 4hrs 18min 2007;4hrs 33
2008; 3hrs 55 2009; 4hrs 41min 2010; 4hrs 30min
2011; 4hrs 12min 2012; 4hrs 6min 2013; 4hrs 19min 2014 4hrs 48min
2016 50km 9 hours 50min
April;TWO DECADES of Bridges racing; 1997; 43min 43 1998; 41min 01
1999; 47min 29 2000; 46min 47 2001; (5km) 30min 01 2002; (5km) 22min 48
2003; 42min 40 2004; 48min 50 2005; 44min 40 2006; 48min 07 2007; 49min 16
2008; 50min 42 2009; 49min 54 2010; 48min 39 2011; 52min 55 2012; 47min 02 2013; 54min 45 2014; 48min 47 2015; 49min 53 2016 52min 20
March;6 Foot Track 45km;
2011; 6.53 2013; 6.54 2014; 6.47
2015; 6.14!!! 2016 DNF

Most races since October 2009; >
06/08/2017 Truth 50km 8hrs 22min 59
16/07/2017 Jolly Jumbuck 21km 2hr 54min (94th of 129)
02/07/2017 King of the Mountain 16km 1hr 41min
20/05/2017 Ultra-Trail AUSTRALIA 100km DNF (at 58km and 10hours 38min)
26/03/2017 Bloated Goat 30km 5hr 18min
18/12/2016 6 inch 48km 6hrs 41min
16/10/2016 Melbourne Marathon 4hours 53min
25/09/2016 WTF 50 miler DNF at 55km
14/08/2016 Truth 50km DNF at 25km
3/07/2016 Gold Coast Marathon 4.11
14/05/2016 Ultra Trail Australia 50km 9 hours 50min
3/4/2016 My 20th consecutive Bridges fun run 10km 52.20 (hammy strain)
12/3/2016 Six Foot Track DNF at 30km 5 hours.
---------------------- 20/12/2015 6 inch 47km 6 hours 43min
15/11/15 Bloated Goat 30km Trails race (1600m Vert) 5hrs 43min
18/10/15 Melbourne Marathon 4.05
13/09/15 Fremantle 10km 47min 22
30/08/15 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4 hours 00min 20 secs.
05/07/15 GCM 4.11
24/05/15 R4R Half Marathon 1hr 46min 13secs
12/04/15 Bridges 10km 49min 53secs.
04/04/15 Perth Trail Series Truth & Consequences 50km ULTRA 8hours 49min
14/03/15 Six Foot Track 45km 6hrs 14min 11secs Smashing PB!!! (32min)
21/12/14 6 inch Trail 47km 7hrs 06min 30secs
12/10/14 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 8min (8th fastest marathon in 25 finished)
14/09/14 Fremantle 10km 49min 26 (first K 3.47 5k split 23.02)
31/08/14 Perth City to Surf 42.2k 4hrs 34min
06/07/14 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.49
15/06/14 Perth Marathon 4.48
01/06/14 Elleker Half Marathon 1.59.
21/04/14 40 miler DNF (28miles)
06/04/14 18th Bridges 10km 48min 47secs...since 1997
08/03/14 6 Foot Track 45km 6hrs 47min 02. (824th) A PB!!! :-)
09/02/14 Snakes and Ladders 15km 2.05
15/12/13 6 inch Trail Ultra 7.24
27/10/13 Rottnest Marathon 4.16.41
13/10/13 Melbourne Marathon 4.12.55
25/08/13 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4.13.28
11/08/13 Perth Half Marathon 1.54.05
28/07/13 Fremantle 10km 50.06 (very sick but first 1k in 3.55)
07/07/13 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.47.29

16/06/13 Perth Marathon 4hrs 19min 55secs
My 10th consecutive Perth Marathon...Click to see -> how I became a SPARTAN...

19/05/13 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 58min 26secs 310th of 495.
07/04/13 Bridges 10km 54min 45seconds.
09/03/13 6 Foot Track 45km 6 hours 54 minutes 20 seconds. 740th of 804...blog post or ...photos! page.

24/02/13 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 37min 04 Placed 79th of 117 finishers.
09/02/13 Busselton Half Marathon 1hr 51min 58 secs 219th. full Busso results here
02/11/12 John Gilmour 10k track 47.17 ..see here
14/10/12 Melbourne Marathon 3hrs 49min 52secs ..(777.)
16/09/12 Fremantle 10km 47min 16
26/08/12 City to Surf Marathon 4hrs 42min 41 secs
15/07/12 Lake Joondalup 10km 47min 30.
01/07/12 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1hr 44min 49 secs. 1668th of 9035 finishers

17/06/12 Perth Marathon 4hrs 6min .. (post and photos here)
20/05/12 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 47min 01secs. (151st of 313 finishers)
15/05/12 Masters 5000m 21min 58secs
13/05/12 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 46min 45 secs. (76th of 240 finishers)
22/04/12 PTS Ellis Brook 21.8km trails race 3hrs 12min 28secs. 39th.
01/04/12 Bridges 10km 47min 02
25/03/12 17.3km (690m ascent) Swissmurdie trails race 2hrs 19min 17secs 54th of 60.
20/03/12 MastersWA 1500m in 5.56, 100m in 14.3, 400m in 76.4, 5000m in 23.33.
26/02/12 WAMC Swan Twilight 5km 24.32
26/02/12 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 44min 08 secs 70th of 102.
04/02/12 Busselton Half Marathon in 1hr 49min 31 secs.
18/12/11 6 inch 46km 5hrs 30min PB!
09/10/11 Melbourne Marathon in 4hours 02minutes 49secs...photos...

