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Last Updated: 08/15/2020
Basement Water Damage Cleanup in Van Buren Mi
Put big objects a couple of inches away from the interior of exterior walls to improve air circulation. Set up and use extractor fans in bathrooms, kitchens, and wash rooms. Ventilate and insulate the attic and crawlspaces. Use thick plastic to cover earth floors in crawlspaces. Clean and dry water damaged carpets, articles of clothing, bedclothes, and upholstered furniture within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, or think about getting rid of and replacing damaged furnishings. Vacuum and clean your household on a regular basis to remove mold spores. Check out your windows for signs of condensation and water droplets. Wipe it away immediately so that mold cannot start to develop. If you adopt the advice above, you will quickly be able to curb water damage mold in your house, and make it a safer, healthier place to live. You know you have mold whenever you are able to smell the "fusty" odor or see small black or white tinges on your damp bathroom or basement walls. Some mold is concealed behind wall coatings or ceiling tiles. Even dry, dead mold can be bad for your health, so always take precautions when you suspect mold.
For most home owners, water damage is a more likely event than a fire disaster. Remove water as soon as possible with mops, old cloths and towels. Clean water from wood surfaces to avoid warping. Wrap aluminum foil on furniture legs as a barrier between the water and the furniture. Air out the property during winter by opening windows. Remove valuables and store in safe place. Send water damaged personal items to a professional restoration facility. Remove wet area rugs, books and magazines from floor so they do not bleed and stain; spread out books and magazines for even drying. Blot wet carpet with clean white towels. Raise wet draperies off wet carpet. Make holes in wet sagging ceiling to reduce trapped water pressure and collect water in buckets placed under the holes created. Removing water from your home after a flood from a natural disaster, overflowing toilet or burst pipe is extremely important to prevent mold and mildew from developing and spreading. If the damage is severe, call a flood clean up restoration company to remove the water, dry the premises, check for mold damage and repair, rebuild or reconstruct the property.
Basement Flooding in Van Buren Mi
In, to fight emergency water damage, a professional might use a hydrosensor and moisture counters. The moisture counters can measure the amount of moisture that has gotten into brick, wood, plastics, and other materials like drywall without causing any damage to them. What is really great in an emergency situation is that they can be used throughout the water damage repairs to make sure that the amount of moisture is in fact going down with treatment. The hydrosensor is used to track the path that water travels on underneath carpeting. Even if the top of the carpet feels dry to the touch, these tools can find the water and trace its path.
Air scrubbers do exactly what it sounds like they do: They clean the air after water damage. They are used to eliminate the dangerous mold spores and other tiny contaminants in the air that can exacerbate asthma, allergies, and other respiratory maladies. Improving air quality back to the level of good old quality is important in emergency water damage restoration. The air scrubbers also eliminate odors that are in the air.
Contractors also might use a hygrometer to restore your home after water damage. The hygrometer measures the temperature and the relative humidity conditions in your home. professionals may decide to keep a hygrometer running for the entire length of the emergency repairs. Some hygrometers can record and store information for several running days, logging the readings that it takes, ensuring that progress is in fact being made.
In, when you need emergency water damage restoration, you need it fast. It is a race against time when it comes to water, and water damage professionals can come to conquer with a whole slew of weapons to help restore and preserve your home.
48111, 48174, 48184
|Disaster Cleanup Index
|Basement Flooded Index
|Flood Damage Cleanup Index
|Water Restoration Companies Index
Union Water Damage Extraction | Vienna Mold Remediation
Michigan Water Removal Service


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Monthly Archives: September 2016
Houston apartment rents are down, but not for everyone
Photo: Katherine Feser, Houston Chronicle An apartment project on South Braeswood just inside Loop 610, is one of many complexes under construction in the Houston area. The glut of new apartments is dragging down average rents in Houston, with rent … Continue reading
Posted in Market trends, real estate, Rents Tagged invest in real estate, rent growth Leave a comment
Market Pulse for August 2016
Market Pulse section compiled by Suzann Silverman. To comment, email firstname.lastname@example.com. Multifamily Starts: Housing starts of buildings with five or more units rose by 1.3 percent over the month of May 2016 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 396,000. … Continue reading
Posted in Forecast, Growth, Market trends Tagged home prices, Housing Markets, multifamily Leave a comment

subset: commoncrawl


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My family took big trips, small trips, and some very unique trips at times too. We would go to Gatlinburg TN most summers, and Myrtle Beach some years as well. Twice we went to Niagra Falls, and once, we took a two week road trip west to Provo, Utah where my Dad had some business. Since he was going anyway, he loaded the family up and made it a working vacation. We went to Chicago, Memphis, Arches National Park, all through Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and all across Utah.
Some of my favorite vacation memories though are of going on "Wagon Train". My Dad was the president of a horse riding club, and for two weeks each summer, the club would go on wagon train. They had all built old wagons, and would ride in a train from stop to stop and camp for the night. Some drove the wagons, while others pulled the campers and got them set up at the next location while the wagons and riders took all day to get there. Some stops would be just for a night, while others were for 2 nights. My favorite stop was always at the lake where we would stay 3 nights.
After the long day of riding in the wagons, the evenings would be filled with camp fires, live music and singing provided by the members who could pick guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas. There would also be cake walks, and my favorite event, watermelon races! They would group everyone together by age group and line them up, and then place a watermelon about 30 yards away. When the race started, the first to get it got to keep it, and he/she and their friends would snack on watermelon that night.
That would be young me in the center of this pic!


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Happy Day after Labor Day Weekend! My hubby Dave and I had a last-minute opportunity for a "stay-cation" when he got two extra days off, so I've been offline enjoying day trips over the Labor Day weekend.
Now I'm on a mission to finally finish this series on Preventing Procrastination, Prizing Prioritizing, and Pursuing Purpose – focusing on this third and final segment on pursuing purpose.
Thanks again to all who have followed along, read, and commented… and if you're just stopping in for the first time, you can catch the very first post in the series here: Procrastination, Priorities, Purpose – Part 1 – Defining Procrastination.
These final few posts are about how to pursue purpose, and will wrap up with a reflection on this series, and a look at what to expect as we continue toward fall in this month of September.
This blog post is about pursuing purpose by:
*Initiating Solutions*
So let's start with making sure we understand what this directive means. The word "initiate" means to cause a process or action to start. Solutions, of course, are means to solving problems or dealing with difficult situations.
The key here is that initiating solutions requires action on our part – if we aren't willing to do our part, it's difficult to reach a reasonable, timely solution. If where we are at, or what we are doing, is not working for us and not helping us to move forward toward pursuing our purpose…then something needs to change.
Here are some more words of wisdom from Joyce Meyer, in Starting Your Day Right:
"Sometimes we complain about things
that we could change
if we would stop feeling sorry for ourselves
long enough to do something about them.
We can choose to be free
or remain in bondage to self-pity.
We can choose to be pitiful or powerful."
–Joyce Meyer
So what's the next step in pursuing your purpose? Initiate solutions and continue to move forward in your journey to prevent procrastination, prioritize priorities, and pursue purpose.
So what do YOU think?
Do these concepts and quotes resonate with you? Can you relate?
Are you prepared to move forward by initiating solutions?


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So pasta is the best thing in the universe right? It is my go to comfort food, if I feel ill I whip up a batch of macaroni cheese and the world is complete again. Add seafood to pasta and I am sold, I look for it on every new menu and will 99% of the time order it over anything else. But enough about me and my overwhelming desire to be pasta. This dish is quick and easy to make, in fact you can do the whole process in 30 minutes. Something you guys have told me is a key thing to you making a recipe. The garlic and chilli are a great base for the tomato sauce, and the samphire brings a lovely salty texture.
If you are a heat lover, simply add more chillies and of you are really, really short of time, simply whack all of the ingredients needed for the sauce in a blender. This will create a smoother sauce, but shouldn't take away any flavour. Hope you love it, just off to go and lick the pan.
Serves 2, Prep time 10 mins, Cook time 15-20 mins
- 280g of peeled king prawns
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
- 250g of linguine pasta
- 1 fish stock cube (only half needed)
- 100ml of boiling water (for stock)
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 red and 1 green chilli
- 1 tsp of tomato puree
- Handful of samphire
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
- Lemon
- Place a large pot of water on to boil, add a dash of olive oil.
- Peel garlic and chop along with chillies until fine, keeps seeds in chilli for heat.
- Dilute half a fish stock cube in 100ml of boiling water and set aside, you will only be using 50ml of the 100ml total.
- Once your pan of water is boiling, add your pasta and set up another pan with a good glug of olive oil on a medium heat.
- Add your chopped garlic and chilli to the new pan and cook until softened (about three minutes.)
- Drain three quarters of the juice from your tin of tomatoes using a close sieve, add tomatoes to chilli and garlic and cook for three mins.
- Add your tomato puree and prawns (if using raw, make sure you cook them until completely pink.)
- Stir everything together and add 50ml of your fish stock.
- Reduce down, stirring occasionally. Should take about 7 minutes.
- Whilst this is reducing, pop a steamer over your pasta pan with the samphire in and cook for three minutes. I use a bamboo steamer, but a metal one will work fine. Or even a metal colander.
- Check a strand of pasta to see if it's to your liking, then drain pasta and add to your pan with the sauce. Mix, plate up and top with the samphire and black pepper. Squeeze over some lemon juice.


