I'm sitting at a computer that has been set up right beside the reception in the hotel we're staying in.
Today has been unbearably hot.
The highlight of today was swimming in the reservoir.
It's 8:33pm and still extremely sticky and warm.
I'd like to finish this race, and if it is very hot, I'll just take it easy and enjoy it. Maybe get off my bike and swim in a nearby stream if the opportunity presents itself.
If it is hot enough to melt tar, I think I am just gonna sit out the run in the fountains around the finish.
Just had dinner now, and met an American, Jason, who is also doing the Ironman in Jeju. Will be good if we can do a portion of the race together tomorrow.
I've taken quite a few photos. Will post them tomorrow at some stage.
Ice...PLEEEEEEAAASSE!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Perfect time trial means building entire day around one hour
By CHRIS CARMICHAEL, For The Associated Press July 22, 2005
Imagine building your entire day around one hour. One hour in which only a perfect performance will be considered successful. The final test in Lance Armstrong's quest to win a seventh Tour de France comes in Saturday's Stage 20 individual time trial, and after 14 years as a professional cyclist, it comes down to one perfect hour. An individual time trial can be the loneliest hour of a cyclist's life. While most cycling events involve a pack of riders, you're all by yourself during the individual time trial. There are no teammates to call on for help and no one to draft behind. There's a car following you, but the people in it can't give you food or water. It's just you against the clock, fastest man wins.
Lance Armstrong excels in this discipline. To be successful in what's referred to as ``the race of truth,'' you have to have the ability to produce a massive amount of power and hold that intensity for 60-80 minutes. To win Saturday, Lance will have to average about 30-31 mph for about 72-74 minutes. To put that in perspective, the average cyclist can sustain 30-31 mph for about three minutes. In order to win an individual time trial in the Tour de France, Lance seeks perfection. It's not enough to be perfect on the bike; everything he does from the moment he wakes up has an impact on his performance.
The day starts at about 8:30 a.m. Riders don't need to wake up exceedingly early because the daily stages are scheduled so they finish around 5:00 p.m. The whole team eats breakfast together at about 9:00 a.m. The meal consists of whole grain cereals, dark breads, omelets, fruit, and often potatoes or rice. It is quite high in carbohydrates because the body depletes about 80 percent of its carbohydrate stores in the liver overnight.
After breakfast, Lance and his teammates will go out on the road for a short spin. Lance will ride his time trial bike for about 25-30 miles to get comfortable on the bike and stretch his legs. He hasn't been on this very specific machine for more than two weeks, and it's good to get reacquainted with it in the morning before competing in the afternoon. Once he gets back from his morning ride at about 10:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Lance will talk with the mechanics about the bike and possibly make some slight adjustments. He'll get a shower and probably a quick massage to keep his legs and back supple and loose, and then he'll relax until lunch.
Lance will eat his last substantial meal about two and a half hours before his start time. As the race leader, Lance will be the last rider to roll out of the start house, so his start time will be late, probably around 4:22 p.m. The meal will be mostly carbohydrates because that's the primary fuel he'll be using to power his high intensity effort. He'll eat a few cups of a light pasta dish; he won't want anything that will sit heavily in his stomach. He'll also eat some whole grain bread, fruit, and maybe some salad.
There is a rule in cycling that the shorter an event, the longer the warmup. For long road stages, riders barely warm up at all. Lance warms up for about 50 minutes before long individual time trials, and he'll arrive at the race site about 90 minutes before his start time to get ready and start warming up. While Lance changes clothes in the team bus, his time trial bike will be put on a stationary trainer outside. Some of his teammates will be there warming up for their own time trials, and the others will already be on the course. Lance's 50-minute warmup is not just a simple spin to loosen up. To win a time trial, you have to be ready to ride at maximum speed from the moment you leave the start house. You have to prepare your body, otherwise the shock of going from rest to maximum effort will significantly harm your performance. Lance's warmup is designed to wake a sleeping giant. He has to gradually activate his aerobic engine, and then increase intensity to progressively activate the energy systems that power successively harder efforts. Lance goes hard in his warmup, and actually goes above the effort level he reaches during competition. He needs to kick-start the mechanisms that control the production of energy and metabolic byproducts when exercising at very high intensities. About 10 minutes before his start time, Lance wraps up his warmup, eats a PowerGel and tucks another under the leg of his skinsuit. His bike is removed from the stationary trainer, checked over by the mechanic, and Lance heads for the start house.
Once Lance looks down the ramp to the road ahead, all of the hours since he woke up melt away. He sits still on his bike, both feet secured onto his pedals while someone holds him upright by the back of his seat. The starter finally begins the countdown. His fingers count down the final five seconds to Lance's start time, and then his hand flattens and extends out over the ramp. It's time to go.
For the next hour and change, Lance will ride as hard and fast as his body and physics will allow. Though he'll burn more than 1500 calories during the effort and sweat out about two liters of fluid, he'll only consume one 100-calorie PowerGel and one 500-millileter bottle of fluid.
There's no time for more food and nowhere to carry more fluid. Moreover, there's no room for error. There can be no stiff back from a poor night's sleep, nor an empty or upset stomach from a bad or incorrectly-scheduled meal, or mechanical problems with the bike or insufficient power from an inadequate warmup. Perfect rides come from perfect preparation, and there's no one who has mastered the art and science of preparation the way Lance Armstrong has.
36 C
My software provides up to the minute news and weather data. Today is predicted to be 36 degrees celcius. I went out at 10:30 am to have my Stratos bars fitted to my bike and the STR's removed for tomorrow's triathlon. At 10:30am it was already cooking. I have to fetch my bike at 1pm from the Cannondale Shop and will be carrying a bag for the trip. Going to be a very sweaty trip from my blue cool apartment to the club car's aircon.
I saw in the newspaper that Spain is also having its hottest and dryest season since historical records began...
Oil shocks come quickly, not giving people time to plan for oil substitutes. There won't be time to plant energy crops and wait around ten years for them to grow. There will hardly be time to wait for the ethanol plants to be constructed.
So here's how the next oil shock might play out in the woods: After the short-term rationing and associated chaos, we'll see ethanol plants under construction everywhere except in the deserts. But while they're being built, much wood will be cut for home heating and for hastily converted oil-fired power plants. Government forestry agencies will make TV ads and booklets extolling the virtues of clearcutting for energy supplies and wildlife. They'll also tell us that our forests are biologically over-mature and in need of "rejuvenation."
Foresters and loggers will probably get extra fuel rations. If the situation gets really bad, they might be conscripted in some fashion to serve the national interests by "producing" more cellulose feedstocks to feed the ethanol plants. Landowners may see their forests condemned by the state for the same purpose. Of course the government would turn over appropriated lands to Exxon-Mobil-BP-Texaco for actual "management" of the biomass resource.
On the positive side, we'll finally get mandatory paper recycling because most of the pulpwood needed for making paper will now go for ethanol. We'll see public money spent on public transportation. There will be lots more bicycles and power-assisted bicycles on the road. Fuel cells will be specially designed to run on ethanol. There will be national campaigns for people to go vegetarian so that land devoted to pasturage and grain production for livestock can be converted to energy crops.
Prices for photovoltaic (PV) panels will come down and will be installed on many roofs. Large PV arrays will be installed in sunny, desert areas. Windmill farms will pop up wherever there's enough steady wind. If huge efforts are made in energy efficiency at the same time, there might be enough solar and wind electricity to satisfy most residential and commercial demand. Industrial demand will be another matter.
Meanwhile, forests will keep disappearing into the maws of chippers for ethanol feedstock production. Then at some point it will become clear that we face a critical choice: our forests or our cars? It will still be years before all the energy crop plantings will be ready to harvest. For most people this will be a very difficult choice. Oil and car company propaganda won't make matters easier.
We can only hope that Gaia won't get too perturbed with all this, plus all our other crimes against her, and just decide to shut us all down by means of massive forest fires, insect infestations, diseases and diebacks induced by climate change. We'll have to hope that the same fate doesn't befall the energy crops. And we'll have to hope that we don't get a climate "flip-flop" back towards glacial conditions just when we're busy at adapting to life without fossil fuels. The timing would be just too much.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Billabong Day
Today was 34 degrees Celcius, and tomorrow is supposed to be a sweltering 36C. Oh, I've just rechecked and it's back to 33C. Sun Young told me today was the hottest day so far this summer. It actually didn't feel too bad. I went to school dressed for the beach - wore my Billabong shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals and a cap. Got the aircons whirring and had my ice coffee ready right off the bat. I ate 3 or 4 ice cool nectarines for lunch - delicious.
It was a very easy day at school. Only a third of the students were present. Most of them are off enjoying their vacations. I handed out a lot of puzzles and crosswords and was pleased to see very high levels of concentration and interest. I think it's a fact moany teachers forget, or avoid: children (and adults) learn best playing games/having fun. It's a sad reality that we adults get out of the habit of playing games.