12/09/11 Fremantle 10km in 45minutes 50 secs.
7/8/11 Perth Half Marathon in 1hr 47min 46 secs.
17/7/11 Lake Joondalup 10km in 46min 33secs.
19/6/11 Perth Marathon in 4 hours 12min 54secs (351st of 547.)
12/6/11 Lake Monger 10km in 48min 09secs
22/5/11 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 51min 44secs 109th of 261 finishers
10/4/11 Bridges 10km 52min 55
12/3/11 6 foot 45km in 6hrs 53min 07 secs...819th...of 877...33 DNF's...4 outside 7hr cutoffRace Report and race photosPre & post race photos,initial ELATION
Note; Completing 6 foot is a major goal achieved which I have had in mind since 2005!!!!!!!

4/3/11 3000m in 12min 40 (19th of 19 finishers)Momentum building a little,sub 13 done! :-)
18/2/11 5000m in 23min 31 (20th of 20 finishers...4 DNF's)..results
5/2/2011 21.1km Busselton Half in 1hr 51min 41 secs for 124th of 218 finishers.
19/12/10 46km 6 inch trails race in 5hr 49min (63rd of 79 finishers)
10/12/10 5000m in 22.43 18th of 18!
5/11/10 John Gilmour 10,000m in 47min 36. (23rd of 31)
10/10/10 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 5min...2895th of 5027 finishers...
12/9/10 Fremantle 10km in 46min 53...a big SB and my best time since 2005!
29/8/10; 42.2km in 4hrs 15min for 537th of 830 finishers...my 6th best of 12 M. finishes.
19/8/10; 5000m in 22min 06.0 secs (SB by 0.6 of a second, & Stan did a SB also that night)
22/7/10; 5000m in 22min 06.6 secs. (SB and 17secs off my track PB)
20/6/10 Perth Marathon in 4.30.
13/5/10; Masters 2000m 7.55 (first sub 8min run since 2005) & 5,000m 22.42
22/4/10; Masters 800m 2.46 & 5,000m 22.29!~(2nd best ever track 5,000m, track PB is 21.49,)
3/4/10; Australian Masters 35-39yrs; 4th in 1500m 5min 34secs. see here...
28/3/10; Bridges 10km in 48min 39secs. 388th of 1646
25/3/10; 300m in 47.6, 600m in 1.57.0 100m in 14.6
18/3/10; Masters 1500m in 6.03 & 10,000m in 49min 35
28/2/10; 4th place in 6 hour Track Race at Coker Park; 45.003km
6/2/10; Busselton 21.1km in 1hr 52min 50 secs
20/12/09;6 inch 46km 6hrs 16min
15/11/09; Peninsula 5km 22min 5225th of 73.
6/11/09; John Gilmour 10km 48min 39
11/10/09; Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 11 min 33 secs
4/10/09; Freo funrun 5km in 22min 53 secs
... ...
2011; 5hrs 30min 6 inchPB!! 2012; 3hrs 49min PB(Melbourne Marathon)!!2014; 6hrs 47min PB! @ 6 foot!

The next big things racing wise maybe;

6 inch 46km
on 16th December @ 0430hrs, countdown (activated a few days before?) is;

Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter Jordan into the world June 2010 A.D.!
Kathryn and I welcomed our son Jacob into the world in late July 2007 A.D.!
Our challenge is to be good parents with the Creator Gods help!

... 2004 ...2005 ...2006 ...2007... >...2008...2009...2010 ...2011... 2012.

but for the most important thing in life;
there is only 2 ways to live!...Bible Gateway...

Sunday, January 24, 2010

65min run is damage control

Sunday 24th January 2010 AD 8pm;
Ran about 10km in 65min 56secs HR 129 at end.

Did just over (extra 200m) 11 laps of B. Oval on the nice spongy grass surface.
Which gave us about 7.9km. Added in up and down section of 1km steep hill (55m elevation rise on the up) Black Swan course, and another 100m of running in between the two...Low intensity night run, with some walk breaks, sweating heaps even though it was 8pm-9pm...No light, other than my watch light to check my time, and a few occasional street lights on the 2km road section. Felt, good, so and a solid but very short LSD style run/jog/walk.

A desperate eleventh hour attempt to salvage some base for this week, after failing to make it to Darlington on Saturday, and not getting out there Sunday morning. Did am event traffic controllers course sunday afternoon with a few Marathon club people, and some triathletes. So might be traffic controlling some WAMC events sometime this year.

Its been a tough week, where we really really struggled for money and sleep, especially after the all-nighter I pulled before day and night shift on Monday to get some important career development stuff done.... Never really recovered properly from that, and then I had chafing and dental issues Wednesday?, ripped my work shirt Thursday, so had to buy a new one, ...big cost time and money. Friday I was busy running around trying to make sure our direct debits were covered for this weekend for some bills that had t be paid for this week...hoping I can pay my phone/internet bill in time to avoid getting cutoff/disconnected...Hoping come next week everything will be better. I also had bruised heel Friday whichg meant another problem to deal with and made me wary of going to Darlington.

so not an easy week but still ,on track busyness...

Friday ran 17min 32 (5 laps of B. Oval. Mapmyrun has alerted me to the fact that my 800 m course from last year is actually 700m) for 3.5km had 10 minute rest and then a flat out 700m in 2min 41, less than a second slower than my best for this course.

Found it hard to get time,money and motivation.

Wednesday Tried out new 1km black swan course in very hot conditions into 25km/
h headwind, 55m elevation... 5min 21 secs HR 168

Hopefully next week will be s lot better.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

MapMyRun.com - Hill Workout: Steep hill rep into 25km/h southwesterly headwind Heart rate 168 at end on 01/20/2010

This is a test post at importing data from MapMyRun directly onto my blog. However it looks as if it hasnt worked how I'd hoped it would, all its done is link to the relevant MAPMYRUN page, I hoped it would import the map and workout details directly onto the blog...maybe I'll have another play with it later...dont really have the time to be exploring this.....

It was 1km hill rep with 54m of elevation, into a about a 25km/h headwind, in 5minutes 21 seconds, heart rate 168 at end. Just testing out a new course.