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(Authentic) POWERFUL PEOPLE "Truly" Serve Others WELL!
3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.
3:6 Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.
3:7 Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the LORD and refuse to do wrong.
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Seth Rickard
Seth has served on the Strawdog Board of Directors since 2010, serving as Board President from 2010–2017. He is a sales specialist with Oscar Isberian Rugs based in Evanston and River North in Chicago. Seth has continually been involved in the performing arts, performing on stage at the collegiate level as a vocal music performer in various Musical Theater and Operatic productions including Bizet's Carmen.
Presently he pursues his musical hobby through Music Composition and in 2006 his original performance piece was selected by the TCU theatre department to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Seth is pleased to be a supporter of Strawdog Theatre Company as well as other arts organizations throughout the city. He is an Alumnus of Michigan State University.


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You are now leaving this site and you'll be redirected to the Interbrand Global website.
adidas is the original sports brand, driven by innovation and a call to action. Creativity is what fuels us—whether it's on the field, on the court, or on the street, creativity is our inspiration. We are obsessed with helping athletes make a difference in their game and in their life because we believe through sport we have the power to change lives. Our focus is to create the best product, the best services and the best experiences for our consumer and we invite them to explore new territories and co-create the future with us. adidas.com.


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Umbraco Load Balancing
Target Audience
Umbraco Developers & Operations Engineers
You will need experience of developing ASP.NET MVC applications with Umbraco and have a general understanding of load balancing concepts. You will need to know how to use Visual Studio and a familiarity with the Azure portal would be beneficial.
By the end of this course, you will have a good understanding of how to load balance Umbraco and the strategies you need to have in place when developing a codebase that needs to be able to scale across multiple servers. You will also be confident that you can deploy an Umbraco based application to the Azure Cloud and that it will be correctly configured and stable.
Topics Covered
We have divided the learning into two parts:
Part 1:
- Configuration for load balancing Umbraco
- Non-synchronised and synchronised configurations
- How to develop and test a load balanced Umbraco application locally
- How to use SQL Server Session State
- How to develop code for cache events
- How to control and configure different Umbraco server roles
Part 2:
- Umbraco configuration for Azure Web Apps
- How to use Azure Redis for Session State
- How to use WebDeploy to deploy Umbraco to Azure Web Apps
- Using Azure Storage Blobs for Media
- Using Application Insights with Umbraco
The Umbraco Load Balancing and Azure course is a classroom-based course. After completing the course and the test, you will be rewarded 50 certification points. Have a look at our training schedule to see when there's a course near you:


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Enjoy the great outdoors in Sunderland with your family.
Stay a while in Sunderland. Great value, high quality hotels, guest houses and more...
Test out your sandcastle building skills at Roker and Seaburn beaches.
My itineraries
There is always something to see and do in Sunderland; take part in our programme of events and festivals, many of which are free!
What's on today? What's on this week?
Blockbuster West End shows are staged at the Sunderland Empire, the biggest theatre between Edinbugh and Manchester.
See it Do it Sunderland


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BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo Division of Athletics and Blue and White Fund has jointly announced a new crowdfunding campaign called UB Horns Up. Crowdfunding offers our donors, alumni and fans a new avenue to provide direct support to our teams and what is most meaningful to them.
The initial launch of the campaign will begin with fall sports: football, volleyball, and men's and women's soccer as well as the UB sports performance department. The following sites have been launched with more coming in the future:
Horns Up Home Page – https://www.ubhornsup.com/
Football – https://www.ubhornsup.com/football
Volleyball – https://www.ubhornsup.com/volleyball
Men's & Women's Soccer – https://www.ubhornsup.com/soccer
Sports Performance – https://www.ubhornsup.com/sportsperformance
Crowdfunding also assists our student-athletes and coaches achieve their philanthropic goals in our quest to bring a consistent championship culture to UB both academically and athletically. It will take a championship commitment on the part of many people. We hope you will be part of this commitment and join our team. TOGETHER we can do great things. WE ARE THE BULLS – Horns Up!


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Internet based Dairy Information System – A business expansion tool
NDDB initiated an Internet-based Dairy Information System (i-DIS) in 2001 with a view to provide a platform through which all the unions and federations can share their data with other unions and also a unique opportunity for each union to compare its performance with other contemporary unions on varied performance parameters.
The system enables cooperative milk unions across the country to share key information such as number of village dairy cooperatives societies & their members, quantum of milk procured & sold, milk products made & sold and technical inputs supplied among others.
Structure of the System
The i-DIS is basically a web based system under which each milk union keys-in the data related to its operations. This data is validated by the NDDB Officer(s) in concerned metro offices. The final data resides in the central server located at Anand for use of all milk unions/federations.
The data are captured at varying frequency -
- Monthly: Operational information related to procurement and its utilisation;
- Quarterly: Institutional along with technical inputs;
- Financial: Business related details
- Ad-hoc: Other information related to board, employees, training, etc. as and when changed.
Presently, around 198 milk unions, 29 marketing dairies, 54 cattle feed plants and 15 federations under cooperative ambit participate in this information network. Orientation workshops are organised annually for MIS personnel of milk unions across the country to improve the quality of information reported.
After posting raw data regularly, the system generates more than 90 types of pre-structured performance reports. The reports are designed in such a manner that each union can compare its performance with other unions having similar processing infrastructure, procurement volume and product-mix on varied progress parameters. This analytical feedback enables the unions to review its performance and take corrective actions, if required. All reports can be saved in MS-Excel format, enabling users to do further analysis.
- Direct Data Entry by the organisations generating the data helps in:
- reducing the time taken for data to reach the apex organisation; and
- eliminating duplication in data entry which results in reduction of errors and costs.
- Timely availability of information, strengthen the decision making process.
- Reports providing information to member dairies which help them identify areas for improvement by comparisons to other dairies.
- Provides a ready frame work for data ware housing and data mining applications.
Information is a treasure – an experience of Visakha Milk Union
Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers Company Limited which has liquid milk sale operation across India is located at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It procures milk from five costal districts of the state, namely, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari.
The milk procurement of the then Visakha Union had declined to 3.9 lakh kg per day in 2007-08 from 4.1 lakh kg per day in 2005-06. Using IDIS information of milk procurement and membership and their trends of neighbouring unions of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the union prepared a plan for increasing milk collection from their milk shed areas. While doing so, the Union used DCS wise average milk collection, identified the DCSs which had reported fall in milk collection, prepared strategies for increased collection unit wise and supervisor wise and shared with Route Supervisors with a time bound target to improve milk collection.
The focused supervision yielded results in 2008-09. The upward trend in milk collection continued unabated. The Union now collects about 6 lakh Kg per day with an incremental volume of about 11% per annum. This was achieved through a strategy to reach out to uncovered areas in the milk shed and at the same time increasing the intensity of milk collection from the existing collection areas. In all such strategic decisions IDIS data was extensively used to generate lead which was translated down to grass route level for improved milk collection. This achievement prompted the Union to expand its milk processing capacity from 3 LLPD to 5 LLPD.
Considering the importance of taking informed policy decisions, many unions use this system. It is further envisaged that with the improvement in data accuracy, timely reporting and active participation of unions, dairies, cattle feed plants and federations, the utility of the system will be enhanced greatly benefitting all the stakeholders.


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Oaxaca is in the midst of revolt and resistance. A mass of the residents united in popular assemblies have termed Oaxaca City an independent and self managed commune (relating it to the Paris Commune of 1871), the APPO. The popular assemblies took form when citizens joined in and aided with striking teachers from Section 22 of the SÃndicato Nacionál Trajabadores Educativas (Teachers Union) who were attacked by security forces loyal to Oaxaca's ruling Governor. The initial teachers strike and subsequent attack on it by government (and paramilitary) forces happened earlier this summer. The popular assemblies and it Commune have continued since.
The assemblies are semi-mass bodies, multi-tendency, and have functioned as a dual power in Oaxaca. Workers, students, Leftists, anarchists have all participated in the Communes organization and life.
This past weekend security forces attacked yet again and killed several people including a U.S. based anarchist and journalist.
Oaxaca, like other regions of Mexico that have experienced revolt againstst the Mexican government, are highly influenced by both the legacy of Zapatista struggle and of radical syndicalism (which has a long history of participatory politics and libertarian socialism in Mexico going back to the anarchist unions and radicals like the Magon brothers).
In a world where the Left resistance continues to be inspired and characterizeded by centralized and authoritarian parties, Oaxaca and the struggle in Mexico represents the popular and libertarian spirit of revolt. Oaxaca representsts an example of a resistance not bound by the cult of authority - vanguard or parliamentary.


