pfft

Seven weren't even the best Australian olympic broadcaster (SBS); how can they possibly win any world award?

while i'm in a blogging mood...

I inadvertently had a weekend during which I watched a lot of movies. On Saturday I picked up my IMDB list and settled on The Day The Earth Stood Still - the 1951 original, not the current Nenanu remake (which I haven't seen, which I won't see, and which I am nonetheless quite prepared to put in a basket with other crap remakes of classic films). The film does a good job at the science fiction edict of using tehnology as a McGuffin in order to shine a light on some aspects of human nature. Perhaps its more by the accident of a stretched budget than by design, but the film also does a good job of using special effects matter-of-factly and not letting them overshadow the film's story and message (a restraint I can't imagine being respected by the remake). Also, the performance by its lead, Michael Rennie, is surprisingly good for an early film of a genre not known for acting.

On Sunday Mick brought round a DVD of Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, an ensemble drama with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei. Its essentially a character study of family members perpetuating and dealing with an event that messes with their identities and relationships. The performances are strong, and although the first half of the film has some pacing problems - it seems to hurry the event itself in a rush to explore its consequences - it's a solid effort.

Come Sunday evening, the next IMDB flick picked out was The Sweet Smell of Success. Burt Lancaster headlines ahead of Tony Curtis, but in reality its Curtis' film, and a pretty solid one, about the New York journalism/gossip machine but mixed with a nice dose of charisma, fuelled by that pre-70s style of scriptwriting that died with the mainstreaming of realist dialogue.

I had an ambitious plan to turn it into a double feature, and started watching Fritz Lang's Metropolis. I was impressed by what I saw, particularly in terms of the scope of the technical achievement, but my eyes had been bigger than their capacity to stay open, so I had to abandon after 40 minutes.  To be continued...

My IMDB list progress has essentially stayed stagnant over the last month or two at roughly 230/250. My plan is to get that up towards 240 over the coming break, and hit the line some time in the new year.

5% is bollocks

The government yesterday announced their intention to cut emissions by 5% from 2000 levels. Not only is this at the lowest end of what had been predicted (between 5 and 25%), but it is against 2000 levels, and not against 1990 levels. I understand that it is comparable on a per-capita basis to the reductions discussed by the EU of 20% from 1990 levels, but this argument only holds water if you think that developed, higher per-capita emitters should not be aiming to reduce their emissions by more than others, which I don't think is valid. It is by any measure a very conservative commitment, and the industry reps are doing everything they can to keep from grinning in the press they are doing (while the environmental lobbyists are doing everything they can to keep from yelling or crying).

To make it worse, the scheme will be accompanied by a rash of middle-class ("working families") and corporate welfare, the former to the extent that they will be reimbursed more than 100% of the increase in costs due to emissions trading, making behavioural change towards lower energy consumption much less likely. With a budget already slipping into deficit, this was a prime opportunity to break from the contemporary populist politic at throwing cash at the mortgage belt, but it seems that Rudd lacks the courage or inclination to do so. 

The government also mentioned a cut of 15% in the event that a consensus is reached amongst the key countries in global talks (including Copenhagen). However, having failed to commit to a significant reduction ourselves, it will now be very difficult for Australia to play any significant diplomatic role in the negotiation of significant global targets.

This sort of scheme was one of the key reasons that I voted Labour at the last election (not that I ever could have voted for a Howard government candidate), and as such I am very, very disappointed. They have followed a process (they are known for following processes) to get what I've heard described as a very sound scheme, but have wilted under pressure when it comes to configuring it (certainly with a reduction target, and in my opinion in terms of compensation, as well).

Between this and the clean feed debacle (which I haven't blogged about, yet), as well as other areas (education, for instance) upon which they promised much but have delivered little, my optimism of a year ago has much faded. More and more when I look at politics I am finding that I like (Tanner, Gillard, occasionally Turnbull) or dislike (Conroy, Pyne, Bishop) individuals, but can find little to like about the parties and their policies. Its unlikely that this will change my broader voting tendencies - Howard's legacy is still too much in evidence, both in my memory and in parliament - but it is loosening them to the point where a genuinely good candidate on either side (I've never really had the chance to vote for such in the House) could change my vote in a specific contest.