After school I missed the 3300 bus by about 10 seconds, and had to wait about 16 minutes for the next one. Usually the wait is 4 or 5 minutes.
Sun Young drove to Aroi where we had dinner and an English lesson. After a few minutes Ryan and Aaron arrived. Aaron has had a hectic time in the States. He contracted CMV, and an extended stay in hospital has saddled him with a huge bill. The equivalent, I think he said, of W15 million. That's really tough.
He has a buddy in San Diego, so we gave Aaron Sun Young's email so that they could get in touch when Sun Young goes there for her medical conference.
We left Aroi at 22:00, and Sun Yougn very generously paid for the meal. My share would have been W14 500, which is roughly twice as much as my 'donation' earlier in the day for a newspaper (which, ironically, I gave to Sun Young). I felt there was an odd sense of humor filling the shivering heatwaves around me today.
I am so glad it's weekend. Next week is just 2 days work before another week long break.
It was a very easy day at school. Only a third of the students were present. Most of them are off enjoying their vacations. I handed out a lot of puzzles and crosswords and was pleased to see very high levels of concentration and interest. I think it's a fact moany teachers forget, or avoid: children (and adults) learn best playing games/having fun. It's a sad reality that we adults get out of the habit of playing games.
After school I missed the 3300 bus by about 10 seconds, and had to wait about 16 minutes for the next one. Usually the wait is 4 or 5 minutes.
Sun Young drove to Aroi where we had dinner and an English lesson. After a few minutes Ryan and Aaron arrived. Aaron has had a hectic time in the States. He contracted CMV, and an extended stay in hospital has saddled him with a huge bill. The equivalent, I think he said, of W15 million. That's really tough.
He has a buddy in San Diego, so we gave Aaron Sun Young's email so that they could get in touch when Sun Young goes there for her medical conference.
We left Aroi at 22:00, and Sun Yougn very generously paid for the meal. My share would have been W14 500, which is roughly twice as much as my 'donation' earlier in the day for a newspaper (which, ironically, I gave to Sun Young). I felt there was an odd sense of humor filling the shivering heatwaves around me today.
I am so glad it's weekend. Next week is just 2 days work before another week long break.
'I saw it, he's dead'
London - Police shot and killed a man at a London subway station on Friday, a day after the city was hit by its second wave of terror attacks in two weeks.
The details of the shooting at Stockwell station in south London were not immediately clear, but media reports said he was a suspected bomber.
Passengers said a man, described as South Asian, ran onto a train. Witnesses said police chased him, he tripped, and police then shot him.
"They pushed him onto the floor and unloaded five shots into him. I saw it. He's dead. Five shots. He's dead," witness Mark Whitby told the British Broadcasting Corporation. "He looked like a cornered fox. He looked petrified."
Color...No, Terror by Numbers?
Anyone notice that London's terror attacks occurred on 7/7? Has a similar ring to it as 9/11 doesn't it?
Yuan news 'great for SA'
By: Helmo Preuss
Johannesburg - The move on Thursday by the People's Bank of China (PBC) to remove the decade-old US dollar-yuan peg is great news for South Africa, as it will encourage even more South African exports of raw materials to China, without necessarily leading to a stronger rand, analysts said.
The main proviso is that South Africa gets its logistics chain management up to the standards of its competitors; otherwise all the extra demand engendered by the yuan revaluation will go to countries such as Australia and Brazil.
That is one of the reasons why Maria Ramos was appointed chief executive officer of transport utility Transnet, as Transnet is the key player in the logistics chain.
Railway derailments, stacker malfunctions, lack of rolling stock, the unavailability of cranes for the port of Ngqura, these are all completely unacceptable and as bad as dropped passes in a Tri-Nations match.
The halftime score line was not very impressive, as bulk export volumes declined by 2.9% year-on-year (y/y) in June to only 9.194 million tons after a respectable performance of 10.24 million tons shipped in May.
Who dropped the pass?
Chinese imports on the other hand grew by 15.1% y/y in June, which is a performance that South African exporters should at least have matched.
Rio Tinto for instance boosted its second quarter iron ore output from its Australian mines by 15% y/y to over 32 million tons, whereas Kumba will be lucky to export that much in a full year.
Apart from boosting demand for South African exports, the Chinese revaluation will also help in "burden-sharing" of the adjustment to global imbalances.
Over the past three years, the burden of currency adjustment to the US dollar has been carried by Europe and the so-called "commodity currencies", which includes South Africa.
During this time, the US trade-weighted dollar has depreciated by some 10% with no effect on the burgeoning US foreign trade deficit, which already exceeds 6% of gross domestic product.
The "free-floating" currencies have appreciated by some 30% against the US dollar, but the Asian and Middle Eastern currencies, which account for around two-thirds of the US foreign trade deficit, have kept to their pegs, accumulating massive foreign exchange reserves and intervening to keep their currencies "weak".
In China's case, their foreign exchange reserves are the world's second largest at over US$710bn, while Japan, which has the world's largest, is equally under pressure to allow its currency to find its own value without Bank of Japan purchases of US dollars.
In the fourth quarter 2004, the rand went to its strongest level real trade-weighted value this century, as real exports grew by 9.3% y/y.
This is in marked contrast to the fourth quarter 2001, when real exports plummeted by 8.0% y/y, the weakest y/y change in exports this century, resulting in a record weak rand.
Now that Asian - Middle Eastern currencies such as the Saudi Arabian riyal are unlikely to abandon their decades-old peg to the US dollar - currencies will share some of the burden of global currency re-alignment, it means that although South African real export growth could exceed last year's performance, the rand need not appreciate as much.
Johannesburg - The move on Thursday by the People's Bank of China (PBC) to remove the decade-old US dollar-yuan peg is great news for South Africa, as it will encourage even more South African exports of raw materials to China, without necessarily leading to a stronger rand, analysts said.
The main proviso is that South Africa gets its logistics chain management up to the standards of its competitors; otherwise all the extra demand engendered by the yuan revaluation will go to countries such as Australia and Brazil.
That is one of the reasons why Maria Ramos was appointed chief executive officer of transport utility Transnet, as Transnet is the key player in the logistics chain.
Railway derailments, stacker malfunctions, lack of rolling stock, the unavailability of cranes for the port of Ngqura, these are all completely unacceptable and as bad as dropped passes in a Tri-Nations match.
The halftime score line was not very impressive, as bulk export volumes declined by 2.9% year-on-year (y/y) in June to only 9.194 million tons after a respectable performance of 10.24 million tons shipped in May.
Who dropped the pass?
Chinese imports on the other hand grew by 15.1% y/y in June, which is a performance that South African exporters should at least have matched.
Rio Tinto for instance boosted its second quarter iron ore output from its Australian mines by 15% y/y to over 32 million tons, whereas Kumba will be lucky to export that much in a full year.
Apart from boosting demand for South African exports, the Chinese revaluation will also help in "burden-sharing" of the adjustment to global imbalances.
Over the past three years, the burden of currency adjustment to the US dollar has been carried by Europe and the so-called "commodity currencies", which includes South Africa.
During this time, the US trade-weighted dollar has depreciated by some 10% with no effect on the burgeoning US foreign trade deficit, which already exceeds 6% of gross domestic product.
The "free-floating" currencies have appreciated by some 30% against the US dollar, but the Asian and Middle Eastern currencies, which account for around two-thirds of the US foreign trade deficit, have kept to their pegs, accumulating massive foreign exchange reserves and intervening to keep their currencies "weak".
In China's case, their foreign exchange reserves are the world's second largest at over US$710bn, while Japan, which has the world's largest, is equally under pressure to allow its currency to find its own value without Bank of Japan purchases of US dollars.
In the fourth quarter 2004, the rand went to its strongest level real trade-weighted value this century, as real exports grew by 9.3% y/y.
This is in marked contrast to the fourth quarter 2001, when real exports plummeted by 8.0% y/y, the weakest y/y change in exports this century, resulting in a record weak rand.
Now that Asian - Middle Eastern currencies such as the Saudi Arabian riyal are unlikely to abandon their decades-old peg to the US dollar - currencies will share some of the burden of global currency re-alignment, it means that although South African real export growth could exceed last year's performance, the rand need not appreciate as much.
43 10 Done, 20 Weeks Remaining
Had quite a productive morning. While the last 3 Tour De France stages were downloading, I got some educational material, with the focus on fun, off the net. Discovery has some useful stuff, like puzzlemakers,crosswords, lateral thinking brainteasers for kids etc. Made some massive puzzles and other games since today the Public Schools break up for the holiday.
Fixed up Sun Young's Abstract which is hectic medical jargon, and posted some articles that show a clear and present danger, in terms of both H5N1 and Climate Change. I saw a documentary done by National Geographic which reveals new insights in the complicated Theory of Weather and Climate. It's fair to say that this documentary disturbed me as much as The End of Suburbia did.