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So a few weeks ago I was on television, doing a little comic "bit" about unfocused online haters, the climax of which involved me going into a diatribe wherein I angrily imagined one of them toiling away behind the counter of a fast food restaurant. And shortly after it aired I received tweets and comments from people complaining I was a snob: that I was in effect saying anyone who works in a burger bar is a scummy non-person; a grunting subservient ape-slave deserving nothing but open scorn and the occasional kick to the face, provided it's their birthday.
That hadn't been my intention, but I can see why some people interpreted it that way (thanks to some clumsy writing on my part, and an absent "qualifying" section, which got excised at the last minute). Anyway, it bugged me. It bugged me because although I've never worked in a fast-food restaurant, I did spend several years working as a shop assistant – and during that time I learned, as anyone who spends their week standing behind a counter quickly learns, that the worst kind of customers are the ones who think they're automatically superior to you just because you're serving them. The ones who pop into Debenhams and suddenly think they're Henry VIII inspecting the serfs.
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat waiters and shop assistants, especially when you are one. The majority of people are perfectly capable of interacting with retail staff without spitting on them or whipping their hides like dawdling cattle, but planet Earth still harbours more than its fair share of disappointments.
The first surprise is that when it comes to arrogant customers, class isn't as big a factor as you might assume. True, I'd occasionally get a stereotypical ex-public-schoolboy blurting requests in my direction as though addressing a programmable service droid, or openly scolding me as if I was a failing member of his personal waiting staff – but the most overtly boorish behaviour came courtesy of people who weren't posh at all, but seemed to want to increase their own social standing by treating the person serving them like scum.
Then there were the people for whom even basic civility was an alien concept. I vividly recall one guy who sloped in wearing a loose pair of tracksuit trousers, absentmindedly playing with his own bollocks as he entered. He stood at the counter, scanning the display behind me and obliviously juggling his goolies – at one point literally reaching inside to re-arrange his collection – and then wiped his nose with the back of his hand, sucked the slime off it, pointed at an item he was interested in and said: "Show me that." Moments later he started an argument about how much it cost, demanded a discount, and, when I refused, called me an arsehole and knocked a load of boxes off a shelf by the door as he left. Based on that one five-minute encounter, more than 17 years ago, I'd be prepared to bet that man is today either dead or in jail. And probably still playing with his nuts.
But incidents like that were few and far between, partly because there was one major difference between the shop I was working in and almost every other shop in the world: you were allowed to talk back to the customers. In fact a certain level of sweary piss-taking was actively encouraged. It gave the place character, made the working day more fun, and reminded the frazzled shopper, on autopilot after several hours on Oxford Street, that they were dealing with a fellow human being.
Everyone who works in a shop should be allowed to openly take the piss out of their customers. It's far more British than the strain of imported corporate civility-by-numbers that megachain staff are sometimes forced to recite: the robotic "How can I help you?" mantras that only really make sense in America, because they're so friendly they actually mean it. The words don't feel false in their mouths. If I ran a national burger franchise – which I don't – I'd make it a rule that no two customers can be greeted with precisely the same words, and that every third customer must be grossly insulted as a matter of course. Just to keep the atmosphere nice and lively. And to keep the staff laughing.
Yes, laughing staff. That's the other irritating assumption people make about working in shops, especially burger bars – that the job must be so dismal, every single employee shuffles about in a perpetual state of misery, actively welcoming death. That only the utterly desperate or dumb could possibly stick it out. These characteristics could apply to almost any job, of course. What I disliked most about working as a shop assistant wasn't the occasional snooty customer, or the shop, or the hours, but they way people reacted when I told them I was a shop assistant – their automatic assumption that I didn't enjoy it. I didn't particularly enjoy my life at the time, but I did enjoy the job. Not every day, not constantly – but I liked it more than I disliked it. Maybe I'm odd. Maybe I was lucky and had unusually entertaining co-workers. Or maybe there are far, far worse things you could do.
Like judging people.
Unless you're a judge.
In which case, continue.


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About norm
|Number of pages
|Elektrische machines
|Published on
IEC 60034-25 describes the performance characteristics of a.c. electrical machines for use on converter supplies. For electrical machines specifically designed for converter duty application design features are defined. It also specifies the interface parameters and interactions between the electrical machine and the converter including installation guidance as part of a power drive system, but except for the voltage at the power interface which is described in IEC 61800-8. The general requirements of relevant parts of the IEC 60034 series of standards also apply to electrical machines within the scope of this technical specification. For electrical machines operating in potentially explosive atmospheres, additional requirements as described in the IEC 60079 series or IEC 61241 series for dust ignition proof apply. This technical specification is not primarily concerned with safety. However, some of its recommendations may have implications for safety, which should be considered as necessary. Where a converter manufacturer provides specific installation recommendations, they should take precedence over the recommendations of this technical specification.
|Dutch title
|Roterende elektrische machines - Deel 25: Leidraad voor de toepassing van kooiankermotoren bestemd voor voeding door omzetters
|English title
|Rotating electrical machines - Part 25: AC electrical machines used in power drive systems - Application guide


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This lecture has only one CD/MP3
[1 hr, 17min, 20 sec]
Michael Scofield presents a careful analysis of the factors which have led the Seventh-day Adventist Church to its current predicament related to the issue of women's ordination.
Michael Scofield is an Assistant Professor of Health Information Management at Loma Linda University. He is a popular speaker, writer, and consultant in the fields of data management, data quality assessment, and data visualization. Michael's career has included education and private industry in areas of data quality, decision-support systems, data warehousing, and data management. His articles appear in DM Review, the B-Eye Newsletter, InformationWeek magazine, the Northern California Oracle User Group Journal, the IBI Systems Journal, and other professional journals. He has spoken to over 240 professional audiences in these disciplines all over the U.S., in London, and Australia. Michael also has a variety of topics for general audiences, including: satellite imagery, the succession to the British monarchy, and various travel topics. He also has humor published in the L.A. Times and other journals.
San Diego Adventist Forum
PO Box 421320
San Diego, CA 92142
We invite and appreciate your feedback regarding any of our programs or services.