MapMyRun.com - Hill Workout: Steep hill rep into 25km/h southwesterly headwind Heart rate 168 at end on 01/20/2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

2hrs 56min as I try to get into High Gear for 2010

Trying to get intoHIGH GEAR for 2010, runningwise and other ways...
This melodic metal classic, featuring the guitar talents of WHITECROSS legend Rex Carroll was their album title in 1992. I have this one on cassette tape somewhere amongst my stuff, and I listened to it endlessly in 1993, which is when I did my current 10km walk PB of 48min 28 secs....

Still haven't had time to plan training for 2010 properly, its just going to have to wait until I find the right time. However I figured that the key thing is to get the long runs ticking over, as once that is in place, I can easily work out the rest of it in more detail and refine my mid-week stuff... besides a stack of unknowns this year with my job/s, the new baby coming in May, and an interesting calender of races in Western Australia this year. I have however done my new 2010 blog command webpage, and a webpage with the 6 inch rankings for 2005-2009...So those too should get me thinking along the right lines a little, plus Ive summarised some interesting stuff that many Kenyan runners do which I saw on Slingrunners Blog, and I hope to incorporate some ideas from that into my training this year to add a new exciting and hopefully fruitful dimension to my training which might be one of many ways to give myself an extra edge this year.

So enough thoughts about training, what training did I actually do this week. The answer is still not that much although the long run was a good slab of base in place, which positions things nicely for the next few weeks, and combined with the 2hr run last week, ensures I build on 6 inch, instead of wasting it. Did about 26 hours this week on the meter reading which was a half-decent week for a change. Some significant hills with glorious views of Fremantle Ports for some of it too...

Saturday 16th January;
Ran about 27km in 2hrs 56min 48 secs, with the hills group C-team in Darlington.
Went up through Mundaring then down towards the North ledge, heading in the Mundaring Weir direction before back up the powerlines, the last bit of Phils Hill and back down the easy Rail Heritage Trail to Darlington.

I got up at 0400, but didnt get away until 0500, and the 32min drive from my place near Bibra Lake, was not one I'd take my wife on. Also glad not to see any flashing blue lights, as I dont want another fine. Must leave by 0445 or 0430 next time. When I got there at 0532, the C-team was just leaving, and by the time I got ready, it was about 0540, so I knew they had gone up the trail. Ran hard for about 3km before I spotted them leaving Glen Forrest, and then I knew I could catch them. Was running a lot faster than them, so rather than slow down, I ran to the front of the main group and said hello to Jane, Rob, Richard and others. Then I was feeling it, so I backed off and just tried to stay in touch with the main back group. The pace seemed fast, but I knew there would be a "hug break" at Mundaring 9.5km mark, so I downed my Gatorade as I arrived there in a 53min split, which is possibly my quickest for that first 9.5km ever on that entirely uphill trail. I seem to remember getting there in 56min-62min in the past.

Chatted with Rob a bit, and then a minute or two later we were all off again, and this time I was finding it a whole lot easier to run with the group. I think some of the faster people pushed up behind me, and some of the core group people (i don't really consider myself a core group C-team member, but Ive run with them a lot more than many of the peoiple that were there this time), and it was getting cramped on a narrow trail so I passed Jane and John, and ran ahead on my own. John came with me, which I was glad for as I din't really know which way Jane wanted the group to go in this section towards the Weir. John seemed to know where we should go, so I followed his lead, and had a good chat about races this year. I was feeling very comfortable on the flattish/downhill section here.

However I was conscious of the fact that Jane and Richard (who was at the back of the group) were the leaders, and wanted to make sure we were going the way they wanted to go, especially as I have not run this bit before. It soon became apparent there was some disagreement/discussion between Jane and John as to which way to take the group. Knowing how experienced Jane and Richard are in the hills group, and the fact that is her and Richards group anyway, I knew I'd be better off paying close attention to where they were going.
John persuaded her about something and the trail started to go steeply downhill. Saw a sign saying North Ledge 2.6km and made a mental note to visit that some day in the future. About this time we saw Kangaroos several times... A strong cooling breeze was keeping us very cool, and after all the hot air in my car the last few days, my handheld 750ml of water felt colder than when I started, which was very welcome. Plus we were well shaded by the trees a lot of the time. The group had spread out a lot by this time. I pushed ahead a few times, but then Rob,Nigel John and some others got well ahead, and I dropped back with Jane, Kate, Steve?, and a few others. Then we came to some Powerlines, which looked like a cool trail to run on. Again John wanted to go off into the bush a different way than what C-team leader Jane wanted. Richard was too far back at this stage I think? This time Jane was adamant that the Power lines was the way to go. I was happy to follow her lead, as (a), the power lines trail seemed like more fun to run, and (b), I figured I'd be better off following one of the group leaders, especially as I've not run this part before. Rob was way ahead by this time, and John and one other went their own way. As Jane pushed up the Powerlines trail with a few runners, I found the pace too hot on the uphill steepness, and decided to give my tired self, and my dodgy knees an easy time of it. Didnt have much water left and we had been out there for more than 90 minutes. Ended up chatting and run-walking with Kate for a bit, which turned out to be a good thing as some of the others missed the Phils Hill turnoff, and had to double back. AURA vice president was there wearing a Cool Running hat ( I think he is speaking at Kates Ultra Running Seminar maybe, Mighty Mick Francis certainly is thats for sure...)...Jane was getting a bit stressed cos some of the runners were getting a bit spread out and not staying with the core C-team group people.

Then it was up the last bit of Phils Hill and down the road until we hit the Rail Trail again. Easy running with Jane,Kate, and later on Richard and others...About this time many of the faster non-core group people got back onto the trail and pushed ahead. ...As we got past the 2 hour mark I was feeling it a bit, and took it easy for the last 3km after stopping to throw water over my head from a tap at Glen Forrest. Solid pace into Darlington with some of the stalwarts of the group and the AURA vice-president who is visiting Perth this weekend, and who also seemed to see no point in going any faster at that stage...