Also did all the washing and cleaning, then slipped out into the oven to pay my phone bill across the road. Last month it was over W60 000, this month it is W48 000, with at least W43 000 being internet charges. Shows you how little I make local calls from home.
Then went to the bank to pay my electricity bill. Just over W30 000. I am expecting a shock when I get the next one as I have been putting the aircon through its paces. Day and night. Turn it off, and my apartment rapidly transforms into a sauna. I turn it off when I go out, and when I get back the thermometer reads around 28 degrees.
Feels like I am sitting in a sauna right now...at school. Sweat is literally streaming down the back of my neck.
Everything went quite smoothly until I went to buy a newspaper in Madu subway. Maybe reality was different to how I remember it. I remember grudgingly parting with my W500 coin (needed for the bus), and then right after paying I pulled out another W1000 note and asked for change (2xw500 coins). The woman insisted on taking that as payment for the paper, and when I tried to explain I had already paid she called her son over. Since I was running pecariously close to being late, I thought stuff it, and grabbed the W500 coin I'd placed with the opther 2 W100 coins, between the sweets (which I think, thinking back, she probably hadn't noticed). Now I think she thought I'd stolen her money, so sent her son after me. I was feeling huffy, having paid W1200 for a W700 newspaper.
On the stairwell I heard her son shouting and running after me. Now I realised they clearly thought I'd taken the newspaper, that I'd stolen it. This annoyed me even more, because I was the one who'd lost money. I quickly whipped out my wallet, trying to dispel the myth that all foreigners are criminals, and intended to do away with whatever money they thought I owed with another W1000. The irony is, I had a W1000 in my hand, and one W500 coin, but I had to hold on to these for the bus. So when I opened my wallet, all I had was a wad of W10 000 notes, and one sweaty W5000 that I'd discovered in my pocket in the bank.
So I stuffed a W5000 into his hand.
Then, amazed at myself, and going slightly crazy at the same time, ran up the escalator, and now the guy pursued me again.
At the top of the escalator I tried to explain, using actions, exactly how I had made the purchase. Except I lacked W200 in coins. Exasperated, I left him with a total booty of W6200 (for a W700 newspaper).
Now, I'm not sure why I didn't just leave the newspaper. It wasn't as though I really really wanted it. And ironically, I'd already read most of the Herald's stories online this morning anyway. Crazy!
The good news is I am 1/3rd of the way through my time here. I've worked May, June and half of July, and have 5 months to go if we include the first part of December. And after August it will just get cooler and more pleasant. I'm sure during the last third time is really going to fly.
I'm going to Cheolwon tomorrow to do this half Ironman, but if it is hot like today, I won't even start the run. This week also seems to have raced by. Hopefully I'll do the same on Sunday.
Fixed up Sun Young's Abstract which is hectic medical jargon, and posted some articles that show a clear and present danger, in terms of both H5N1 and Climate Change. I saw a documentary done by National Geographic which reveals new insights in the complicated Theory of Weather and Climate. It's fair to say that this documentary disturbed me as much as The End of Suburbia did.
Also did all the washing and cleaning, then slipped out into the oven to pay my phone bill across the road. Last month it was over W60 000, this month it is W48 000, with at least W43 000 being internet charges. Shows you how little I make local calls from home.
Then went to the bank to pay my electricity bill. Just over W30 000. I am expecting a shock when I get the next one as I have been putting the aircon through its paces. Day and night. Turn it off, and my apartment rapidly transforms into a sauna. I turn it off when I go out, and when I get back the thermometer reads around 28 degrees.
Feels like I am sitting in a sauna right now...at school. Sweat is literally streaming down the back of my neck.
Everything went quite smoothly until I went to buy a newspaper in Madu subway. Maybe reality was different to how I remember it. I remember grudgingly parting with my W500 coin (needed for the bus), and then right after paying I pulled out another W1000 note and asked for change (2xw500 coins). The woman insisted on taking that as payment for the paper, and when I tried to explain I had already paid she called her son over. Since I was running pecariously close to being late, I thought stuff it, and grabbed the W500 coin I'd placed with the opther 2 W100 coins, between the sweets (which I think, thinking back, she probably hadn't noticed). Now I think she thought I'd stolen her money, so sent her son after me. I was feeling huffy, having paid W1200 for a W700 newspaper.
On the stairwell I heard her son shouting and running after me. Now I realised they clearly thought I'd taken the newspaper, that I'd stolen it. This annoyed me even more, because I was the one who'd lost money. I quickly whipped out my wallet, trying to dispel the myth that all foreigners are criminals, and intended to do away with whatever money they thought I owed with another W1000. The irony is, I had a W1000 in my hand, and one W500 coin, but I had to hold on to these for the bus. So when I opened my wallet, all I had was a wad of W10 000 notes, and one sweaty W5000 that I'd discovered in my pocket in the bank.
So I stuffed a W5000 into his hand.
Then, amazed at myself, and going slightly crazy at the same time, ran up the escalator, and now the guy pursued me again.
At the top of the escalator I tried to explain, using actions, exactly how I had made the purchase. Except I lacked W200 in coins. Exasperated, I left him with a total booty of W6200 (for a W700 newspaper).
Now, I'm not sure why I didn't just leave the newspaper. It wasn't as though I really really wanted it. And ironically, I'd already read most of the Herald's stories online this morning anyway. Crazy!
The good news is I am 1/3rd of the way through my time here. I've worked May, June and half of July, and have 5 months to go if we include the first part of December. And after August it will just get cooler and more pleasant. I'm sure during the last third time is really going to fly.
I'm going to Cheolwon tomorrow to do this half Ironman, but if it is hot like today, I won't even start the run. This week also seems to have raced by. Hopefully I'll do the same on Sunday.
London witness came face-to-face with suspected bomber
LONDON (AFP) - A businessman described how he came face-to-face with one of the suspected attackers who exploded bombs in London, telling a newspaper the man seemed have been a would-be suicide attacker who was dazed when his device failed to explode properly.
Abisha Moyo, a Zimbabwe-born business analyst, told the Daily Mail newspaper that he was on a subway train near Shepherd's Bush station in west London when the incident happened on Thursday lunchtime.
Four separate small explosive devices are thought to have gone off, three exploding almost simultaneously on London Underground trains and one about an hour later on a bus.
Unlike the near-identical attacks two weeks earlier when 56 people were killed, there were no injuries, leading terrorism experts to say that perhaps only the bomb detonators went off, not the main charges.
Moyo, 28, said he was talking on his mobile phone when he was startled by a noise like a pistol shot inside the train carriage.
"I turned around and there was a man lying on the ground with his arms outstretched in a Jesus Christ position, lying on top of a medium-sized black and green rucksack, face up," he told the paper.
"He had his eyes shut and there was a puff of smoke coming from the bag. Some girls started screaming, the emergency cable was pulled and everyone started running away from him towards the front of the train," he said.
"I wasn't sure what had happened to him and thought he might have been shot. I went up to him and said: 'Are you all right mate?' But he just ignored me and kept his eyes shut," Moyo said.
The man appeared to be aged about 19 or 20, looked to be of mixed race and was clean shaven and dressed smartly in jeans, a navy blue T-shirt and a baseball cap, Moyo said.
"The rucksack was ripped at the bottom, with some sort of muslin showing and some gooey lard coming out of it. I could see what looked like a pressurised canister or tube and there was a strong smell of vinegar," he said.
The businessman said he then moved to the next carriage, at which point the man sat up.
"He looked dazed and confused and very shaken. He sat down near his rucksack for five or six seconds and then came over to where we were, leaving his rucksack and cap behind.
"He sat down in our carriage very briefly and then walked back again. As he did, I could see some wire sticking out of his T-shirt, it looked a bit like the wire for some headphones, but I could see the exposed copper at the end.
"It was then it hit me and I thought: 'Oh my god, he's a suicide bomber.'"
The suspected bomber abandoned his rucksack and leapt from the stationary train onto the tracks, where he started walking away.
Moyo said he was going to follow him but opted not to when fellow passengers said the man might have been armed.
Tour Ends Sunday
Ullrich, who has three second-place finishes behind Armstrong, said: ``We tried everything. But Lance is so strong, just like last year. We tried to attack him, but you have to accept he is the strongest. The way he rides, the way his team rides. He deserves it.''
"My aim is obviously to finish third," Ullrich said after lopping 37 seconds off the gap which separates him from Rasmussen in Thursday's 18th stage from Albi to Mende.
With the gap now down to one minute and 12 seconds, Ullrich said: "I'm ready to fight for this. Rasmussen is a good rider but I think I can get him."
Ullrich, a time trial specialist, is particularly looking forward to Saturday's 55.5 km individual time trial around St Etienne.
"I took about two minutes off him in the opening time trial over 19 kilometres. I feel much better now as I have recovered from my two crashes," he said.
Armstrong came into this Tour as hungry and as well-prepared as ever, quickly silencing doubters who questioned his will and ability to win again at age 33. He distanced his rivals from the opening time trial and then built on his lead in the mountains.