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Sunday, December 20, 2009
Another forest mission
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Ash Dash
Friday, December 11, 2009
Out along the Huon
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Riverbank Ramble 200km permanant.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tell me the old, old story.
I wish it wasn't so, and I also wish that every time this debate flares anew, those of us who cycle and who drive and who pay the taxes which build our roads could come up with a better response just ranting on the internet.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Blown away at the Mallee Routes
On paper this can be a wonderful ride through some wonderful countryside. There's a dinner on Friday night for the riders who gather from Adelaide and Melbourne and from even further afield. The accommodation at the Hopetoun bush retreats is top notch. The Mallee country is flat, the weather is usually warm and the Victorian country roads are quiet on AFL Grand Final day so it's a good time for a ride. The route passes through seemingly endless wheat and canola fields and lovely historic country towns. There are ride choices from 50km to 600km. I was intending to ride the 200km event, but despite the gloomy weather forecast, was talked into signing up for the 300km by ride organiser Peter Annear. My plan was to decide along the way - reverting to the 200km distance if the weather was as bad as the strong winds, rain, hail and possible thunderstorms the forecasts seemed to suggest.
Things didn't look too terrible at the 6am start and despite a bit of wind I made a pretty reasonable getaway riding in the small groups finding their legs on the long straight run towards Warracknabeal. A very quick stop at the roadhouse and I was again on my way - passing the 100km mark a few minutes under four hours. The tailwind along the leg to Birchip was phenomenal, pushing me along at a steady 30km/h. After a short stop to take off some clothing I found myself motoring down a slight incline at 44km/h chasing down a rider I'd been chatting away the miles with. I reached Burchip for a burger by 11am. My average speed at this point was over 25km/h and I was feeling strong.
Getting a tailwind like that on the outbound leg means you're going to have to pay the piper big time on the way home. It's a Mallee Routes tradition. Back on the road, the wind increased and big black clouds rolled in. The rain started, then some hail. I was drenched by a passing car which hit an inopportune puddle. Somehow despite all this, I was feeling pretty good and was still toying with completing the 300km course. And then the wind got really serious.
The weather station at Hopetoun Airport records a steady increase over the day. What started as a 20km/h westerly lifted into the 40s and 50s by 11.30am and the gusts were rolling in at 70km/h - a pretty forceful 20 metres a second. On the flat and largely treeless plains there isn't much to stop the breeze. As I turned west alone into the wind and made for Woomelang pub, my progress slowed to a crawl - 15km/h, then 12km/h, twice even forcing me to stop and wait as the most violent squalls hit. Grinding away in a gear I usually save for climbing hills, the 60-odd kilometres to the finish seemed to take forever. My mate Steve, who finished earlier, rode out to offer some company on the final slog. In the event, while my first 100km took under four hours, my second took six, and was much, much harder. My average speed for the day was just 21.6km/h. Still, I felt good and finished strong. It's a funny world in which 200km is a ok day on the bike.
Full respect then to the riders who managed to finish the longer distances: particularly the unstoppable Peter Heal who ride 600km in 26 hours. Because I didn't finish the course I nominated for, my result is a DNF, but finishing a 200km ride in under 11 hours in those conditions was a pretty good test. I love this ride, but next year I'll give some very serious throught to manning a checkpoint rather than again suffering like a dog out on the road!
4319km so far this year.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
I want another bike.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Even if it's Ousing Down.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
They make them tough in Tassie.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Seymour revisited
Friday, July 31, 2009
22 Days in July.
While Julius Caesar feared the Ides of March, for those of us lucky enough to live with a cyclist, it is the whole month of July that we dread. For that can only mean one thing; the agony of the Tour de France.
Although Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans have been getting all the attention, personally, I think the maillot jaune should be awarded to the person who has to share a house with one bloke, two children and ONE television, permanently tuned to SBS.
Here is the average July day in our household:
5.55pm. I pour large glass of wine.
6.00pm. Husband sprints home from work and displaces children from The Simpsons in order to watch Tour highlights on SBS. Fifteen minute screaming match ensues.
6.10pm. I pour second glass of wine.
6.30pm. All warring parties, none of whom is now speaking to the other, sit down for "family dinner."
9.30pm to God knows when. Spouse watches live coverage of le Tour.
5.30am. Gets up to go cycling. (In training for something, is it World Masters' Games? Round the Bay? Have actually forgotten...)
It is now Week Three, and the usual hideous transformation has taken place. Extreme sleep deprivation combined with adrenalin overload has turned him into a shuffling, red-eyed zombie, topped off with a consumptive cough.
I have tried to take an interest, I really have, but it's hard to tell them all apart; let's face it, all bicycles look the same, and, when the camera is shoved up their bony backsides, so do all the riders. And, sadly, the only element of sport I'm vaguely interested in -- the beefcake factor -- is quite low. I've seen Lance Armstrong in the flesh, and he is smaller than my 12-year-old. And as for pint-sized Cadel, I'm not sure why his voice is so squeaky, but 25 years of very tight lycra may have something to do with it.
If you want to check out the lean waxed calves of a few Euros, then head to the Italian café in Gouger St, Adelaide in January, where the Spanish team hangs out during the Tour Down Under. But after six hours sitting on a very narrow cycling saddle, do we really think they are capable of getting a leg over the podium girls? Why isn't Mr Cycling Know-All Michael Tomalaris talking about that?
However, it appears I am not alone in my misery. Cycling is so popular in this country it's been dubbed "The New Golf'"; it's not hard to see why, as it is the perfect sport for middle-aged men. They can't compete on performance (they're too old) but they can compete on the thing that really counts, which is spending money. It is entirely possible to squander a fortune on kit and, get this, ONLY OTHER CYCLISTS WILL NOTICE. This means that you can spend up big without being caught out by the wife.
One of our friends owns several bikes, but his wife thinks there is only one, because she can' t tell them apart. Another mate had a furious row with her husband when she discovered the invoice from the local bike boutique, not realising that it was only the deposit. And then there's the clothes; the latest "it" brand is Rapha, which comes from the stable of high-profile British designer Paul Smith. I know the cost of a Paul Smith handbag, and it is chicken feed compared to his designer lycra (unbelievably, that is not an oxymoron). For instance, on the Rapha website there are Grand Tour Gloves, made from "African hair sheep leather."
According to the copy, "African hair sheep live on the arid savannah of Eastern Africa. To cope with the heat and dry conditions, the hair sheep have extremely thin but strong skin."
"A road rider using gloves made of hair sheep gets the confidence and feel of riding bare handed, but with the protection and comfort of the highest quality glove on the market." All for just $US160.
You can see the attraction, can't you? I think they just ride to Coluzzi, fondle each other's gloves, drink three short blacks and ride home. Why bother doing any actual cycling?
I could go on and on -- there's the weight obsession, weird eating habits (Lance weighs his food before he eats it), hair removal techniques, supplements and pharmaceuticals (joke), not to mention a brand of Swiss clothing called Assos -- who says the Swiss don't have a sense of humour?
But come July 26, when some tiny, hairless teenager hurtles through the base of the Arc de Triomphe and dons a retina-burning yellow jersey, I will be raising a glass to the end of Dry July (as if) and the Tour de France and the resumption of normal family life.
In the final verse of Pablo Neruda's Ode to Bicycles, he says:
I thought about evening when the boys wash up, sing, eat, raise a cup of wine in honor of love and life, and waiting at the door, the bicycle, stilled, because only moving does it have a soul, and fallen there it isn't a translucent insect humming through summer but a cold skeleton that will return to life only when it's needed, when it's light, that is, with the resurrection of each day.
Amen to that.
3,444km so far this year.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Summer's a long way away
Thursday, July 09, 2009
A few things from the bike shop.
Woo-hoo Seattle, the sun is out! Let's discuss a few things before you fumble with swapping the unused ski rack for the unused bike rack on the Subaru.
So yes, you've noticed the sun is out, and hey!- maybe it would be cool to to some bike riding. Let's keep in mind that the sun came out of all 600,000 of us, so for the most part, you're not the only one who noticed. Please remember that when you walk into my shop on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. It will save you from looking like a complete twat that huffs "Why are there so many people here?"
Are we all on the same page now about it being sunny outside? Have we all figured out that we're not the only clever people that feel sunny days are good for bike riding? Great. I want to kiss all of you on your forehead for sharing this moment with me. Put your vitamin D starved fingers in mine, and we'll move on together to some pointers that will make life easier.
- I don't know what size of bike you need. The only thing that I can tell over the phone is that you sound fat. I don't care how tall you are. I don't care how long your inseam is. Don't complain to me that you don't want to come ALL THE WAY down to the bike shop to get fitted for a bike. I have two hundred bikes in my inventory. I will find one that fits you. Whether you come from the north or the south, my shop is downhill. Pretend you're going to smell a fart, ball up, and roll your fat ass down here.
- Don't get high and call me. Write it down, call me later. When I have four phone lines ringing, and a herdlet of people waiting for help, I can't deal with you sitting there "uuuuhhh"-ing and "uuummm"-ing while your brain tries to put together some cheeto-xbox-fixie conundrum. We didn't get disconnected, I left you on hold to figure your shit out.
-I really do need to see your bike to know what is wrong with it. You've already figured out that when you car makes a noise, the mechanic needs to see it. When your TV goes blank, a technician needs to see it. I can tell you, if there is one thing I've learned from you fucking squirrels, it's that "doesn't shift right" means your bike could need a slight cable adjustment, or you might just need to stop backing into it with the Subaru. Bring it in, I'll let you know for sure.
- No, I don't know how much a good bike costs. For some, spending $500 dollars is a kingly sum. For others, $500 won't buy you one good wheel. You really need to have an idea of what you want, because every one of you raccoons "doesn't want to spend too much".
- Just because you think is should exist, doesn't mean that it does. I know that to you, a 14 inch quill stem makes perfect sense, but what makes more sense is buying a bike that fits you, not trying to make your mountain bike that was too small for you to begin with into a comfort bike.
- If some twat on some message board somewhere says that you can use the lockring from your bottom bracket as a lockring for a fixie conversion doesn't mean that A: you can, or B: you should. Please listen to me on this stuff, I really do have your best interests at heart.
- I love that you have the enthusiasm to build yourself a recumbent in the off season. That does not mean however, that I share your enthusiasm; ergo I won't do the "final tweaks" for you. You figure out why that Sram shifter and that Shimano rear derailleur don't work together. While we're at it, you recumbent people scare me a little. Don't bring that lumbering fucking thing anywhere near me.
-If you shitheads had any money, you wouldn't NEED a vintage Poo-zhow to get laid. Go have an ironic mustache growing contest in front of American Apparel, so that I can continue selling $300 bikes to fatties, which is what keeps the lights on.
- Being made in the 80's may make something cool, but that doesn't automatically make something good. The reason that no one has ridden that "vintage" Murray is because it's shit. It was shit in the 80's, a trend it carried proudly through the 90's, and rallied with into the '00's. What I mean to say is, no, I can't make it work better. It's still shit, even with more air in the tires.
Good for you! Biking is awesome. It's easy, it's fun, it's good for you. I want you to bike, I really do. To that end, I am here to help you.
-Your co-worker that's "really into biking" knows fuck all. Stop asking for his advice. He could care less about you having the right bike. He wants to validate his bike purchase(s) through you. He also wants to sleep with you, and wear matching bike shorts with you.
- You're not a triathlete. You're not. If you were, you wouldn't be here, and we both know it.
- You're not a racer. If you were, I'd know you already, and you wouldn't be here, and we both know it.
- So you want a bike that you can ride to work, goes really fast, is good for that triathlon you're doing this summer (snicker), is good on trails and mud, and costs less than $300. Yeah. Listen, I want a car that can go 200 miles an hour, tow a boat, has room for five adults, is easy to parallel park but can carry plywood, gets 60mpg, and only costs $3,000. I also want a unicorn to blow me. What are we even talking about here? Oh yeah. Listen, bikes can be fast, light, cheap and comfortable. Pick two, and we're all good.
Your kids are amazing. Sure are. No one else has kids as smart, able, funny or as good looking as you. Nope. Never see THAT around here.
- I have no idea how long you kid will be able to use this bike. As it seems to me, your precious is a little retarded, and can't even use the damn thing now. More likely, your budding genius is going to leave the bike in the driveway where you will Subaru the bike to death LONG before the nose picker outgrows the bike.
- Stop being so jumpy. I am not a molester. You people REALLY watch too much TV. When I hold the back of the bike while your kid is on it, it's not because I get a thrill from *almost* having my hand on kid butt, it's because kids are unpredictable, and generally take off whenever possible, usually not in the direction you think they might go. Listen, if I were going to do anything bad to your kids, I'd feed them to sharks, because sharks are FUCKING AWESOME.
I hope this helps, and have fun this summer riding your kick-ass bike!
3227km so far this year.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Painting the Town
When I rediscovered cycling four years ago, I did a series of rides on this bike on tracks in Victoria - Kyneton, Castlemaine, Coburg, Brunswick. Various distances and mainly for fun, but I also did a series of solo full-pelt 60 minute time trials.
I'm a bit tired of riding the same stretch of road every morning so today was time to see whether I'm still up to my old hour mark: of 30.14km set in March 2005 . Hey, I'm slow - no apologies. I know never going to touch Chris Boardman's 56.3km/h, but I would like to knock off Herni Desgrange's 35.3km/h set in 1893.
What I grandly call New Town velodrome really just a tarmac track around the football oval. I'm guessing it's about 400m long with a slight bank. Like many basic tracks of its type it has a definite hill in it. They're so common in old country tracks I wonder if they're not a perhaps a design feature: there always seems to be a drop through the corner before the finish line. Perhaps it's to speed up the sprints.
There was nobody else about when I rolled out around 8am. A three-lap warm up and a few minor seat adjustments and I was off. Five minutes in, my average was a respectable 32km, although my heart was telling me it wasn't going to be a pace I could hold for an hour. After about 15 minutes the first urges to quit set in and I was bargaining with myself to go on for until at least half way.
An hour alone going flat out on a track bike is a bloody long time. I was slightly undergeared so I was spinning like a bastard down the home straight but still had to jump out of the saddle on the line every lap to crank over the uphill part of the track. Thirty minutes in I was about 40 metres ahead of my old time, but I was still working far too hard to last. My heart rate was sitting around 170, which is way faster than it goes on road rides.
My rough plan was to keep it steady until about the 50 minute mark and lash out from there, so I concentrated on getting my heart rate down so I didn't blow up. I watched my computer as my average pace dropped a a tenth of a kilometre of an hour every few laps until it hit 29.9km/h. I was definitely flagging. I picked it up a bit. My plan became a five-minute final sprint. A couple of triathletes turned up and started doing some laps so I had a couple of marks to chase, although the five minute sprint wasn't going to happen. About three minutes before the end I was buggered, trying to reel in one of the riders, reaching for every last scrap I had.
As the hour rolled by I checked the computer: 30.07km. Damn, 70 metres short of my record. Heart and lungs screaming, legs not so bad. The record is intact for now, but today was still my second fastest ride ever. Not bad training this track riding, it might even speed me up a little. I think I'll slip a smaller cog on the back hub and have another go in a week or so.
(Top photo is an iPhone GPS track of the epic ride. Speaks volumes for the unit's accuracy!)
3,123km so far this year.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunny Sunday cycle
Today was one such day. Apart from some early fog which quickly burned off it was clear this was one of those days to make the most of, with plenty of sunshine and not a breath of wind. Nicole and I loaded the touring bikes in the back to the ute for a quick drive down to Cradoc for a lazy 35km Cygnet loop. The plan was a meander along the river and over the hill into Cygnet, stop for coffee and cake then complete the loop with the short ride back to the car.
For the unhurried, the lightly-trafficked Cygnet Coast Road along the Huon River provides lovely scenic riding, first through vineyards and then along the waterfront with views across to Franklin and down towards Dover. Along the way we found a little beach that will be perfect for a picnic stop on a future kayaking trip and spotted plenty of lovely houses and weekended with great water views. We turned upwards along Wattle Grove Road. On a cool day a steep climb is a good chance to warm up and the low gears on the touring bike mean you're not working that hard while the scenery slides past. There are lovely views of the little farmlets up the valley and back down from where we'd come. A moment's pause at the top and then down the unsealed Forsters Rivulet Road for a long roll down into Lymington. By now were were both getting hungry and looking forward to a feed at the Red Velvet Lounge.
But such delights were not to be. Cygnet's two better coffee shops had closed for winter at the same time so we repaired to the Schoolhouse cafe for a very decent toasted sandwich and a flick through the papers in the delightful yard. Back on the bikes, the beauty of this loop is that there's only a short ride over the hill back to Cradoc and downhill run back to the car. A lovely day, we certainly made the most of.
3,093km so far this year.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Busch & Muller Seculite Plus Rear Light
I bought a Busch & Muller Seculite Plus (the lower light in the pic to the right) which was about $35 from Abbotsford Cycles. It was to go on the back mudguard of the Cross Check but fiddling around with it I decided that with a bit of effort and an old light bracket I could get it on the commuter/road/audax bike to make a nice backup to the battery light. I do most of my miles on this bike and you can't be too visible at night in my opinion. After considerable messing around with the wiring I managed to get it working. ok (An earth wire is needed to complete the circuit, which can be a bit hard to do with a frame with carbon bits. I ran a length of twin core wire from the front to the back, and tied the 'spare' end off on the metal part of the light bracket.)
The final result is pretty neat and with the lovely efficient Schmidt hub, turning both lights on seems to have no effect on forward speed. The Seculite has a standlight which burns for about three or four minutes after I've stopped. The only drawback is that it doesn't have a flash mode. But you can't have everything.
I tend to run both front and rear on all the time. It's a good match for the Edelux front light. Being LED lights, I don't have to worry about bulb life either. Now I'll just have to buy another for the Cross Check!
2,952km so far this year.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Still alive.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Rex the Runt
The former policeman was so enraged by a confrontation with a cyclist he emerged from the comfort and safety of his four-wheel-drive cage and broke the man's finger. Now he was to perform 100 hours of community service.
Hunt has a history of bizzare behaviour. Who can forget when the former policeman was sprung paying for women to help him live out his sad sexual fetishes in public?
2,331km so far this year.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Cheesecake Run
The Cheesecake Run begins at my back door and ends at DS cafe in Huonville, where the cheesecake is. As much as I have a favourite ride, this is it. It's undemanding and if I'm riding the North Huon Road it generally means it's the weekend and I don't have any great demands on my time, so it's hard to be in a bad mood. I take the Crosscheck because its fat tyres nicely soak up the bumps of the dirt backroads and ride in shorts and a winter jersey.
The first two kilometres of the ride is a real heart starter, a screaming twisted 200m descent on a washed-out dirt road, before things settle down for the roll into Judbury. From there it's a lovely gradual downhill run which winds past the little houses and farms and orchards alongside the Huon River. At this time of year it's extra special because the leaves on many the trees have turned their various hues of orange and red and the whole place looks like an autumn postcard.
The road itself doesn't get a lot of traffic. I might be passed by half a dozen cars in a 35km round trip and I'll get a wave from maybe half the drivers. It's rare to have someone pass too close, in fact I can't remember it happening at all. I've seen a few other riders on the road, more lately, and the banana skins I see tossed at the side seem to indicate this ride is becoming more popular. I had a lovely ride into town with a West Australian couple the other week, who marvelled at the beauty of the area and said they were planning a move here.
The road seems mainly downhill so even though I'm seldom inclined to rush, I tend to move along pretty quickly. If I find myself going too hard I stop and take a photo or sit up in the saddle and see how long I can dodge the odd pothole no hands. The sealed road starts about 8km from town so the small stones stop pinging of the inside of my mudguards and there's only the gentle hum of my tyres from the Third Rock apple shed onwards.
After about half an hour I'm generally in Rangelah, which isn't much more than a little village and an easy downhill run on the sealed road into Huonville. If I'm feeling energetic I might turn north along the little creek past an old sawmill. At any rate I'm at DS Cafe in under an hour for a sugar hit. Most days I meet Kev, who rides in on the Huon highway from Mountain River, which isn't quite as nice a trip, but any day on the bike is a good one.
Oddly the way back seems downhill too for some reason. Unless the wind is howling down the valley off the Snowy Ranges, I can make good time home. The final hill is the kicker - that 60km/h downhill run becomes a granny gear grind on the way back up, although it's a good test of where my fitness is. A final roll down on the grass to the house and that's the Cheesecake Run, just about the best 35km I ride all week.
2881km so far this year.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Schmidt Edelux light
Winter is upon us. The days are short, the nights are dark and the year-round cyclist's thoughts turn to lighting. For the last couple of weeks, I've been using the Schmidt Edelux LED front light. I'm a bit of a lighting geek and I reckon tried just about everything but this light has me mightily impressed. The Edelux is a worthy successor my E6 halogen light which was for many riders for many years the gold standard in dynohub lighting.
I love dynohub lighting, no batteries to think about, it's simple and efficient, just switch it on. The drawbacks with the old E6 light were its tightly focussed beam pattern, the lack of a standlight and the need to change bulbs every hundred hours of use or so. I always seemed to burn out a bulb on a dark road on a rainy night in the middle of winter. So the Edelux, which addresses all of these problems, comes as a welcome development.
I first used the new light during the Oppy. Many of the others in the team were using Ayup lights, which have become something of a fad in Audax circles of late. Although everyone was raving about their Ayups, I reckon the Edelux was every bit their equal, minus the need to carry spare batteries.
The test of a good light is that you don't notice it, in the sense that it doesn't detract from your ride and that was how the long night of the Oppy went for me - there were plenty of other things to concern me! The beam on the Edelux is a lot wider than the E6, lighting up a good portion of the road. The standlight is a great addition, and runs for ages even after only a few wheel revolutions. The light is small and stylish. And I never have to worry about burned out bulbs again. Those few cyclists who use dynamo lights have waited a while for the lights to catch up with the LED battery lights, but the wait has been well worth it.
(If you found this post useful, you may also enjoy my more recent posts on the Son Delux hub and the Busch and Muller Seculite Plus Rear Light.)
The hill climbers of Google Maps
Monday, March 30, 2009
Oppy 2009
This was my third ride in the Oppy. The rules are simple: ride for 24 hours, cover a minimum of 360km, finish in the home town of Australia's greatest-ever cyclist.
Our route this year took us north-east from Tooborac in central Victoria, through Seymour, Euroa and Violet Town before turning north to St James, west through Numurkah to Echuca and finally south to Rochester. Long story short: a top ride. Just eight kilometres before the first dick joke, happily about 230km before the bad singing started and 50km more for the shocking poetry recitals. It's hard to imagine better conditions for riding: a sunny day, a clear night and no wind.
We were met every 30 or 60km or so by our faithful crew of supporters and fed, watered and generally looked after. A bare 20 minutes later we were back on the road. We managed to gain about 20 minutes on our schedule during the first part of the ride and held that margin the whole time. We somehow even picked our pace up a little once darkness fell, which meant we earned a glorious two hours sleep on the dreamy soft floor of the Echuca football club.
Words don't explain the pleasure and challenges of this ride well. The highlight of the ride for me (apart from the company) was the long, flat ride under the stars on a crystal clear rural Victorian night. There's something magical about being part of a tiny peloton threading its way along quiet country roads at night. I was a lot stronger this year than in previous years, so my only low point was about 15 minutes in the wee small hours when I felt a bit weary and felt like consulting the Big Book of Excuses. A bit of food seemed to spark me up.
The finish is great fun: there's a band and the traditional photos with the Oppy statue. Then it's off for a well-earned breakfast at the Rochester Football Club and the speeches, the reunions and he traditional reading of Oppy's letter about the first running of event. For my money, this ride is one of the finest on the Audax calendar. Long may it remain so.
The top photo shows the Lair's Oppy team, the Lair's women's Petit Oppy (180km) team and our support crews at the Oppy statue in Rochester.
1615km so far this year.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Every week should be Bike Week
The Cygnet Loops was a ride I'd always wanted to do and the Wellington Challenge I've already had a bleat about. I narrowly missed getting caught in a huge rainstorm after the Judbury family ride on Saturday, so that was a win. And last Sunday's Century Ride was a ripper too.
I've done this ride twice before, both times in a shade over five hours. While I'm not overly competitive, I always like to improve over time, so I was hoping to cut my time to under five hours.
After the usual police-escorted start, the brave and the bold took off like lycra clad rockets. I settled on drifting slowly back through the field, grabbing the odd wheel when I could. About 40km in, the bunch I was riding in sort of disintegrated and I spotted a some riders in the distance and set off after them. After a long pursuit I fell in with a trio of blokes who I spend a pleasurable hour or so into Richmond before they stopped for a drink and I pushed on. Another bunch I caught fell apart at the bottom of Grasstree Hill, but I was still going fine. Even the climb didn't give me the trouble it normally does. To my surprise I was back at the start in 4 hours and 15 minutes - 50 minutes faster than both my previous attempts at this ride. As an added bonus, the rain which had been threatening all day help off until the finish. A fitting finale to bike week. Now for the Oppy!
1132km so far this year.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The World's Slowest Hill Climber
Yes, these five people have been measured against the mountain and found wanting. You read it here first: I beat five people in the Mt Wellington Time Trial on the weekend.
Now I'm a glass half-full kind of guy. Many people would look at the result sheet and suggest I came 144th out of 149 starters. But I would counter that I probably won the 100kg plus division. Regardless of the fact that I was passed by elderly and disabled riders (and worse, people on mountain bikes) on the gruelling 20km long 1,250 metre ascent, the people who finished ahead of me were all elite racers and were probably even trying to boot. (I won't even mention cycling's terrible doping problem). I just wanted to finish without stopping for a heart attack on the way up. The photo above makes me look far more gritty and determined than I actually was, which is nice. So I finished, had a nice ride, enjoyed the views and I've got a time to blitz next year. I'd call that mission accomplished.
(Ride photo from Clive Roper Photography.)
948km so far this year.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Found my tribe.
The Banana
Originally uploaded by Velovotee
From the Sydney Body Art ride.
Friday, March 06, 2009
The bargain bikes of ebay
Check out this gem. For only $130 you can be the proud owner of a 'vintage' bike which looks like it's spent the last 20 years at the bottom of the river it's named after. No tyres, no brakes, a saddle that looks like it was used to absorb an IED attack and rust galore. But hey, it's old and it's a single speed so some fool might buy it right? But you'll have to pick it up yourself from Hobart, there's no chance of the seller extending himself to ship this gem of antiquity, possibly because it weighs 80kg. Why, why, why on earth has nobody placed a bid on this bike? You heathens of Hobart.
Oh, you want something roadworthy? For a mere $92 (at current bidding) you can get your hands on a sought-after Repco Traveller Road bike? Equiped not just with gears, but a ''gearing system" and tyres that "will need eventual replacement" the seller does kindly point out that the the Traveller "is making an encore in Victoria now as a popular vintage bike". Among whom? The mentally deranged? And why not in other states? No shipping on this one either cycling archaologists, you'll have to take the station wagon to Glenroy.
But why spend $130 or even $92, when for just $5 you could pick up a "Vintage Malvern Star bike single speed fixed project"? Never mind the fact it looks like it might have been ridden into a car and has a saddle that would cause irreversible injury, this one also has tyres. They're flat, but what do you expect for $5? Bid early, bid often.
854km so far this year.