Overall a good solid LSD/OD (Long slow distance/Over distance)run, which takes things up a gear in a big way from the 2hr long run last week, with some faster 5-6min per K surges during some parts of the run as well, as the slower stuff, so I think a very worthwhile run, that lays a good foundation for February.

Was very flat out with day and night jobs on the first few days this week, and was keen to get out and start metering before 7am this week to beat the heat as much as possible, as I can work faster, and with less drink stops when the weather is under 30-35 degrees...but by Wednesday night I managed to get out for a night 6km on my hilly summit course while my wonderful wife was at her Mums...

Thursday 14th about 0615AM;
Ran 4000m in 20min 04secs Heart rate 156 at end.
1km splits 4.52/5.08/5.17/4.47

Went down to grassy S. Park early to get a higher intensity run in before I went off to metering for the day. Knew I had to start early to beat the heat, and also cos I prefer to start my metering work by 0630-0800 if possible. Weather was good, and not many people there, so ideal. First really intense hitout in the new Saucony Hurricanes and they seemd to go ok, although I still think maybe the Reeboks are a better option for races, but I'm tossing up between the two... First 100m was 22 secs, and first 200m was 45 seconds, which is average speed for me at the start, felt pretty comfortable. 400m split was 1min 46, which is a little slow, but still felt easy, and comfortable, then in the back straight, about 20 high powered sprinklers popped up directly in my path, like something out of the cartoons..., and I tried to run in and out of them...but lost a stack of momentum...and totally lost focus on my time goals, decided to do some direction changes as about 250m of the 400m track was not full of a minefield of high powered sprinkler shooting 3 metres into the sky...While I was figuring out how much distance I had covered with a few direction changes, I lost momentum big time, and couldnt get motivated to attack. In the end I decided to run through the sprinklers, instead of trying to avoid them, and as the day warmed up this became more and more welcome. My last 1k I was starting to get back on track, although the very low heart rate of 156 (should be 20-30 beats higher), shows how the intensity I had aimed for on this run was simply just not there.
So I was nowhere near my target time of going under 18minutes, and trying to beat the 17min 44secs I did on the Belmont track in 2009, or the 16min 11 secs I did on the dodgy (probably short by 200-500m, but I am still not sure on that one, maybe I should try MapMyRun on it...)B. Oval course last year...

***UPDATE tried MAPMYRUN on it, and it seems to be a 700m course not the 800m course I thought so that 2.40 I did was for 700m not 800m, and the 16.11 was 3.5km not 4km, and the 1 mile reps in 5.54-6.15 or whatever were actually 1400m's...but I sort of suspected my course distance guestimates were short anyhow...***

Still a good speed drills and fitness workout, wont go astray, but I want to work way, way, wayyyy harder than that in future weeks...So how to beat the sprinklers, either run through them as if they arent there like I did in the last 1km, or start even earlier, say 0545hrs at the latest, so I can be finished before the sprinklers come on...

Wednesday 13th January 2010 AD about 8pm-9pm;
Ran 6km 36min06 secs HR 150.
Very fartlekish, with some sprints on the oval to start with to see how the new Saucony Hurricane XI's felt at high speed on a softer surface...seeme ok... but not sure yet..., then settled into some walking and slow running on my hilly bitumen summit course which I have run a few times already in 2010. Did two 2.5km laps to add the first 1km down onto the oval, and my 2.5k splits were 16minutes 00secs, and 14min 33secs...with my last steep *downhill* 500m in 1min 46 secs (3min 32 per K pace), where I pushed out the stride and cadence significantly and attacked a fair bit...Felt good especially the sprints on the oval and the last 500m. Was pitch dark on some of the roads, but I knwo them well, as IVe run them enough times in the last few weeks. Didnt feel very motivated or fit this night, so a good way to get things ticking over.

Overall a reasonable weeks training there, although nothing incredible. The 27km long run was probably the best session, although something gained in all 3 sessions, plus the fact my meter reading work has seen me sweating out for close to 30 hours a week, and my weight has dropped from 81kg to 79kg, so thats a positive step also..
As a family money is extremely difficult challenge to find any at the moment, although paying the rent was a bit easier this time, bujt a lot of the bills I have delayed since early December are starting to mount up, and I am really struggling to figure out how to clear them until my income picks up in the next few weeks hopefully...Tough times. Add to that the fact that my wife Kathryn is now 22 weeks pregnant and the hotter weather (its 39 degrees at 6.30pm now)in a house that doesnt have air conditioning, is tough for her, and you bein to understand why I feel a bit of angst at the moment.

Young Jacob is talking lots, and I think he will enjoy having a younger sister (or brother) just before his 3rd birthday. Had a good laugh with Big Kev and some of the guys at Hills group on Saturday at the bakery after the long run, as we joked about Big Kevs plans for a few of us to get on TV in the Melbourne Marathon next year (just joking or are we?...it worked at the City to Surf marathon last year, so maybe try it again???, no seriously I will be going for a PB, not 10 seconds of fame, or maybe both???...no I dont think so), and discussed how I can blog while I am racing and training...multi-tasking, blackberrys and the like...hahaha...I'm sure my Cousin in Switzerland would know all about the blackberry apps out there...Speaking of people I know who spend a lot of time overseas, had a look at Raf Baughs page just now and I see he is now ranked number 3 in the world, and found a link to an interesting article about Duathlon in general and a race in particular in Arizona, Raf has totally spiced up his main website and he is fiar dinkum about trying to become the world champion. Like the boxing kangaroo in the top right hand corner...