To summarise, partly for Ali's benefit, 5% is bollocks.

neither a borrower nor a lender be

Shakespeare was wrong on that point; I love lending people things.

Last night, Andy told me that he had started on the IMDB 250 list, and had seen about 70 or so. Watching those films has been one of my great pleasures over the last 4 or 5 years, and I relished the chance to talk up old films that he might otherwise be deferring (he's quite reasonably starting with the more recent films). I also managed to lend him a few of my DVDs to further his quest - Rear Window, Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I always get a buzz when I can relay my enjoyment of films to other people, and especially when I can put the film in their hand to make it happen.

Movies are probably my bigger passion, but I've had similar experiences, albeith to a lesser extent, and probably with a little less success (I heartily recommended Ilium and Quicksilver to Lee and Ali respectively, but they haven't gotten far with them, AFAIK) with books and music, too.

guerre de prononciation

I watched Offsiders yesterday morning, and was appalled by the consistent mispronunciation of "C'est la guerre", which is apparently the name of some nag running around Flemington on Tuesday. The consensus on their panel was "sailor gur" (rhymes with "fur"). The "sailor" part is close enough, but people like Barry Cassidy (or someone on the panel) should at least be able to manage "sailor gair" (rhymes with "air". We're not talking "ou" vs "u" or Parisian "r"s here - its really very, very easy.

For the record, I reckon horseracing is a complete waste of time, and the spring racing carnival is a blight on the sporting calendar that puts a entirely unnecessary gap between the footy and cricket seasons.

Fin de plainte. ("fan der plant", for those keeping score at home)

revolution/revulsion

When an object is in the act of revolution, it is revolving.

When a person is in the act of revolution, it is revolting. When a person revolts, we speak of revolution.

When an object revolts, the process is revulsion.

What's up with that?

golfing weekend

A couple of games of golf this weekend.

On Saturday morning Neil, Ross, Andy and I played Nudgee north. After a slow start, I hit the ball really well off the tee, which was a change from recent outings where I'd been struggling. My short game was off, though - my putts were OK, but not dropping, but my chipping was just bad. Of course, driving for show and putting for dough, so my score of 99 (+28) was disappointing.

The story on Sunday, at Keperra (holes 10-27), was similar. I hit the ball well off the tee, but my putting wasn't giving me the chance to make scores, and I managed to lose a few balls, which is never good for the scorecard. I finished with a disappointing 101 (+30). I hit a couple of bunker shots that I was pretty proud of - I went for years without really needing to, somehow, and I lost the touch I think I once had. As for the course, 9-18 was really pretty and in good nick, but I found 19-27 a little lacking in length and charm. The 27th, in particular, is a very bland hole to finish on.

I've been having looks at hitting par 5s in two recently, which has been surprising. Mostly this has been because I've been playing shorter courses (no 500m par 5s), but also I've been starting to hit my 3 wood off the deck, which brings a 220m second shot into play. I haven't hit any yet (I reached the 9th at Vic Park at one point, with 6 iron - albeit bunker rather than green - but Vic Park doesn't count), but its going to happen.

Neil regressed a bit after his strong outing at Vic Park. He's having a hard time spraying the ball right, either sliced or off the toe, and not getting down to the ball. He started hitting it better on the back 9 on Sunday, though, once he firmed his hands up and made more of an effort to keep his head still.

trivia paydirt

We won our first ever money at trivia last night. We aced the first round, and surprisingly were the only team to do so, and we walked away with $450 for our troubles, very satisfyingly in the form of a big pile of $5 notes. We also won the night, also for the first time, as we went off for 96/100 (which I think is our best score), good for a 2-point victory. We've been there and thereabouts for the last month or so, with some 2nds and 3rds, and we'd been saying amongst ourselves that we were due.

cycle of pain

Well, I got there.