text:
These entries have been sent via email from Brandon. (Yay!)
This morning I had hall guard from 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM, so I was unable to go to morning PT. I had it with PVT Privately (an old 3rd platoon terminator who is a pretty cool guy). I was happy to get out of PT, but I was all mentally prepared for it. The duty schedule was changed since I last looked at it, so I thought I had it in a couple of days...not this morning. The good thing about this time slot was that we were able to head to breakfast before the rush of people getting done with PT. We had no line and it was easy to find a seat.
Speaking of chow let me tell you that the eating at the DFAC here at Ft. Gordon is much better than the one at Ft. Benning. The quality of food is better and they have a bit more of a variety. They have a salad, soup, and a sandwich bar. My favorite is that they also have a soft serve ice cream machine. They switch out the flavors daily. I want to just open my mouth and let the ice cream flow in, but I limit myself to one cone a day at lunch time.
After lunch we came back and found out that our barracks were closed because there were inspections going on. This sucked because it's freaking hot here in Georgia! It's even more hot when you have on ACUs and have to stay outside where there is no A/C. We had to wait until formation for classes again before we could get out of the sun. By the time we got in class I think everyone could have used a towel just to dry the sweat off that was pouring out of everyone.
Overheard Quote: "I'm sweating like a slave with a secret" (PVT Privately - a black man - stated this as we were marching back to our classroom...I had to agree)