But some signs are good that by February things will be looking rosy again hopefully, and my training will hopefully be back into high gear...Hopefully with a similiar focus to what I had for Melbourne Marathon, so I can start attacking the PB's like I did in Melbourne Marathon 2009 and 6 inch 46km 2009.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

first 2hr run for 2010

Sunday 10th January 2010 A.D;
Ran/jogged/walked about 16km in 2hrs 12min 04 secs. Heart rate 120 at end.
Mapmyrun makes it roughly about 16km although its a hard one to measure even using the hybrid option...

Started off with my new hilly 2.5km summit course which has sweeping views of Garden and carnac Islands, Perth City and the Darling scarp. Never get tired of those views.

Then headed back home, and through park, over hill, and through parks and roads, until I hit the rail trail, decided to go exploring the north western trail this time, and went down one section I haven't been on before, up to barrington. Then it got really sandy/soft under foot, so decided to head back and try some other options, had enough of the rail trails, so headed backthrough parks again, and readjusted the lacing in my new Saucony Hurricanes which seems to have fixed the problem of my feet slipping around inside the shoe. Have to say the ride in this shoes is so comfortable, its like running on a mattress. Just a little heavier than my Reeboks though, and not as snug a fit as my Reeboks. So headed for the Thomsons Lake trails which I have not fully explored yet, due to my fear of Tiger Snakes, and the fact that the bike path extends so far there, and discovered there is actually quite a lot of trails there very good surface to run on. Kept a careful eye out for snakes but the only one I saw was on the warning sign. very cool conditions tonight so only drank about 500ml of water, after a big drink before I started. Then headed up the steep bikepath all the way to the top, and then strode out a bit back home. All in all a slow, low intensity exploring type long run, to kick things off for the year, and getting my shoes adjusted to a better fit was very important positive outcome. I'd like to get my mountainbike out and go exploring for several hours see what other options there are as I am still discovering new options in this area that we moved into 12 months ago...

Hoping I can get to the Saturday Hills group or some other option soon, but didnt like Aaron, BB and Rob's plan of doing Eagle view trail , (even more petrol and time than going to Darlington for me, plus some high risk snake spots and too much steep technical stuff on that course) and besides I slept in bigtime the last 2 days...would have liked to have made it to the Saturday Darlington group, maybe next week...

Saturday 9th January 2010 A.D.;
Jammed in a 2.1km jog 14min 41 on part of the hilly summit course, before going off to the night job. MY first run in the Saucony Hurricanes, and twice I had to stop to tighten the laces, feet felt like they were slipping all over the place, but the cushioning is awesome...

Sickness this week;

Have been sick most of this week, went about 4-5 days pretty much without eating as had troubles with diahorrea for about 4-5 days, gave doctor stool samples, still awaiting results of tests, but by Wednesday, I started to feel a bit better, and by Friday I was greatly improved, and Saturday eating normally again. so hopefully its just the one week that I am sick. Not really sure on what the cause was...although I think my over indulgence in lemonade may have made things worse.

General thoughts

Also was trying to get used to metering again (first week back since late November), and money is so, soooo, tight, still. Has been for almost 2 months now, hoping we will start to catch up on bills a bit, in the next few weeks...

So hoping that my second week will be a whole lot better than last week. Yet to work out my plans for the year in detail, although I have a rough idea what I want to do. Happy I got the 2hr run done though as thats important with it being a few weeks since I did 6 inch on 20th December now. Probably good for the body to have a few easy weeks after the 6hrs 16min slog that was my 6 inch PB on 20th december. Best heart rates have been 46 and 47 bpm this week, and sleep a bit better this week (just over 6 hrs a night), than the horrendous couple of weeks preceding that. So nothinbg to write home about but still solid, so primed and ready to hopefully go hard next week....

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Saucony Hurricane XI maybe or maybe not the chariot for 2010

Well, with my meter reading starting up again next week, I am going to retire my light blue Reebok Premier ROADPLUS KFS VI's, (which have been an excellent training and racing shoe for City to Surf Marathon, Melbourne Marathon and 6 inch 46km. So I used the voucher from my lawyer brother for Christmas to buy a pair of Saucony Hurricane XI's, certainly the most expensive shoe I have ever had, probably even more so than the 1989 NIKE AIR SKYLONS... I got the last time I bought shoes from Athletes Foot in the early 1990's...When I was first racing at Nationals as a racewalker...

Interestingly My Reeboks weigh only 10 OZ's (or 284 grams)according to HERE, while the Saucony Hurricane comes in much heavier at 12.9 OZs (or 365grams) according to HERE, so maybe I should buy another pair of Reeboks for big races...since they are 81grams lighter (1 OZ = 28.35grams)... we shall see...

Interesting link from my Brother in USA who ran his first Half-Marathon a few weeks back...
Roadrunner sports...seem to hear a lot of positive stuff about them in recent years...

This week I have done a few 20-30min runs up to "the Summit" on the new roads near the lookout near our place. The views up there are awesome, can see Garden Island, Carnac Island, Perth CBD, and the Darling Scarp almost a 360 degree panorama, , so I might extend my hills reps course which I first tried out a few days before 6 inch, as the road to "the summit" only opened this week. The land up there is going for $500,000 on some of the blocks, probably cos of some of the best views in Perth...

This weekend I think I have a gastro wog/virus, so cant eat today (Saturday), and may have to wait until Sunday or Monday to try out the new shoes...While I have been sick today, I have started reading a book my Dad got me for christmas called championship Fathers, which seems pretty good, written by a bloke who was a chaplain for the USA Olympic team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and a lot of NFL teams, and is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer)hahaha of the Kansas city based National Centre for Fathering. Its affiliated with the Focus on the family group which I am a little skeptical/wary of, but is recommended by the late Billy Graham, so should be ok. As a new Dad trying to learn how to be a good father to my 2 year old and use my running interests in that, (for example some of my runs this week I have done with Jacob in the pram) its an area I know I have lots to learn about being better at, and with another baby due in May for my wife, I figure now is a good time to learn as much as I can. I often talk to my Dad for advice about everything and have for all my life, and that is a good source of guidance for me, but of course Our Father in Heaven is the Master of all wisdom...