Yesterday morning I got up at 4:45am, and within a half hour was on my bike, as I would be for most of the day, off to the Brisbane to the Gold Coast bike ride. I decided that my aim was to get there in under four and half hours ride-time, and under 5 hours total time.

There were 7800 participants (or so we were told), and I arrived in time for the 25-30km/h group, so I started with them, rather than the 20-25 group, as I'd anticipated. I started well, and felt good early, covering 27km in the first hour.At about 35km my calves started getting tight, so to avoid cramping (as I did last time) I made sure I was getting enough fluid, and stretched them out on a couple of downhills, which seemed to relieve it. The rest stop at 40km was welcome.

At about 60km, I hit the wall, I guess you'd say. We were in open flat land, the wind was starting to come up slightly, and I found myself without a group to ride with. I ran into Peter Mascaro, which was nice, but his and other groups rode past me just a little too fast to tag onto. I found myself a gear or two down on hills and on flats and really doing it tough, and the rest stop at 80km couldn't come fast enough.

I started well on the last segment, putting 8 solid kilometres down before I started feeling it again. Its never a good sign when you look down at your computer and you've advanced 300m since you last checked it. The computer ticked over 100km at 3:59:33 ride-time - 25km/hr - which was a benchmark I'd thought of targetting but abandoned as too ambitious. A good thing too - the ride didn't finish until 104km and 4h12 (ride-time, about 4h42 total). I am actually very happy with that time - I had expected more like 23 or 24km/hr. Anna Bligh was allegedly quicker (they told us 26-27km/hr), but I figure she had a peloton working for her, and probably proper gear (as opposed to me - hybrid, no cleats, civilian clothes) so I don't feel so bad.

It really did hurt, too. My calves and quads, and also my ankle, shoulders and wrist, were all pretty sore after I finished, and a few of those I can still feel today. I'm very proud of having finished, though - it was one of the hardest physical tests I've ever given myself, I'd say.

The fundraising hasn't so far been as successful as the Brissie To The Bay Ride, which is a little disappointing. For those who still want to donate, head over to my donations page. The Heart Foundation appreciates anything you can spare.

won't someone think of the children?

LittleBigPlanet looks awesome. This is awesomer.

golf

Neil and I went for 18 holes on Saturday at Vic Park. Neil is improving noticably. He's only played 2 rounds of 18 where he actually counts strokes (twice we played ambrose), but over those 2 he's gone from +56 to +36, and is noticably more controlled swinging the club. I had an up-and-down day, or more specifically a down-and-up day, shooting +17 for the front 9, and +7 for the back.

The course itself was typical for Victoria Park, only more so. The greens were being "scarified and recored" (whatever that means), so were a bit rough, and the 4th hole is always a bit gravelly, but I really do like the Vic Park layout. Its by no means a high-level course, but the holes, although very short, are often interesting, and there is a lot of up-and-down variation, which they use well. The shortness, though, is frustrating, because I know that pars on par 4s are devalued when they're only 240m. It got slightly worse when they put the inner-city bypass went in (shortening the 5th), and when they put the inner northern busway changing the 15th and 17th). Yesterday was worse again, with the 1st and 12th changed from par 4s to short par 3s (moved tees), and the 9th from a par 5 to a par 4 (crappy temp green). Par 62 is a funny type of golf.

swimming

I went for another swim today. Much easier, 40 laps without too much trouble, and felt fine pushing myself for the last 3 or so. I might try 50 next time. Hopefully I don't feel it tomorrow playing golf...

stepping up

My first charity bike ride this year was 35km, and I finished it regretting that I didn't try the longer option. My second was 50km, and I finished it tired but happy with my time. (Regrettably, I can't find exactly how much I raised for each of these - something around $250 for the second one).

My next ride is 100km. And it's scaring me a bit.