text:
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To inquire about current openings, email us and attach a resume if appropriate. You can download the employment application below and send that along with your resume.
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Telephone & Network Technologies
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Phone: 603-668-4600
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text:
What a Week!
The Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) has once again come and gone, and the SwiftPOS team would like to thank all our customers and visitors that came and experienced the Expo with us.
The three days of excitement saw many new and returning visitors come to the SwiftPOS stand, showing interest in our Kiosk display. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many eager to learn more, discovering how the kiosk can give their clubs the advantage.
The SwiftPOS Kiosk is designed to give our customers more avenues to engage with their members and give members more exciting and accessible interactions with the club, whether that is through the Customer Kiosk or the Order Kiosk. We saw a huge swell of interest and demand for the SwiftPOS Kiosk at the Expo, with our team giving back-to-back demos throughout the three day event.
With a constant flow of curious customers, Grahame Day the Managing Director, couldn't be more happy with the renewed interest in the SwiftPOS Kiosk, "It's great! Theres a clear demand in the industry for this kind of feature. We've had the kiosk available for a couple of years now and we have really adapted the software and improved its function to not just meet clubs needs, but also giving members what they want.., and that's rewards. This year we introduced the game, where members have the potential to win instantly, printing out a rewards voucher for them to use within the club. It just gives members another incentive to come back to the club, and ultimately thats what all our customers want."
The Customer Kiosk
The Customer Kiosk showcases all members details. By simply scanning or swiping their members cards, members can view their account details, use their points, play a game to win rewards and be awarded points linked to the gaming systems. They can also view their vouchers that are linked to their account and print them.
The Order Kiosk
SwiftPOS Order kiosk feature allows customers and members to order ahead or jump the queue. We have worked on improved EFTPOS integration allowing for members to pay at the kiosk or pay when they pick up their food.