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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bad news is BAD NEWS

I went to the doctor last night to see if there was anything they could do about my foot injury. He thinks that it could be one of two things, Retrocalcaneal bursitis which is swellin g and inflammation of the bursa.

He treated me for this right in the office with a HUGE cortisone injection which has made the bottom of my foot and 4 of my toes completely numb. Most of the horrible pain I was feeling from the injury has gone way, but I am having trouble walking because of the incredible numbness.

The doctor also said there is a chance it may be a stress fracture on the top of the calcaneus bone. He has ordered an x-ray which I am terrified to go get because if there is any type of fracture then running the half marathon this weekend is completely out of the question.

Why now? This has been so heartbreaking for me. I have trained so long and hard for this. Mentally I feel like I have been training for this my whole life. I have never been this motivated about exercise and fitness. The confidence I had a few days ago is slowly slipping away from me. I am trying to stay positive but it is hard. I still have faith though that things will improve within the next 5 days.

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Are you a Gay Poet or a Poet who happens to by Gay?

And why does it matter?

These questions keep coming up. They are questions asked both by LGBT poets about each other, and themselves of course, and also asked by heterosexual readers, writers, and critics. The question is, perhaps, an attempt to define the nature of identity in art.

My reflections here were prompted by something poet Stephen Mills wrote recently: He had recently received a packet of poems and critiques from his last year of MFA in Poetry studies in Florida:

As I was ending my MFA, I was being nudged to write poems that didn't focus so much on gay identity and the domestic life of a gay couple, which was a lot of what I wrote during those three years. In the moment, I often took a bit of a offense to these comments and I partly chalked it up to the "heterosexual male factor."

Among the packet was a last comment by his workshop teacher, commenting that, yes, he did write a lot of gay-themed domestic poems at the time, and people would indeed get tired of it—but mostly because any one theme that ones writes about over and over and over is going to loose some readers, simply from monotony. To be clear, Mr. Mills adds that he did not feel any homophobia was in these critiques, nor does he feel any homophobia was in effect during or after the workshop period. Mr. Mills continues:

I still write mostly about sex and identity, but more of the outside world has entered those poems. The biggest difference between [his mentor] and me is that I don't see sex and identity as a narrow topic. It is a topic filled with things to explore and I could write poetry about sex and identity for the rest of my life and still have things to write about. There is always that notion that if you write about issues related to your minority that somehow you are being narrow. This may never change, but I hope to continue to push people to think beyond that notion.

It's an interesting issue, this opening out of subject matter, beyond a "narrow" topic, which is a topic tangled up with sexuality and identity. I've found that the line between "personal" and "universal" content in my own poetry moves around a lot. I write about everything; I write a lot of poetry that isn't "personal" or "confessional" but which can be considered impossible to separate from my self and my sexual identity. I began to write explicitly gay poems beginning in my mid-teens—and some of them were very explicit indeed—but I hid them from everyone till years later. I wasn't open about this poetry till much later in life. I've never done an MFA degree or workshop process, although I've been involved in poetry groups and private writers' workshops for several years; some other poems that do not hide the homoerotic nature of the relationships of the people in the poem have been through those workshops, but not those early, gay poems.

I feel that when my sexuality appears in my poems, it's most often in celebration, rather than overtly about issues political or psychological. Most of the gay-themed poems I've ever written have been celebrations of one kind or another. Not really political or issue-based—except of course that any gay-themed poem is still a political act in the current cultural climate of only partial acceptance of LGBT people and the art they make. Robert Mapplethrope and David Wojnarowicz and james Broughton are all still controversial, and not only because they were explicit in their art.

The three or four longest poems I've ever written are of this gay/erotic type: very sexual, very sensual, full of celebratory, life-affirming eros and ekstasis, written on a sustained level of white heat, and explicit about the acts involved in making love. Maybe it's the Midwestern reserve in me still, and it still seems daring to be explicit about who I love in a poem. These poems were explicitly, ecstatically sexual—that is, homosexual, pansexual, polysexual, panentheistic: erotic in the sense of life-force not just sexuality. Emphasis on the ecstasy. I have since published two or three of these poems as limited-edition chapbooks, for private distribution to friends and a few interested others. That's mostly because I just didn't think anyone else would be interested in such poems.

One thing I've never expected is that anyone would ever accept or like my poems; they've always been too outside the current poetic fashions. To non-poets and poets alike they break all the "rules," and not only in terms of content. To this day I mostly share these more explicitly homoerotic poems with my gay friends, rather than the general public. There are two reasons for this: They're very personal poems, not confessional but personal, and I didn't necessarily write them for anyone but myself. (In two cases that I can think of, in which the long poems accumulated lines over a few years, a bit added at a time, the poem set aside for a time then returned to later, the writing was also interrupted by self-induced orgasms: is it masturbation when your own sexual writing turns you on? I don't care. One difference between eroticism and pornography is that pornography turns into a job, and like any job, isn't a turn-on after awhile.)

The idea of what is universal in poetry is at the heart of the matter.

Does every poem have to be universal, or have universal appeal? No, not at all. But just because you write in a poem about gay relationships, sex, and community, does not mean you're not touching on universal human themes—quite the contrary, as can be seen in poems by Thom Gunn, Constantine Cavafy, james Broughton (a celebratory poet if ever there was one!) Dennis Cooper, Federico Garcia Lorca, Kenneth Pitchford, and many others, to name only a few.

Mr. Mills also writes: There is also a notion that if you write about gay issues you are automatically writing "confessional" poetry. Confessional has many other issues and is really grounded in a particular period and moment in poetry. I don't personally consider my work to be confessional.