``It's been smooth, smoother than I expected,'' said Armstrong. ``There's never really been a true panic within the team, within myself.''
Asked how he has managed to stay so focused for seven years, he replied: ``A love for the event and a hatred for losing the event.''
``I learned in 1999 that this race is bigger than any, greater than any,'' he added. ``I also learned what it's like to win it ... and how much happiness and joy it brings to myself and to an entire program and to a country really of non-cycling fans.''
On Saturday we'll see a Time Trial. Lance is the odds on favorite to win that penultimate stage, and watch Ullrich try to gain time on Rasmussen and get a podium place in Paris.
Note: the bridge in one of the images below is the world's tallest bridge, near Millau.
Kia Morning named best economic car in Germany
Kia Motors Corp.'s compact Morning, called the Picanto abroad, was named the most economical car by a major drivers' club in Germany.
Korea's No. 2 automaker Kia said yesterday its European-style compact claimed first place in the annual economy test by the Allegmeiner Deutscher Automobile Club where 5,400 models are rated.
ADAC, Germany's biggest auto drivers' club with 15 million members, evaluates a car's economy by computing the maintenance costs - purchase price, fuel, repairs, taxes and insurance - after the car has been driven 15,000 kilometers.
Kia's Picanto topped the list with 30 euro cents per kilometer maintenance cost. It was followed by two Japanese models, Daihatsu's Cuore and Suzuki's Alto.
"The Picanto, with its European design, roomy interior and high-quality features and performance, was strategically designed to target the European market," said Jean-Charles Lievens, senior executive vice president of Kia's European arm.
"Along with its style and economy, the Picanto's popularity is expected to lift Kia's 'exciting & enabling' brand image in Europe."
About 38 percent of Germany's drivers belong to the Allegmeiner Deutscher Automobile Club which also provides auto information to European consumers via a journal titled ADAC Motorwelt.
Since its launch in Europe last year, the Picanto was named the best compact vehicle, outdoing the Volkswagen Polo and Citroen C2 by local auto magazines.
Nearly 102,000 units of the Korean car have been sold in Europe, including 59,000 sold last year. Kia Motors hopes to sell 86,000 Picantos in Europe this year, up 47 percent from 2004.
(sophie@heraldm.com)
By Kim So-hyun
What changes can we anticipate for our climate?
The graph above includes data from the Nature paper, plus data from other studies referenced below. Notice how CO2 concentration rises vertically at the end of the time series. The increase appears vertical because of the large time scale, but it actually occurs over the past 150 years, which corresponds to the age of fossil fuels (the modern industrial age). Notice too that there hasn't been a corresponding increase in temperature during this time period. This is probably due to the ability of the oceans to function as a heat sink, and thereby delay the increase in atmospheric temperatures. However, there are recent indications that the oceans are now warming, which will reduce their ability to act as a heat sink.
Thus we seem to be headed for some very large climate changes. Temperatures could increase rapidly, and then decrease just as rapidly--as they have repeatedly over the past 420,000 years. Another possibility is that there will be so much GTGs in the atmosphere that they will actually override historical patterns of thermohaline circulation and climate change. It's noteworthy in this context that the current atmospheric methane level is about 230% of its pre-industrial maximum (contrasted with CO2 being about 130% of its pre-industrial maximum).
Given all the new ice core data, what changes can we anticipate for our climate? If CO2 has increased over the past 150 years as much as it normally increases over thousands of years leading up to an interglacial phase (about 80 ppmv), then we could expect as much as a corresponding 10-12C increase in temperature.
It seems the northern hemisphere is affected more by global temperature changes than the southern hemisphere. This could be explained by the fact that the North Polar sea ice is much thinner and much less extensive than the South Polar continental ice, and is therefore much more susceptible to melting under warm conditions, thereby precipitating shifts or shutdowns in the thermohaline circulation. The mass of North Polar sea ice has thinned by at least 50% in just the past 30 years.
Research also indicates that a large variation in climate is likely to occur over a relatively short period of time. It is a Tipping Point scenario, where small fluctuations beyond a certain trigger point lead to a runaway effect.
For further reading on this subject, go to: http://www.daviesand.com/Choices/Precautionary_Planning/
New_Data/
Coming to a Cinema Near You
CHINA - The latest boxun report describes 10 strains of H5N1 circulating in China. Eight of the ten have some evidence for human infections, but there is no direct independent confirmation of the data. The data suggest that the 2005 pandemic is well underway and a wide range of catastrophic events will continue to make news. The report also suggests H5N1 in China is diverse and evolving, expanding a trend that will likely culminate in an event that may make the 1918 flu pandemic look tame. Although the specifics of the report are not directly confirmed by third parties, the actions of China and the sequences of the H5N1 emerging from China, strongly support the descriptions of the strains in the boxun reports.
BBC News - 20th July 2005
Experts debate bird flu strategy
UK - The best way to combat a major outbreak of bird flu in humans will be discussed by experts in London. The World Health Organization says a pandemic of bird flu is inevitable and could cause 50,000 deaths in the UK. It has warned that efforts to contain the spread of the current strain of the virus circulating in Asia have not been successful.
People's Daily Online - 12th July 2005
Bird flu becomes endemic in Thailand: official
The latest outbreak of avian influenza found in central Thailand showed the disease had become endemic in the region, said an official...
Latest updates: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/
LatestNews/Default.asp?AREA=LatestNews&Display=6187
How high do you rate the risk?
Indonesia on alert after bird flu deaths
Karima Anjani
July 22, 2005
Indonesia is preparing 44 hospitals across the archipelago for treatment and detection of bird flu after the country recorded its first deaths from the virus. Agriculture ministry experts have reported sporadic H5N1 virus outbreaks killing more than nine million fowl in 21 provinces, out of a total of 33, across the archipelago since late 2003.
Indonesian policy has favored vaccinating over culling to stop bird flu, due to lack of funds to compensate farmers.
The WHO has questioned the effectiveness of vaccines and say culling is the best weapon.
The virus has already jumped species in Indonesia and was discovered in pigs in May on densely populated Java island.
Pigs can carry human flu viruses, which can combine with avian viruses, swap genes and create virulent strains. But pig farming in the world's most populous Muslim country is not widespread. Islam regards pigs as unclean.REUTERS
Siberian bird flu alarms Russia
BBC News - UK
Bird flu has hit poultry in a Siberian village, in Russia's first case of the disease for more than 15 years. Health staff jump queue for stockpiled bird-flu vaccine
Scotsman - United Kingdom
TWO million doses of bird-flu vaccine are to be stockpiled in Britain, the government announced yesterday...
Work begins on new flu-vaccine factory in Poconos
Miami Herald - FL,USA
SWIFTWATER, Pa. - Work began Wednesday on a new $150 million factory to make flu vaccines... It is possible that at least there's been some human-to-human transmission. But it's really important that human-to-human transmission doesn't automatically mean an epidemic or pandemic.
We've had human-to-human transmission in little clusters in Vietnam, Thailand already. It's when it becomes really efficient that one person can spread it to lots of people, who then spread it to lots of people, is when the trouble really occurs, and so far this has not yet happened.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: How high do you rate the risk then, of this case?
JOHN HORVATH: I think our current risk levels, and I've been in contact with WHO recently, remain at the level it's been. No one has raised the risk levels yet. The figures people have been talking about are that there is a small but realistic chance that sometime in the next year or two we could have an epidemic or a pandemic. The figures that have been bandied around are 10 per cent.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you accept those figures?
JOHN HORVATH: I think we do accept those figures. That's the sort of figures people internationally are talking about.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: How alarmed do you think Australians should be then, about Indonesia having confirmed its first human fatalities from bird flu?
JOHN HORVATH: Well, I don't think that we need to be any more alarmed than we are currently. We are working continuously to have a high level of preparedness. I don't think the fact that Indonesia is a bit physically closer than Thailand or Vietnam is an issue, as with air travel everything is close.
TONY EASTLEY: Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor John Horvath, speaking with Alexandra Kirk.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
43/4
Felt glum today. Not going to say more than that.
Without good manners human society becomes intolerable and impossible - George Bernard Shaw
Without good manners human society becomes intolerable and impossible - George Bernard Shaw
Courage & Energy
I always like to read about other athletes Ironman experiences. It's really compressing a huge day, a huge amount of will, and courage and energy, into a few sentences. Here's Lisa Bentley, a Canadian, sponsored by Cervelo. (In the photo above, that's Tyler Hamilton.)
Lisa Bentley wins Ironman Germany
July 11, 2005
Just a quick note to send back a very happy report � I won Ironman Germany yesterday in 9 hours and 15 minutes. I have now been fortunate enough to have won a total of 9 Ironman competitions, but I can honestly say, that they are not getting any easier.