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TWRP for Asus zenfone 2. Lets Install a custom Recovery in our Asus zenfone 2 and enjoy all the features. The Instructions are written below, Follow them carefully.
Files need to Download :
TWRP recovery for Asus zenfone 2 { Click here to Download }
ADB tools { Click Here to Download }
Note: Zenfone must be Bootloader Unlocked.
Installation Instructions :
- Extract TWRP file
- Extract adb tools
- Keep both adb tools and TWRP extracted file in same folder
- Boot Zenfone into boot-loader mode.
- connect zenfone into PC / Laptop using USB cable.
- Go to the folder where you have kept (TWRP and ADB extracted file) and then open command window there ( Shift + Right Click --> Open command windows here)
- Now in command window type
*fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
- Now press Volume don button for 2 times and then power button for 1 time and your phone will get rebooted.
- Enjoy
This tutorila is based on " Installing TWRP into Asus Zenfone 2". I hope you guys done it successfully, if you have any doubts then comment Below.
Visit again for more fun


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Each semester The Tapestry of Diverse Talents recognizes a diverse group of students, faculty, staff and alumni who contribute in many ways to North Dakota State University. Inductees reflect the ages, classes, abilities, ethnicities, genders, races, regional differences, sexual orientations, beliefs and values of the University community.
Donald Warne, MPH Chair, was one of the individuals inducted on Friday, May 3, 2013 in the Memorial Union Century Theater. Donna Grandbois from the NDSU Nursing department presented him with his award. Other inductees are Betsy Birmingham-English, Faculty; Nimish Dharmadhikari-Transportation and Logistics, Student; and Lisa Hauck-International Programs, Staff.


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Salad of tiger prawns and citrus wedges, with lettuce and avocado cubes, lightly dressed with tangy citrus, sweet honey and walnut oil.
This salad is served at room temperature and is a perfect way to start a summer meal. It is light and the flavours will not clash with the rest of your meal or leave any lingering after-taste.
Use large prawns, cleaned with only the tail remaining intact. We used tiger prawns from The Gourmet Shop and had the tails intact because those wishing to eat the prawns with their fingers can easily grab onto the tail while enjoying the tender, marinated meat.
The walnut oil is available at some stores and is not entirely necessary. It can be substituted with olive oil, but the nutty flavour does give an added layer of richness to the dish. You can quickly make your own walnut oil by finely chopping some walnuts, steeping them in extra virgin olive oil (this olive oil has a more delicate inherent flavour that happily absorbs some of the walnut flavours) for an hour or two and bingo! You have a suitable walnut oil subsititute.
This recipe serves 6 and makes a wonderful starter or first course in a multiple course meal. With the correct preparation, this salad is prepared in mere minutes!
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon clear honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives (the easiest way to cut chives is to just snip them with scissors)
450 grams large cooked prawns, deveined and shelled
1 avocado peeled, stoned and cut into small cubes (run your knife through the avo while the skin is on, lengthways and crossways though the flesh to the skin – see video here on how)
1 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented (this grapefruit is sweeter than the yellow and ties in better with the salad)
1 large orange, peeled and segmented (if you want to really show off, then segment it like in this video here)
2 tablespoons roasted pine nuts (this is not essential and primarily gives varied texture to the salad by adding some crunch)
Salt and pepper, to taste (this essentially means that you just add a pinch, taste the food and add more if you think it is required)
If cooked prawns are not available, then boil them in water until flesh is opaque (white and not see-through.) Prawns must never be mushy and should still be firm to bite and touch.
Prepare the dressing by mixing the lemon and lime juices, a pinch of salt and pepper, the honey in a small bowl.
Slowly add the olive oil while whisking and then add and whisk the walnut oil until the dressing becomes more creamy.
Add in the chives and mix.
Preparation (5 minutes):
Arrange the prawns, citrus segments and avocado on six small plates and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with a sprinkle of pine nuts, if using.
Bon Appetit!


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The Working Group met four times over February and March 2016. Membership of the Working Group was drawn from a wide range of interested stakeholders.
The Terms of Reference required the Working Group to assess the current system, including the Prostheses List Advisory Committee (PLAC) and its subcommittees, and to provide advice to the Department of Health (the Department) on:
- Creating a more competitive basis for purchase and reimbursement of prostheses and devices, including consideration of options for new pricing mechanisms;
- Specific products or categories which present opportunities for immediate benefit rationalisation;
- Refining the scope of products currently listed on the Prostheses List without adversely impacting on consumer access; and
- Opportunities for deregulation.
The Working Group considered publicly available data on prostheses pricing, in the Australian public system and internationally, to inform its deliberation on opportunities for immediate benefit rationalisation. The Working Group agreed that further information on prostheses pricing was required to inform the Working Group's understanding of the net revenue for prostheses, taking into account all discounts, rebates and other direct or indirect purchasing incentives.
The Working Group agreed that the Chair write to sponsors to seek their assistance in gathering information on prostheses pricing in Australia. The Secretary of the Department also wrote to his state and territory counterparts to seek information on prostheses pricing in the public sector. Information was received from 20 sponsors and five jurisdictions. The information received was analysed by the Chair and the Department, but due to the confidential nature of the data only a summary was provided to the Working Group.
Issues raised at Working Group meetings, Chair meetings with stakeholders and in submissions to the Working Group, included:
- A lack of transparency in the current system.
- Stakeholders agree that there is scope for benefit reductions for some categories on the Prostheses List.
- That the differentials between public prices and Prostheses List benefits are greater in certain categories of devices, like cardiac devices and intra-ocular lenses.
- Recognition that there are differences between the public and private hospital systems.
- Recognition that the current system advantages larger companies who have more capacity for rebating.
- In some cases the amount of support provided by Prostheses List sponsors in theatre is high.
- The cost of shipping prostheses and associated instruments can be significant.
- PLAC should not be replicating processes that are already being undertaken as part of TGA assessment processes, for example, PLAC should not be refusing to list prostheses on the grounds of safety, because assessment of safety is the responsibility of the TGA.
- The definition of a prosthesis, for the purpose of funding through the Prostheses List, needs to be flexible to allow for new technology. If the Prostheses List is to continue, the types of devices funded through it needs to be re-examined.
- Encouraging innovation and research and development in the Australian prostheses industry is important, but the Prostheses List may not be the appropriate mechanism for this.
- Recognition of the value of Clinical Registries, with potential for the data they generate to inform prostheses funding as part of a dynamic process.


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Terror Behind the Walls - Eastern State Haunted Penitentiary
Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary is one of the most well known haunts in all of the world. The Penitentiary itself is a National Historical Landmark and is in its own right one of the most visited tourists attractions in all of Philadelphia if not the entire region. Open as a museum year-round, Eastern State turns into a deluxe haunted attraction during the scary season, and is visited by tens of thousands of people every fall looking for good wholesome (and terrifying) family fun. But how do you convert such a valuable treasure into a haunted house that is trampled on by visitors who are there for the horror not the antiquities? How is this done without compromising the integrity of these hallowed halls and still make it every bit the event that their competition is every season?
"When I go to haunted house conventions that's the number one question other haunters always ask me," chuckles Brett Bertolino, Director of Operations at Eastern State (everyone who works for the museum also works for the haunted house). "It's actually not nearly as difficult as some people might think," he goes on "As employees of the museum, and people who respect the building and believe in the mission, we are more strict on ourselves than the city of Philadelphia". And that's who they need to get permission from if they want to change or modify anything – the landmarks division of the city itself. But he also adds, "they usually say 'yes' to every one of our requests. Not because they don't care about the building, but because we do. Our requests are very minor, and don't harm the building. Our internal policy is 'don't attach anything to anything'. We use the prison." And with the kind of production value already present, the kind of sets that people would pay millions to create in a fake way, they just have to figure out how to use the space logistically.
Eastern State was a maximum-security prison when it was still functioning, so it is not conducive to long paths for walking and easy access from one space to another. It was designed for isolation and small confined spaces. There wasn't any sense of openness. This kind of layout doesn't always work for flow and put-through on a night where 7500 haunt enthusiasts are trying to get through. "We don't attach anything to the structure, but we will build plenty of sets that we can attach to. Our team believes in seamless integration. 95% of the people who walk through would not be able to tell you where the prison structure ends and our set pieces begin." The printing shop is the most wide-open space they can play with. This is where they can actually "build a haunted house". Audiences will see very little of the actual landmark, but they don't realize it. It is a replica of the actual infirmary that no one sees when he or she goes on tours through the museum. Here they can build with aplomb, while also doing something unique when it comes to the museum – showing us the infirmary without it being the actual infirmary.
Eastern State has always been known as a family haunt, scary, but okay for the whole family. But as Brett tells me, "We have always been high-startle, low gore. But this is changing. With the rise in violent video games, and what you can see on television now, not to mention movies, everyone now wants a more intense experience." He goes on to tell me that "the barrier between the patrons and actor is being broken. We are going to give the audience a more theatrical experience, make the environments more immersive. They are not changing it from a family experience, but bringing it up to speed as to what families really want. "Last year we did what we called a 'remix' on the last night. We promoted that we were going to do things we hadn't done all season. A darker, bloodier terror like you hadn't felt. This was to attract repeat customers, and maybe to foster a new one. It was an overwhelming success. So this year, it is going to be the remix the entire time." This remix included touching and isolating audience members. This is on par with a few other haunts around the country. Like a few others as well, they are giving the audience a choice as to whether they want to be touched our chosen for things outside the normal tour. The actors will know this because the people who do want this experience will wear glow bracelets. If you don't have one, you're safe. But, "it won't be touching, isolating and bloody all the time. We will pick and choose our spots. Don't want it to grow old. If you want this kind of experience, you can have it, if you don't, then you can experience it like you always have," stresses Brett. Everyone wins. And they don't have to attach something to the walls to do so.