The post-confessional lyric has become one of the dominant genres of contemporary poetry, in competition with Language Poetry and neo-formalism—in part because of the lyric poem's dominant place in poetry workshop teaching. Yet writing about the personal need not be "confessional" poetry. I tend to view confessional poetry as that which puts one's own personal biography of wounds on display, publicly revealing personal and private issues, be they psychological or sexual or whatever. There is always a feeling of the poet airing his or her dirty laundry in public in "confessional" poetry:—public "confession" always contains a hint of private "shame."

The usual argument heard from poets on the "poet who happens to be gay" side of the question is that they don't want their poetry to ghettoized, or limited in any way. They write about more than just being gay, they write about universal human concerns. Even gay poets who don't want to be identified solely as gay poets carry the assumption, it seems, that sex and identity are narrow topics: There is always that notion that if you write about issues related to your minority that somehow you are being narrow.

That I’m gay and a poet (and composer, etc.) is not hidden. It’s self-revealing in my writing (and even more so in my photographic work). This also opens the question of "gay sensibility," the idea in identity politics that no matter what you write about, your essential self as a gay person affects all the art you make, even the art not overtly about gay themes. There is some truth to this gay sensibility concept, although it is contested terrain.

I tend to agree with those artists who admit that no matter what there art is about, it is infused with their life's experience of being different, of being Other, of being gay. When you're a cultural outsider, you learn at a younger age than most how to step back and observe your own culture objectively. When you're bullied for being different, you learn to "read" people and situations very quickly, and you develop a survival instinct. Those instincts go deep, even if they don't rule you in later life.

Thinking all these questions through again, at the moment, I find myself on the side of “gay poet” rather than the "poet who happens to by gay." Yes, that's an explicitly political statement—although it's not necessarily myself who politicizes that statement. The presumption that a “poet who happens to be gay” might write more universally-appealing or universally-ranging-in-topic poems is based on the assumption that gay-themed poetry is somehow inherently less “universal” in scope than non-gay-themed poetry. I object to that strongly, now, because it feels like just another form of ghettoization, even of internalized homophobia—even when it comes from openly gay poets who want to present themselves (perhaps to win wider acceptance among the more conservative masses?) as “poets who happen to be gay.”

What makes a poetry universal is the shared human experience involved. We all love, we all suffer, we all live and die. The universal experience of falling in love, and living with someone, and dying, well, it doesn’t matter who that is. So a gay-themed love poem doesn’t have to be less “universal” somehow than either a heterosexual love poem or a love poem in which the genders are all indeterminate.

And why would readers want to know if I’m a gay poet anyway? I mean, I am, and it’s no secret. But if a straight person wanted to know, I would want to know why they wanted to know. To just put the poet into another categorical box?

Yes, this is personal/political, definitely, for me to declare myself a "gay poet" in many circumstances. The "poets who happen to be gay" have a different politics than mine—bluntly, a seemingly more conservative, assimilationist politics. I think of writers who have explicitly stated that they prefer to be thought of as "poets who happen to be gay"—Michael Cunningham, Mark Doty, John Ashbery, etc. Others come to mind as well, some of whom are still in the closet, perhaps because they fear loosing work opportunities if they come out. Well, that remains a valid fear, even decades after Stonewall. Many of these writers are people I respect as artists, if not for their stances on this question.

Maybe there's something generational to this, as well; one thinks of the generation of avant-garde composers of the mid-20th C., many of whom were gay, but never publicly said so. An earlier generation, even after Stonewall, never felt comfortable about publicly coming out.

Therefore I sometimes feel that this question can be used as a marker for figuring out an artist's political leanings, since in several examples I can think of, “poets who happen to be gay” also have taken more conservative and assimilationist stances on other LGBT issues. A lot of their political stances are "don't rock the boat" stances, or otherwise anti-radical stances. For example, the fight for gay marriage rights is an assimilationist program, because most of the rhetoric breaks down into "we want to be just like you, only different." I am all for equal rights, but gay marriage is not now our most important issue, and never has been, except to the more assimilationist gays among us. DADT was more important. Far more pressing and important is the prevention of gay teen bullying and suicide. What causes we choose to give our time to is a political choice itself. Just to be clear, I'm glad that LGBT activists are working for all of these various civil rights, including gay marriage—I want everyone who wants to get married to have the choice available to them—and make no mistake, these are civil rights issues. My problem with gay marriage is primarily that the entire institution of marriage itself is problematic and anachronistic.

I can also see some situational aspects to the question of "gay poet." I could foresee myself not objecting to being announced, in certain venues, as a "poet who happens to be gay" rather than a "gay poet." I can foresee public performance and/or reading situations where that would be appropriate; not because of fear, but because sometimes you have to pick your battles. And because in other performance ventures, my sexual identity just isn't necessary to the performance—say, when I'm playing a jazz gig. I do feel that my gay sensibility does permeate everything I do, including my jazz gigs, but that's partly because my muse is a male, not a female. I play even jazz more intensely, more personally, if my muse is present in the listening audience.

Then there is the related issue of opportunism. Perhaps, to get an artist's award or grant, or to be even considered, you have to not "advertise" your LGBT status. Perhaps on some occasions you end up not talking about it because it torpedo your chances of getting recognition, or reward, or an award, or something similar. I sincerely feel that some "pots who happen to be gay," like some artists of earlier generations, have chosen their stance because being more "militantly" gay would deny them opportunities, or lose them gigs. This is an understandable fear. We all need to make a living.

But how far dare we go to (mis)represent ourselves in order to get something? How far does having an open identity go towards living and integrated and authentic life, and where would we sell that in order to gain some kind of advantage? In other words, this is at root about prostituting oneself in order to get ahead in one’s artistic career.