My training leading into Ironman Germany had been bang on and I was very excited to test myself. In fact, I might have been too excited because I didn�t sleep a wink that night before the race!! Well, thanks to Brian Kelly, head coach of the Dorado Swim Club who has been welcoming me to morning swim team practice over the past few months - I had my best swim ever � around 53 minutes. Thanks to my technical bike coach, Denise Kelly and my training partners who have been pushing me through my 6 hour rides � Tereza, Doug, Matt and Lawrence � I had an excellent bike ride of 5:13. And of course, to Lance, my coach, for programming all of my training and pushing me to my limits � I was able to back up my best ever swim-bike run combination with a 3:04 marathon on a technical run course which featured 18 � 180 degree turnarounds!!!
The race organization was top notch � the finish line cut through the center of the oldest buildings in Frankfurt, with huge bleachers stands loaded to the brim, with a huge video screen above the finish line and church bells ringing in the distance � the setting was surreal � and easily one of the best finish lines in the world. Normann Stadler and I were presented with our winner�s trophies on a balcony of a historic building looking out at the grandstands, finish line and historic square. It was truly the stuff dreams are made of!!!
Thank you so much for your support. I will write a proper report in a few days. Onward to Kona!!!
Lisa Bentley
www.lisabentley.com
Tissink Wins Ironman Austria
Raynard Tissink won the Austrian Ironman this year, after narrowly missing a victory in Klagenfurt last year. It's an extremely fast course, and a fun venue, since Klagenfurt is a 'university town'. I'd love to do this race, especially since I have been to Austria before and it's a beautiful country.
It was Tissink who inspired me to get into Ironman. I can blame him for all the effort...in the end 3 complete seasons training and preparing to do the Ironman race, and I finally got it right the 3rd time, with the least training. In all 3 cases I struggled with sickness just before the race, and I believe, although I had an iron focus and an ironwill, in all 3 races I was still way too distracted.
I would love to buy a Cervelo frame, and I intend to be at my best for the next Ironman in South Africa. Perhaps, if I do really well, I'll upgrade my equipment one last time and aim for Hawaii. I'd like to do a third and possibly last Ironman somewhere else. Brazil, or Austria, or Australia. It does seem as though Ironman and EFL teaching in Asia will have to be inextricably linked. The one feeding resources to the other. The flipside is that I don't believe I can continue either of these activities for too much longer, and I'm less motivated to train in Asia, or should I say, to train hard here, and get to a high level.
Raynard Tissink (pictured above), like Armstrong, is a few months older than I am. He was starting triathlon when I was, and to be honest, I didn't think he was out of my league. In the beginning, his swim wasn't much better than mine. I think, to be good in this sport, you have to work damn DAMN hard. It's a lot of grafting. I saw Tissink on TV saying he did 18 hours of training in his easy week. He also said he did not consider pulling out of Ironman Sa when he had diarhea before the race because he hadn't trained as hard as he had, for 15 weeks, for nothing. 6 hours a day on the bike, an up at dawn, gut wreching seige of activity.
And I think you can see that at 33 years of age, this is where the body really reaches a peak in terms of stamina, and endurance. It's now that one can dream big, and pursue the hardest races in one's life.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Easy Money?
Time to turn the TV off! Just been watching Fear Factor. The first challenge was quite good. Girl is submerged (into cold water inside a perspex container) and her husband must unlock three locks, while holding his breath. Interestingly, both married couples succeeded (this requires a lot of trust on the girl's part, who is stuck and relying on her partner to let her escape and grab a breath of air) and both the ordinary couples couldn't get it right, and so used an emergency gate to escape.
The two couples go through to the final. To win $25 000 a couple must transfer giant Madagascan cockroaches from one container to another by using their mouths. The guy stuffs his face into a container crawling with cockraoches, picks them up with his mouth, then passes them to his wife's mouth and she spits the damn thing out in another container. The winner transfers the most cockroaches.
Even more disgusting (on a different show)was a couple who had to transfer squid ink the same way...
The two couples go through to the final. To win $25 000 a couple must transfer giant Madagascan cockroaches from one container to another by using their mouths. The guy stuffs his face into a container crawling with cockraoches, picks them up with his mouth, then passes them to his wife's mouth and she spits the damn thing out in another container. The winner transfers the most cockroaches.
Even more disgusting (on a different show)was a couple who had to transfer squid ink the same way...
Spinning
Firefox shows a flaming red thermometer for Friday. A click on the icon reveals that Friday will be "very hot (35 degrees celcius) and humid. Right now it is 28 degrees Celicus and it's 8:16pm. It was very uncomfortable in school, and it's going to get a lot hotter this week.
I'm watching out of the corner of my eye. Brad Pitt is visiting a shanti in Africa, kissing a terminal black woman (with Aids and TB), saying, "it's good to see you again."
Shaking hands with babies in a hospital, many of whom are orphaned.
He questions how come one can choose from 28 cough syrups in the States, but a mother can't get hold of a single spoonful for her sick child.
The cost of one sandwich and soda in America can treat a child suffering from TB for up to 6 months. The richest country in the world contributes less than 1% of its GDP to foreign Aid (to Africa). This makes it also one of the most selfish countries in the Developed World.
Having said that, handouts are not the way to solve Africa's (or any poor countries) problem. But being involved, connected, investing, is the best way to help.
There are 300 million people starving in Africa. That's almost a mirror of the entire American population.
We can almost not imagine how dire things are in parts of Africa. Girls who describe a good night in prostitution, where they earned $2.50, and probably none of their clients used condoms. Children who describe their favorite toy as a plastic ball, favorite meal as Kellogg's cereal.
The moral of the story, if we aren't compelled to contribute, or visit, is simply to be grateful for fresh water each day, for nearby food, for a job, for health. And to say thank you, in the store, when we pay for something, thank you when someone who has just cleaned the restroom passes us in the hallway. It is a way we can honor each other, honor life, respect ourselves.
So if Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are tired of having sex with each other, what hope is there for the rest of us?
(Must say in this interview he responds to a question about him being googled over 2.7 millions times saying, "It's misguided. It's strange what people focus on. I know it's entertainment, I understand that, but you know..."
Was interesting to see a famous celebrity turn serious, and be serious. I think to a certain level it seems like everything celebrities do is deliberate, even the stories spun in their name.
But the onus should also be on them to put the record straight (if they don't like their image, or how they are being portrayed), to play inspiring characters in inspiring stories. Like Meryl Streep does. Most of her roles show her to be an intelligent person, with an intelligible view of the world, and of herself. I think Nicole Kidman is becoming a more serious actress, almost as serious as Sean Penn. It's possible to have a sensible persona, even if most of what Hollywood churns out is stylised hokum and eye candy.
The kind of life we want depends on the kind of people we are - our character. It's who we are, who we choose to be, that becomes the life we choose, and the life we have.
I'm watching out of the corner of my eye. Brad Pitt is visiting a shanti in Africa, kissing a terminal black woman (with Aids and TB), saying, "it's good to see you again."
Shaking hands with babies in a hospital, many of whom are orphaned.
He questions how come one can choose from 28 cough syrups in the States, but a mother can't get hold of a single spoonful for her sick child.
The cost of one sandwich and soda in America can treat a child suffering from TB for up to 6 months. The richest country in the world contributes less than 1% of its GDP to foreign Aid (to Africa). This makes it also one of the most selfish countries in the Developed World.
Having said that, handouts are not the way to solve Africa's (or any poor countries) problem. But being involved, connected, investing, is the best way to help.
There are 300 million people starving in Africa. That's almost a mirror of the entire American population.
We can almost not imagine how dire things are in parts of Africa. Girls who describe a good night in prostitution, where they earned $2.50, and probably none of their clients used condoms. Children who describe their favorite toy as a plastic ball, favorite meal as Kellogg's cereal.
The moral of the story, if we aren't compelled to contribute, or visit, is simply to be grateful for fresh water each day, for nearby food, for a job, for health. And to say thank you, in the store, when we pay for something, thank you when someone who has just cleaned the restroom passes us in the hallway. It is a way we can honor each other, honor life, respect ourselves.
So if Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are tired of having sex with each other, what hope is there for the rest of us?
(Must say in this interview he responds to a question about him being googled over 2.7 millions times saying, "It's misguided. It's strange what people focus on. I know it's entertainment, I understand that, but you know..."
Was interesting to see a famous celebrity turn serious, and be serious. I think to a certain level it seems like everything celebrities do is deliberate, even the stories spun in their name.
But the onus should also be on them to put the record straight (if they don't like their image, or how they are being portrayed), to play inspiring characters in inspiring stories. Like Meryl Streep does. Most of her roles show her to be an intelligent person, with an intelligible view of the world, and of herself. I think Nicole Kidman is becoming a more serious actress, almost as serious as Sean Penn. It's possible to have a sensible persona, even if most of what Hollywood churns out is stylised hokum and eye candy.
The kind of life we want depends on the kind of people we are - our character. It's who we are, who we choose to be, that becomes the life we choose, and the life we have.