The ride is the Wilson HTM Brisbane to the Gold Coast Cycle Challenge. It's on October 4, just under 2 weeks away and, contrary to what the name suggests, we (5600+ of us at last count) are actually going to be riding from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.

My preparation has been less than ideal. I've had varying degrees of the flu for 4 or 5 weeks now, and am only getting back into cycling to work in the last week or so. I haven't ridden more than 15km since the 50km ride in August, and I'm a little afraid that my aerobic and muscular endurance might not be quite ready for 4-5 hours on the bike.

However, I've paid my entry fee, and received my first donations, so there's no backing out.

Here's where you come in! The ride is in aid of the Heart Foundation, who do great work in helping people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, which at 1 death every 10 minutes, is Australia's leading killer. If you can help out with a dollar, 10 dollars or any amount you can spare, head on over to my fundraising page and sponsor me for the race. The money will help the Heart Foundation, and the good vibes will help me push my wearying legs down to the Gold Coast. I don't want to be found dead on the side of the road near Beenleigh. I hate Beenleigh.

adding some more physical activity

(quick weekend recap: Saturday grand final BBQ at Neil's, Sunday saw M&D off to Europe)

I'm quite the health nut today. I rode into work (continuing my attempt to get enough cycling into the next 2 weeks to not collapse on the gold coast ride - details to follow). I brought a cut lunch, including Mum's homegrown tomatoes and my homegrown spinach. And, for the first time this year, I went for a swim at lunch.

I have no excuse for not having gone before this; a well-thrown stone could quite conceivably reach the pool from my office (although the risk of incapacitating an otherwise innocent swimmer, and of being brought up on charges for it, would make that inadvisable). Near the end of my time in France, I actually started going swimming with Franck Chauvel on an almost-regular basis (the archives don't reveal whether this was before or after my surgery, strangely), and although I'm not much of a swimmer, I did enjoy it.

I think the coming 24-48 hours will see me pay the price for not having swum laps for a long time. I only swam 30 laps (750m), but my arms are already sore, and I expect that will continue. Probably a better day to start would have been a day where I'm not playing volleyball in the evening.

I'm contemplating adding a very late objective to my new year's physical activity resolutions - something like 10km or so of swimming. Perhaps I'll wait and see if my enthusiasm lasts for more than a hour after leaving the pool.

another hit of golf

I was up at the Sunshine Coast for a workshop the last couple of days, and yesterday afternoon, one of the med.eng. researchers and I snuck out for a quick 18 holes. Holding a workshop at a resort course hotel and not allocating time for a round seemed like cruel and unusual punishment, and we would have been disappointed to have not gotten out for a hit.

I played pretty poorly. I shot a scratchy 52 on the front 9, and on the back 9 my swing really fell apart and I shot 61. My hands weren't coming through, I was swinging outside-in, and something weird was going on at the top of my swing, with the end result being that I lost all confidence in first my driving and then my irons. There are a few excuses, I guess. I was playing with a mixed set of rental clubs, having played exclusively with my own clubs for many years now. The course is a difficult one, with a fair bit of water and lots of well-placed bunkers. I haven't played many bunker shots over recent years, and although I used to be quite good at it (had a great day at Royal Melbourne at one point). Anyway, I had my moments, but there were a few 10s and 9s in there, which was unfortunate.

The course was in great nick. The fairways were really tightly cut, but cushiony, and I didn't have a bad lie all day. Even the rough posed little problem (which is nice, but not "proper"). The greens were fast but basically true. The sand was soft, although I did "bottom out" a couple of times, so they might have been a bit shallow.

My partner, who is probably slightly better than me, but comparable (were we both to play well), played well, particularly with his short-mid irons, and shot 97. That was 1 shot under his handicap, which is really good going for playing a tough course for the first time.

I reckon I can now say I've met my resolution of 12 games of golf for the year. I was never sure how to count 9 hole outings, but I reckon around 10 of the dozen were 18 holes in any case, and I probably played 9 holes 5 or 6 times.