For my part, I'm perfectly willing to prostitute my art: I like getting paid for my creativity. I've had grunt jobs where I was an interchangeable cog in the corporate machine. And I prefer to be paid to exercise my mind, my creativity, and my sense of humor—because it's more fun and interesting for me. (I'd say that's pretty "universal" a sentiment.) But while I am willing to prostitute my art, I'm not willing to prostitute myself, my identity, my essential nature, just to get a gig. If they can't deal with me being gay, I probably don't want to work with them anyway. It's a big ocean, and there are always more fish to be caught. So I might not make a grand announcement that I'm a gay artist; but if it comes up, I'll quietly and proudly affirm that I am gay.

Honestly, in artistic situations that has mostly come up when my coming out in that artistic venue was a matter of setting the record, ahem, straight. Of being true to myself, and not being hidden. I recall one poetry discussion panel where I came out because the discussion was about an Allen Ginsberg poem, and to make a point, I needed to let people know my take on the poem. (Which was "A Supermarket in California.") I already thought everyone knew I was gay, who was there, so I didn't even think I was coming out to anybody there; although it turned out I was.

So I affirm that I'm a "gay poet." I may not broadcast it all the time. I make plenty of poems, and photographs, and music, that is not explicitly about being gay, or has openly gay content. And I do feel that my gay sensibility is never absent in anything I do, because it's an essential part of whom I am. My muses are other men. My inspiration in my art, the life-force energy that is the power under life, that supports and enables life, that life-force, which I often explicitly discuss in my art, is eros, is life-force itself. Or call it prajna, ki, ch'i, the Tao. There are many names. What I do know is that it is always in my art, whether or not my art is about it or not. And because my eros is directed towards same-sex affiliation, I am a "gay poet."

Not that it matters. And not that anybody should care.

  1. My poems do not often incorporate explicitly gay subject matter, but if/when I give a reading I make sure to include one that does &/or refer to my husband or something.

    I happen to be a lot of things, from a biological entity to six feet tall, all of which seem to matter more or less, some of which seem more noticeable to one audience or another. As a gay man I recognize that identifying myself thus is a form of activism on behalf of all glbt people. It's not quite shocking these days, largely because people like us aren't allowing it to be.

    If someone were to ask me: Are you a Gay Poet?

    I would say: Yes (in a sort of a what-else voice) ...

    If I were to have a book reviewed and the reviewer kept discussing my being gay I might be irked if the reviewer didn't also reveal s/he had thought about the work supposedly under review. On the other hand, I'm so invisible that anybody talking about my writing would be a surprise so I'm not going to start complaining about something ahead of it ever happening.

  2. Yeah, what you say here is pretty much how I feel most of the time, too. It's a form of activism. AND I doubt anybody actually reads my poems, explicitly gay or otherwise. LOL

  3. A hugely interesting post. I recognise the quandary and don't have a firm viewpoint. But I think of the years given (in literary study) to poets and poems that said nothing personally to me. I am quite able to study any poem from the Universe :-) but the poems and poets that I value most are those that speak to the Other in me (which I never escape). I enjoyed this post very much.

  4. That's a good point: dealing with poems that speak to us personally. Your point about the Other in us is absolutely spot on: that is the key to us being able to connect, at times, especially perhaps regarding a gay sensibility, is that very Otherness inside us.

    Thanks very much for the interesting comment.


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Big 12 M5: 01.03.13 Edition

Posted by dnspewak on January 3rd, 2013

  1. West Virginia has not exactly lit up the world during non-conference play. That may not bode well for the Mountaineers’ inaugural season in the Big 12, but this league seems entirely up for grabs at this point outside of the top spot. So despite some of their horrendous moments during this 7-5 start, there is no reason Bob Huggins should not feel at least a little optimistic heading into the league opener against Oklahoma this weekend. Funny thing is, West Virginia already faced the Sooners back in the Old Spice Classic during Thanksgiving weekend, which set its field before the Mountaineers departed from the Big East, but lost. Good thing it did not count toward the Big 12 standings.
  2. Ben McLemore has had a heck of a season. Is it the best by any freshman in college basketball? Debatable, but there is an argument to be made. These guys seem high on Shabazz Muhammad and Glenn Robinson III, but you could also throw Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon, Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell, or a host of other players in the conversation as well. McLemore’s as good as any of those diaper dandies, though, especially because he has exploded as the leading scorer for a team that desperately needed to replace the production of departed stars Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor.
  3. Kansas’ end of the bench might be the most interesting in college basketball. You have Tyler Self, son of head coach Bill Self, and you also have Evan Manning, the son of former assistant/legend and current Tulsa head coach Danny Manning. Manning made the first three of his career earlier this week. He has a long way to go to catch his father — the all-time leading scorer at Kansas — but it is a start, we suppose.
  4. It’s never, ever a bad thing to see your name listed alongside Kevin Durant. That’s where Isaiah Austin finds himself in an article that describes him as a “poor man’s” Durant. Heck, to even be considered a “broke, homeless man’s Durant” would be quite the compliment. We understand where this guy is coming from, since Austin is a skilled big who can score from all over the floor and extend defenses with his three-point shot. He has played well so far, too, even though the doubters thought Scott Drew would misuse him. That has not happened. Still, as the years have gone by, it is easy to forget just how dominant Kevin Durant was at Texas. Austin has not approached that level yet and there is no telling how he will eventually fare in the NBA.
  5. The Longhorns could use Durant right about now, but you knew that already. Regardless, take a detailed look at where Texas stands heading in to Big 12 play. It’s not that pretty. The comparison between the suspended Myck Kabongo and freshman Javan Felix is especially important. As the numbers point out, it is actually the loss of Kabongo’s scoring ability that has significantly impacted Texas. Felix is creating for his teammates, evidenced by terrific performances against North Carolina (eight assists) and Michigan State (11 assists), but he is shooting a horrendous 13 percent from three. Kabongo would have likely taken on a greater scoring role in the absence of J’Covan Brown — instead, both are gone, and that has had a huge effect on this Longhorns team.
dnspewak (343 Posts)

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