43/Midweek
The exodus continues. Sumin quit yesterday, so now there is only one original staff member out of the first 6 when I started working here. Quite a turnover rate. They are getting together tonight and the beer will likely flow. Would like to go but that will mean coming back into Hwajeong. The best place in the world seems to be either a swimming pool, or just in my ice cool apartment with a tall glass filled with chinkling iceblocks and Powerade or something.
I've been reading a book about teaching kids in Asia and am trying out a few techniques. Will elaborate more on that later.
Today is the sweatiest day yet. Sometimes feels unbearably sticky. All the aircons are on and it doesn't make an difference. Will start to wear shorter pants and slip slops and shorts made out of much lighter materials.
Don't think I'm going to swim tonight. Will try to get up early tomorrow and do an easy run. There's a half Iroanman waiting for me at the end of the week. I was thinking today, on my way to work, Would you want to be doing the 20km run (after the swim and 90km cycle) on Saturday at this time of day, in this heat?
I've been reading a book about teaching kids in Asia and am trying out a few techniques. Will elaborate more on that later.
Today is the sweatiest day yet. Sometimes feels unbearably sticky. All the aircons are on and it doesn't make an difference. Will start to wear shorter pants and slip slops and shorts made out of much lighter materials.
Don't think I'm going to swim tonight. Will try to get up early tomorrow and do an easy run. There's a half Iroanman waiting for me at the end of the week. I was thinking today, on my way to work, Would you want to be doing the 20km run (after the swim and 90km cycle) on Saturday at this time of day, in this heat?
[Neo receives a cell phone in an overnight-mail envelope. As soon as he's holding it, it rings]
Neo: Hello?
Morpheus: Hello, Neo. Do you know who this is?
Neo: Morpheus?
Morpheus: Yes. I've been looking for you, Neo. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately, you and I have run out of time. They're coming for you, Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do.
Neo: Who's coming for me?
Morpheus: Stand up and see for yourself.
Neo: What, right now?
Morpheus: Yes, now.
Morpheus: I imagine that right now, you're feeling a bit like Alice. Hmm? Tumbling down the rabbit hole?
Neo: You could say that.
Morpheus: I see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, that's not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix.
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
Neo: Yes.
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.
Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?
Neo: Because I choose to.
Neo: I just have never...
Rama-Kandra: ...heard a program speak of love?
Neo: It's a... human emotion.
Rama-Kandra: No, it is a word. What matters is the connection the word implies. I see that you are in love. Can you tell me what you would give to hold on to that connection?
Neo: Anything.
Rama-Kandra: Then perhaps the reason you're here is not so different from the reason I'm here.
Neo: Why am I here?
The Architect: Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you, inexorably, here.
Neo: You haven't answered my question.
The Architect: Quite right. Interesting. That was quicker than the others.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
43/2 Fire, Fire!
In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits - Og Mandino
Going to bed early tonight. Not much to report. Korean teacher called Sharon replaced Jane - the same one I met last night. There was a very gloomy atmosphere amongst the teachers at work today. Apparently the director overheard Jane talking about the director, and he flew into a rage and fired her. One of the teachers was crying when I arrived, because I think she felt sorry for Jane. She said to me later, "Nick, can you understand that man?" He also fired a hole through his foot, because the school is becoming rickety and unstable with all the new teachers going through. Sumin (who has worked here for over 2 years)confided in me that she is thinking of leaving herself, over the next few weeks. That'll be too bad.
Dragged myself through Newcore's grocery store after work. Bought some salmon, mandu, mince, wine, bread and an avocado. Just a quick loadup.
Now it's time tozzzzzzzzzzz
Going to bed early tonight. Not much to report. Korean teacher called Sharon replaced Jane - the same one I met last night. There was a very gloomy atmosphere amongst the teachers at work today. Apparently the director overheard Jane talking about the director, and he flew into a rage and fired her. One of the teachers was crying when I arrived, because I think she felt sorry for Jane. She said to me later, "Nick, can you understand that man?" He also fired a hole through his foot, because the school is becoming rickety and unstable with all the new teachers going through. Sumin (who has worked here for over 2 years)confided in me that she is thinking of leaving herself, over the next few weeks. That'll be too bad.
Dragged myself through Newcore's grocery store after work. Bought some salmon, mandu, mince, wine, bread and an avocado. Just a quick loadup.
Now it's time tozzzzzzzzzzz
Agent Smith: But, as you well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we're here. We're not here because we're free. We're here because we're not free. There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist.
[Several Agent Smith Clones walk in]
Agent Smith Clone 1: It is purpose that created us.
Agent Smith Clone 2: Purpose that connects us.
Agent Smith Clone 3: Purpose that pulls us.
Agent Smith Clone 4: That guides us.
Agent Smith Clone 5: That drives us.
Agent Smith Clone 6: It is purpose that defines us.
Agent Smith Clone 7: Purpose that binds us.
Agent Smith: We are here because of you, Mr Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us.
[Attempts to copy himself into Neo]
Agent Smith: Purpose.
What Drives You? What is my Purpose?
What is your purpose? Have you ever thought about that? Everything has a purpose (in the 2nd Matrix this subject is hit on really well). So what is yours?
Mine, in terms of specific missions, seems to fluctuate and change. In one season it may be doing the Ironman, in another, to work on some writing, in another, to lose weight, in another, to save a certain amount of money. But I am not talking about goals. My present overriding goal is to be back in South Africa on around December 10. To do the half Ironman this coming weekend (no time specified, the goal is simply to compete). But what about the broader paradigm, the guiding reason for me being here?
I see my identity as being an artist (particularly a writer). This appears to be the truest way to see myself, because I know myself as someone very visual, imaginative and creative, but also moody, emotional and sometimes inconsistent.
But that's identity, what is my purpose. Is my life purpose driven, or driven by anger, or guilt, or a need to please, or for approval.
My purpose: to inspire others. That's it. One of the ways I do that now is through teaching, and I am finding that my current venue doesn't fulfill me in this respect nearly enough. My mission in broader terms is to inspire others with passion, vision and insight. That may make me in the broadest sense a Communicator, a Messenger, a teacher, a coach, a motivator, or even just a manager. It may also mean I write and communicate in various ways, messages, pictures, words, images, that convey something inspirational.
I hope this website will continue to serve that primary purpose of lifting the spirits of those who read it.
South Africa presses into extra virgin oil market
18 July 2005
RIEBEEK KASTEEL: South Africa's wines have won fans around the world, but few gourmets know about the country's other contribution to fine dining � extra virgin olive oil.
That could soon change if the growing number of boutique oil-makers in South Africa, who say their product compares with the best from Spain, Italy and Greece, have their way.
"Producers (in South Africa) are going really big � it's going to be an exciting industry in a couple of years," said Paul Robinson, marketing and sales director for Willow Creek, one of the country's top oil-makers.
Willow Creek, in the Nuy valley in the heart of South Africa's main wine-making region in the Western Cape, won a coveted Grand Mention Diploma this year at the Leone d'Oro dei Mastri Oleari olive oil awards in Perugia, Italy, which Robinson said put the oil on a par with the best in the world.
Thanksgiving Day
I'm reading a few great books, and one of them has some effective principle based psychology (or self help). It's called LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS and one of the imbedded virtues of the book is that it is written by a very well qualified and experienced teacher. His subject: human behaviour.
He offered his students this assignment: To go through a 24 hour period trying not to complain, and if they feel a complaint welling up, to write each one down. He says in over twenty years of teaching, and something like 70 000 students, he's only had 4 students who got through the period without feeling a need to complain.
He goes on to suggest that Gratitude/Thankfulness is the best habity to develop. This is because real enjoyment starts with an appreciative attitude, and none of the success we all dream about will ever come if we are based on our complaints for what we don't have, instead of enjoying what we've got.
So I'm going to make a public list of what seems to me to be a fairly private subject at first glance. Except when you look at it, appreciating things like health, and friends, can be pretty universal attitudes to hold.
I'm Grateful for (abbreviated):
Things:
Zipp Wheels
Cannondale
Desktop +Sharp
Heart Rate Monitor
Books
Hmm - not many more things, maybe the farm and jeep and home away from home: 108 Klerck Avenue. Always good to be back there.
Investments and money I've saved.
LIVESTRONG wristband
Grey polartec fleece hat bought in Chamonix in '97
People (not complete!):
My lovely girlfriend
Dad, Casey Junior and Candice (and the memory of my Mother who died in 1989)
Can really fill this list!
Friends in SA (Allan/Alex/Mandy/Hugo/Les/Jenny,Jo,Marcelle etc.)
Friends in Korea (Corneli/Pete/Minjung/Song/Jerry/Rowan/Valentin/Venita/Jeremy etc.)
Friends in other foreign countries (Fiona (Singapore), Mark(UK), Tammy(OZ), Paul (Greece/Cyprus)etc.)
Current colleagues and some previous colleagues.
Old friends like Daniel,Franna,Mauritz,Albert,Petru, Hannes, Ane, Sophocles, Dirk etc
New friends in SA like Jean,Ilze,Alna,Yolandi
Extended family (Buddy, Marie, Michelle, Paddy, Gary, Shannon etc)
Friends of family like Tico and Ruth
Most ex-girlfriends, but I'm grateful for all I've learned from each special experience.
New friends and acquaintances in Korea like Sun Young, Sunny, EE Sung Hee etc etc.
Other:
Health
Writing background/talent
Swimming background/talent
Triathlon
Art talent
AAA Advertising School - fun and learnt a lot, and for once loved studying and doing homework
Work at The Jupiter Drawing Room (met some amazingly creative people in an exciting and colorful environment
2 years in The United Kingdom, especially the second, and especially the time in London, the Isles of Skye, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland
Work At Mr Delivery in Gardens (which meant deliveries in Tamboerskloof, Clifton, Camps Bay, Seapoint, even occasionally in Llandudno, in Cape Town. Was a lot of fun, met a lot of people and saw a heck of a lot. Allowed me to meet CEO's, develop my big idea and actually get out and do something with an idea.
University (all 9 years, but especially the first and last!)
Awesome childhood, holidays in Transkei, waterskiing, hiking, Hout Bay, swimming...
Debt free
Spiritual Journey/Relationship with God
New Dreams and goals that are forming again
I'm also grateful for my job. Is pretty stress free, have good relations with all of my colleagues, and is very comfortable in terms of few work commitments, comparatively few working hours and decent pay.
My apartment was handpicked by me, and it's the best home I've had to date in Korea.
It's interesting, looking back at that list, how low money is on it, and also that people basically outnumber everything else at least 3 to 1. It's also important to value and appreciate oneself, and invest in oneself, recognise one's talents and gifts, in order to move those dreams and goals (on my list they are at the bottom) all the way to the top.
The writer of the book mentioned above, described this as probably the most important assignment he has ever given his students, particularly in terms of their response and insights into their own lives. He said once students did this assignment, to make a list of everything they appreciate, they entered his classroom visibly more upbeat, positive, light and smiling and open and positive towards new things. I'd like to encourage you here to do the same, right now. Grab a piece of paper and 10 minutes and think about your life.
What can be more wonderful than living each day with a powerful and clear sense of mission and purpose...
He offered his students this assignment: To go through a 24 hour period trying not to complain, and if they feel a complaint welling up, to write each one down. He says in over twenty years of teaching, and something like 70 000 students, he's only had 4 students who got through the period without feeling a need to complain.
He goes on to suggest that Gratitude/Thankfulness is the best habity to develop. This is because real enjoyment starts with an appreciative attitude, and none of the success we all dream about will ever come if we are based on our complaints for what we don't have, instead of enjoying what we've got.
So I'm going to make a public list of what seems to me to be a fairly private subject at first glance. Except when you look at it, appreciating things like health, and friends, can be pretty universal attitudes to hold.
I'm Grateful for (abbreviated):
Things:
Zipp Wheels
Cannondale
Desktop +Sharp
Heart Rate Monitor
Books
Hmm - not many more things, maybe the farm and jeep and home away from home: 108 Klerck Avenue. Always good to be back there.
Investments and money I've saved.
LIVESTRONG wristband
Grey polartec fleece hat bought in Chamonix in '97
People (not complete!):
My lovely girlfriend
Dad, Casey Junior and Candice (and the memory of my Mother who died in 1989)
Can really fill this list!
Friends in SA (Allan/Alex/Mandy/Hugo/Les/Jenny,Jo,Marcelle etc.)
Friends in Korea (Corneli/Pete/Minjung/Song/Jerry/Rowan/Valentin/Venita/Jeremy etc.)
Friends in other foreign countries (Fiona (Singapore), Mark(UK), Tammy(OZ), Paul (Greece/Cyprus)etc.)
Current colleagues and some previous colleagues.
Old friends like Daniel,Franna,Mauritz,Albert,Petru, Hannes, Ane, Sophocles, Dirk etc
New friends in SA like Jean,Ilze,Alna,Yolandi
Extended family (Buddy, Marie, Michelle, Paddy, Gary, Shannon etc)
Friends of family like Tico and Ruth
Most ex-girlfriends, but I'm grateful for all I've learned from each special experience.
New friends and acquaintances in Korea like Sun Young, Sunny, EE Sung Hee etc etc.
Other:
Health
Writing background/talent
Swimming background/talent
Triathlon
Art talent
AAA Advertising School - fun and learnt a lot, and for once loved studying and doing homework
Work at The Jupiter Drawing Room (met some amazingly creative people in an exciting and colorful environment
2 years in The United Kingdom, especially the second, and especially the time in London, the Isles of Skye, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland
Work At Mr Delivery in Gardens (which meant deliveries in Tamboerskloof, Clifton, Camps Bay, Seapoint, even occasionally in Llandudno, in Cape Town. Was a lot of fun, met a lot of people and saw a heck of a lot. Allowed me to meet CEO's, develop my big idea and actually get out and do something with an idea.
University (all 9 years, but especially the first and last!)
Awesome childhood, holidays in Transkei, waterskiing, hiking, Hout Bay, swimming...
Debt free
Spiritual Journey/Relationship with God
New Dreams and goals that are forming again
I'm also grateful for my job. Is pretty stress free, have good relations with all of my colleagues, and is very comfortable in terms of few work commitments, comparatively few working hours and decent pay.
My apartment was handpicked by me, and it's the best home I've had to date in Korea.
It's interesting, looking back at that list, how low money is on it, and also that people basically outnumber everything else at least 3 to 1. It's also important to value and appreciate oneself, and invest in oneself, recognise one's talents and gifts, in order to move those dreams and goals (on my list they are at the bottom) all the way to the top.
The writer of the book mentioned above, described this as probably the most important assignment he has ever given his students, particularly in terms of their response and insights into their own lives. He said once students did this assignment, to make a list of everything they appreciate, they entered his classroom visibly more upbeat, positive, light and smiling and open and positive towards new things. I'd like to encourage you here to do the same, right now. Grab a piece of paper and 10 minutes and think about your life.
What can be more wonderful than living each day with a powerful and clear sense of mission and purpose...
News From the Korean Rollercoaster
I decided not to mention last night, that, as I was leaving work, I spoke to a Korean girl who described herself as "an English teacher." After my experience at the other GnB, where a new teacher pitched up out of the blue, and ended up confirming my status of part time/temporary worker/soon to be obsolete, this seemed a little ominous.
Late last night, I got an email from Jane, and I have to say it makes me a little sad:
I don't need to go to the institute today (Tuesday). The director didn't want to accept my point of view toward the education for children. I told him I wanted to work until he find the right person instead of me. At first he tried to persuade me to change my mind. But as I expected he ran out of his patience shortly. He shouted to me " Seek the comfortable place you want!!!"
She goes on to say:
My poor students...... Some of them had to experience changing their English teachers 6 times for half and a year.
The director yesterday didn't greet me all day, but bent right over me to make sure a plug was plugged in. His only words to me were at one point where I was checking my email, and he said, "Teaching time." Thanks buddy.
After what Jane writes I realise he must have been going through agony (I remember at one point he was practically gouging out his forehead while I was talking)when we had our conversation and I made a few suggestions for his school (about applying some basic rules). I remember he said he would speak to the students, he's made a couple of statements like that, none of which have turned into anything.
On a more positive note, Jane had these wise and kind words to say as well:
I hope I can take advantage of this experience to mature myself.
Nick! I anticipate your lovely books fulled with love for the world. We really really need that kind of books... ... for us and... ... for the ages to come.
She was referring to the children's stories I'm working on and has also put me in contact with a local illustrator. Must remember to follow up on our latest correspondence.
More news is that Corneli is going to Thailand during her holiday. That should be an interesting break for her. Will be pretty damn hot there now though, I would imagine. I'm wondering whether to let her use my camera to capture the beautiful tropical paradise scenery.
I might make a short 1 or 2 day trip to Busan or Gyeongju on the highspeed KTX, but something tells me that travelling in Korea while the Koreans are on holiday is just a bad idea, and the heat is also insufferable. I'll actually be happy to just build up my fitness, do very long cycles towards Han Tan Gang and Cheolwon and get into the pool some more.
I said to Corneli that I did, after all, take a 3 month break, earlier this year, so I think it is a bit extravagant to want to take another holiday. Obviously I'd like to. I'd also love to go back to the Philippines. My holiday there was one of my favorite experiences during my 3 years here.
Am considering making a detour during my trip back to South Africa, which may go via Thailand or Singapore or both, so am looking forward to that. It will depend on my own fiscal discipline.
Last snippet of news: 189 riders started this years Tour. There are 160 survivors, and only 5 teams that are intact (with all 9 riders) out of 14 or more teams.
Late last night, I got an email from Jane, and I have to say it makes me a little sad:
I don't need to go to the institute today (Tuesday). The director didn't want to accept my point of view toward the education for children. I told him I wanted to work until he find the right person instead of me. At first he tried to persuade me to change my mind. But as I expected he ran out of his patience shortly. He shouted to me " Seek the comfortable place you want!!!"
She goes on to say:
My poor students...... Some of them had to experience changing their English teachers 6 times for half and a year.
The director yesterday didn't greet me all day, but bent right over me to make sure a plug was plugged in. His only words to me were at one point where I was checking my email, and he said, "Teaching time." Thanks buddy.
After what Jane writes I realise he must have been going through agony (I remember at one point he was practically gouging out his forehead while I was talking)when we had our conversation and I made a few suggestions for his school (about applying some basic rules). I remember he said he would speak to the students, he's made a couple of statements like that, none of which have turned into anything.
On a more positive note, Jane had these wise and kind words to say as well:
I hope I can take advantage of this experience to mature myself.
Nick! I anticipate your lovely books fulled with love for the world. We really really need that kind of books... ... for us and... ... for the ages to come.
She was referring to the children's stories I'm working on and has also put me in contact with a local illustrator. Must remember to follow up on our latest correspondence.
More news is that Corneli is going to Thailand during her holiday. That should be an interesting break for her. Will be pretty damn hot there now though, I would imagine. I'm wondering whether to let her use my camera to capture the beautiful tropical paradise scenery.
I might make a short 1 or 2 day trip to Busan or Gyeongju on the highspeed KTX, but something tells me that travelling in Korea while the Koreans are on holiday is just a bad idea, and the heat is also insufferable. I'll actually be happy to just build up my fitness, do very long cycles towards Han Tan Gang and Cheolwon and get into the pool some more.
I said to Corneli that I did, after all, take a 3 month break, earlier this year, so I think it is a bit extravagant to want to take another holiday. Obviously I'd like to. I'd also love to go back to the Philippines. My holiday there was one of my favorite experiences during my 3 years here.
Am considering making a detour during my trip back to South Africa, which may go via Thailand or Singapore or both, so am looking forward to that. It will depend on my own fiscal discipline.
Last snippet of news: 189 riders started this years Tour. There are 160 survivors, and only 5 teams that are intact (with all 9 riders) out of 14 or more teams.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Art?
Is this art? That's the Saatchi Gallery in London, in the background. Would you do something like this? Not sure if I would, but I saw it this morning and it stuck in my head...more for the tones...the sort of skin tones of the building in the background...as a kind of extension of the living foreground. If I was the artist I don't think I'd have everyone looking like corpses. It feels too Auschwitz or Kristalnacht. I'd have people in natural poses, maybe carrying flowers in their hair or something.
Afterthought: Any complaints for the graphic/unsightly/upsetting nature of this or other images below should be emailed to idontre@llycare.com or the artist himself at http://www.spencertunick.com/
An Approriate Image For the Text Below?
It was a very bloody weekend in Iraq, including a gasoline tanker truck bomb on Saturday evening in the commercial center of Masayyib, where people had come out to shop and mingle once the fierce heat of the midsummer day abated. The explosion killed a hundred people, while half a dozen regular car bombs went off elsewhere around Baghdad...
(text from www.kunstler.com)
Interesting Reading...
Some interesting articles (abbreviated here):
America's Truth Deficit
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/opinion/
18greider.html?th&emc=th
By WILLIAM GREIDER
Published: July 18, 2005
Washington
DURING the cold war, as the Soviet economic system slowly unraveled, internal reform was impossible because highly placed officials who recognized the systemic disorders could not talk about them honestly. The United States is now in an equivalent predicament. Its weakening position in the global trading system is obvious and ominous, yet leaders in politics, business, finance and the news media are not willing to discuss candidly what is happening and why. Instead, they recycle the usual bromides about the benefits of free trade and assurances that everything will work out for the best.
Much like Soviet leaders, the American establishment is enthralled by utopian convictions - the market orthodoxy of free trade globalization. The United States is heading for yet another record trade deficit in 2005, possibly 25 percent larger than last year's. Our economy's international debt position - accumulated from many years of tolerating larger and larger trade deficits - began compounding ferociously in the last five years. Our net foreign indebtedness is now more than 25 percent of gross domestic product and at the current pace will reach 50 percent in four or five years.
For a British Novelist, a Fictional Plot Jarringly Leads to a Real-Life Problem
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/
technology/18link.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=
1121695797-Gb+pNHq1Yd3cYj0DJQ8+pA
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: July 18, 2005
FOR Chris Cleave, a British writer, the date stamp "7/7" will forever mark the bizarre convergence of two events: the deadly terrorist attack in London two weeks ago and the debut of his first novel, "Incendiary" - a story of despair and recovery in the wake of, yes, a deadly terrorist attack in London.
Indeed, as smoke billowed up from London's Underground on July 7, dozens of promotional posters for the book stared out from the subway walls - their images of smoke rising from the London skyline suddenly raw and offensive, their tagline, "What If?", suddenly ignorant.
Executives at Chatto & Windus, the Random House imprint that published the book in Britain, quickly had the posters removed. Print ads for the book were also withdrawn, and publicity engagements were canceled.
Mr. Cleave supported all of those decisions. "By sorrowful coincidence the day my book was published," Mr. Cleave wrote in The Sunday Telegraph last week, "its fictional world became murderous, brutal reality."
But for Mr. Cleave, questions of whether and how to proceed with promoting his novel lingered. So last Monday, he turned to the Internet and asked the world for guidance.
"Is it disrespectful to the families of the victims for me to keep endorsing it?" Mr. Cleave wrote in a Web forum he created. "Or would it be a greater disrespect if I didn't?"
In a telephone interview last week, Mr. Cleave said he had received hundreds of responses - through both the forum and private e-mail messages. They ranged from encouraging and thoughtful ("your book didn't cause the bombings"), to indifferent ("blah, blah, blah ... it's a book"), poignant ("art is more important than murderers") and strange ("my 'remote viewing' skills were unable to pinpoint the locations of possible terrorist attacks in England").
But more than anything, Mr. Cleave said, the responses have given him access to the views of people - in London and around the globe - as they take stock of a terrorist attack and try to move on.
"As a writer, I'm quite isolated sometimes," Mr. Cleave said. "I sit in my small room in my small flat looking out the window at this one particular tree - and that's my input."
www.chriscleave.com.
Tour's Pedal Pals: Stage to Hincapie; Armstrong Rolls On
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/
sports/sportsspecial/18tour.html
By SAMUEL ABT
Published: July 18, 2005
ST.-LARY-SOULAN, France, July 17 - In a day of triumph for the Discovery Channel team, Lance Armstrong solidified his hold on the lead of the Tour de France and, in a surprise, his teammate George Hincapie won the stage through six daunting climbs in the Pyrenees on Sunday.
Armstrong, center, checked out Jan Ullrich, right, during the 128-mile stage. Ivan Basso, left, moved into second while Ullrich stayed in fourth.
George Hincapie, Armstrong's teammate, won Sunday's stage.
"The greatest day of my career," Hincapie said. "I just won the biggest race of my life. I can't believe I won the hardest mountain stage in the Tour. I'm in shock right now."
Hincapie, who was born in Queens and grew up in Farmingdale, on Long Island, said that when he saw Armstrong after the finish, "He said, 'Unbelievable,' and gave me a big hug."
Hincapie is the only teammate of Armstrong's who has been with him for all six of his Tour victories, and they are neighbors in Girona, Spain, during the season.
"An exploit," Armstrong said of Hincapie's feat in the 15th stage. "You can't beat winning this stage.
Dereliction of Duty?
Was this a dereliction of duty? George Hincapie, a native New Yorker and cycling companion of Lance Armstrong's for a staggering 20 year period (they've cycled together since they were young teeneagers) won yesterday's hideously tough 15th stage.
His first stage win in the Tour de France, and possibly his first ever. Not because he is not a good rider, he is one of the best (the fact that he won Sunday's toughest stage of the entire Tour says something), but because his job as a domestique (roughly translated its a servant/domestic worker/worker bee) means all his efforts are for his team leader, Lance. In yesterday's stage he pulled to as much as 18 minutes ahead of Lance's peloton. Bruyneel, when he saw that Lance's group would probably not catch the breakaway group containing Hincapie, allowed him the opportunity, which rarely comes in professional cycling, to ride for himself. He did and won. Armstrong described the day as perfect, and what better way to celebrate a last Tour than having his best and most loyal lieutenant winning a stage, wearing yellow for once.
Can I be accused of a dereliction of duty today? In all the but the first two and last two classes I let the students play hangman. Was just so hot...
I later realised that since I've started working at the school in May, we haven't played a single game! I mean, a game that abandons the books completely. I like to incorporate fun and playfulness into the actual content. Was gratifying to see Peter, one of the most cunning of the naughty students, who also seems particularly clueless when it comes to reading or anything else in English, really participating and trying to guess the letters. Some interesting words and short phrases: Pomegranate, airconditioner, salad, roller coaster and bumpe(r) car, Brachiosauros...
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