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KDE 4.0.0 tagging
Today is the tagging day for KDE 4.0.0. I think it speaks for itself. I have checked out the 4.0 branch and I'm going to use it in a full session real soon (so far I used nested X sessions with Xephyr). Aaron Seigo has a nice writeup on the release, some of the memes floating around and the future of KDE 4.
Luca Beltrame LINUX
KDE Linux


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From Latin technicus, from Ancient Greek τέχνη (tékhnē, "skill")
technical (comparative more technical, superlative most technical)
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) Of or pertaining to the useful or mechanic arts, or to any academic, legal, science, engineering, business, or the like terminology with specific and precise meaning or (frequently, as a degree of distinction) shades of meaning; specially appropriate to any art, science or engineering field, or business
- The words of an indictment must be technical.
- 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 4, in Well Tackled![1]:
- Technical terms like ferrite, perlite, graphite, and hardenite were bandied to and fro, and when Paget glibly brought out such a rare exotic as ferro-molybdenum, Benson forgot that he was a master ship-builder, […]
- 2006, Asaf Darr, Selling Technology, page 94:
- One example of the blurring of boundaries is the growing interdependence of social and technical skills. The sales engineers and the clients' engineers are all knowledge workers.
- (of a person) Technically-minded; adept with science and technology.
- Relating to, or requiring, technique.
- The performance showed technical virtuosity, but lacked inspiration.
- 2015, Robert Dineen, Kings of the Road: A Journey into the Heart of British Cycling:
- Its design apparently made for interesting racing, with a challenging climb, technical bends and a finishing straight long enough to produce exciting sprints.
- Requiring advanced techniques for successful completion.
- 2014, Stephen C. Sieberson, The Naked Mountaineer: Misadventures of an Alpine Traveler:
- It was a technical ascent involving ropework, belays, and protection, and the exposure was great, but there were abundant hand and footholds, and the rock was sound.
- (securities and other markets) Relating to the internal mechanics of a market rather than more basic factors.
- The market had a technical rally, due to an oversold condition.
- In the strictest sense, but not practically or meaningfully.
- Crossing the front lawn of that house to get to the mailbox was a technical trespass.
Coordinate terms[edit]
- (securities and other markets): fundamental
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from technical (adjective)
Related terms[edit]
pertaining to the useful or mechanic arts
relating to technique
relating to the internal mechanics of a market
technical (plural technicals)
- A pickup truck with a gun mounted on it.
- 2007 January 2, Jeffrey Gettleman, "After 15 Years, Someone's in Charge in Somalia, if Barely", in New York Times[2]:
- "Individuals or groups of people who have trucks mounted with antiaircraft guns, known as 'technicals,' should bring those battlewagons to Mogadishu's old port," he said.
- (basketball) A technical foul: a violation of sportsmanlike conduct, not involving physical contact.
- (video games) A special move in certain fighting games that cancels out the effect of an opponent's attack.
- Short for technical school.
- Short for technical course.
- Short for technical examination.
pickup truck-based fighting vehicle
- "technical" in The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005
- "technical" in WordNet 3.0, Princeton University, 2006.
- technical at OneLook Dictionary Search
Further reading[edit]
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Basketball
- en:Video games
- English short forms


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Binh Duong province announced the results of inspections of alleged violations of land laws by the Dai Nam Joint Stock Company on August 19.
The inspection was conducted over eight months after its CEO, Mr. Huynh Uy Dung, denounced former Chairman of the Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Le Thanh Cung, who retired last January, for not approving planning for a housing project at the Song Than 3 Industrial Park.
The company was found to have used a 25.23 ha area in the industrial park for the Dai Nam Tourist Park without completing procedures on land use. It had also committed to build a three-floor apartment building but then divided the land into small plots for sale. A trade center was built in 2011 but was never put into operation. The company also failed to contact the provincial Department of Environment and Natural Resources to sign a contract addendum to redefine the land lease area after changing the area for land use from 238.27 ha to 232.15 ha.
In terms of construction, Dai Nam was found to have violated regulations on construction investment. The construction of four buildings were changed compared to what was noted in the construction license and ownership certificate, while 167 building sections were finished without registration and four other buildings were inconsistent with approved planning.
The inspection team imposed tax arrears of VND58.6 billion ($2.75 million), an administrative penalty of VND26.9 billion ($1.3 million), and a fine for late payment of taxes of VND13.4 billion ($629,000).
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Chief Inspector of the provincial inspection department, said that on December 18, 2014 the inspection team decided to conduct an inspection but the company was uncooperative. On December 30, 2014 it unexpectedly paid taxes of VND15 billion ($704,000). At this time the inspection team decided to conduct a full inspection of the company.
Provincial authorities have directed related departments and agencies to continue to inspect issues regarding the subdivision and sale of land at the Song Than 3 Industrial Park.


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This is my first "terminal promotion" summer. And while I have something that I have "sort of" written up…I just don't like the result; it basically fills in some gaps in a survey article. But I think that my thinking about this article has lead me to something that I can add to the paper so that I'll actually LIKE what I submit.
Then again, my quandary can be summed up in this tweet:
If I wait until I am absolutely in love with my work before I send it out, it will never get sent out.
Hopefully, I'll have more material to add to this blog this semester.
What I am working on: equivalence classes of simple closed curves; these are one to one, continuous images of the unit circle in 3-space. The objects that I am studying are so pathological that these curves fail to have a tangent at ANY point. One of these beasts can be constructed by taking the intersection of these nested, solid tori.


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Starting with some considerations from the Catholic Social Teaching regarding trade policy, the following note gives an overview of current EU and global trade policy matters.
A) Catholic Social Teaching and trade
Over the past years, the Holy See and bishops have taken part in the debate on how to evaluate international trade and trade agreements and thus contributed to further developing the Catholic Social Teaching on this matter. The following points constitute key messages of the Church when it comes to trade policy.


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If you find this site useful and want to make a small donation to support its maintenance and expansion, then please use button below.
Singer Simanco 121095
Style-O-Matic Attachment
This versatile attachment for all low shank machines provides 17 different finishes. These include : Plain Stitching, French Seams, Binding, Tucking, Edge-Stitching, Fancy Edgings, Lace Insertions, Shirring, Ornamental Stitching, Invisibly Stitched Braiding, Shirring & Ornamental Stitching, Shirring and Invisibly Stitched Braiding, Smocking, Piping, Hemstitching, Picoting, Crochet Edge
Photo courtesy of Charlene Philipps
Photo courtesy of Charlene Philipps
For Singer / Simanco Numbers of other accessories, attachments and tools please CLICK HERE


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The Oldham Council Insurance team provides high quality insurance advice and claims management assistance to local authority schools.
The team ensures each school is treated individually and that every school has the appropriate insurance arrangements in place.
Summary of service
The Council provides a number of centrally held policies:
- Property (Fire and Special Perils) Insurance.
- Employers Liability insurance.
- Public Liability insurance.
- Money insurance.
- Engineering Inspection and Insurance.
In relation to Motor insurance, fleet management will invoice schools based on the number of vehicles held per school.
The insurance service also offers a number of additional policies, these are optional policies at the discretion of each school and their governing body, however these are strongly recommended by the authority.
Following negotiations with the insurers competitive rates are available to cover the following insurance policies;
- Balance of risks insurance.
- Fidelity Guarantee insurance.
- Personal accident to children.
- Personal accident to governors.
- School journey insurance.
- Hirer's liability.
- P.T.A liability.
Benefits of the service
- Negotiated contracts at competitive rates for both centrally held and optional insurance covers.
- Claims handling service including; dealing on the schools behalf with contractors, loss adjusters, claims handlers and where necessary solicitors.
- Provision of professional advice on risk management issues and specific insurance requirements.
- The service is provided by trained, experienced and DBS (formerly CRB) checked staff.
- In the event of an insurance claim the insurance team works with the school to minimise disruption and reduces your workload, we ensure the school is kept up to date at all times.
- A comprehensive, one-stop approach ensures advice is available within office hours and a 24 hour contact is available for emergency situations.
To get a quote or discuss your needs telephone:
Anne Handley – Risk and Insurance Officer
0161 770 4935
Joanne Monks – Risk and Insurance Officer
0161 770 4801
or email: