Crowlie

Motherless movies

2010-05-12T21:56:00.002+10:00

Watched another dead mother movie the other night. What was it? Toys. Oh, and Daredevil. And Electra, Spiderman, Hulk and Armageddon. Well, in Armageddon the mother had divorced the poor, hardworking single dad... But the effect was much the same.

Now women seem to not only be token stereotypes, but if they aren't young, pretty, skinny, heavily made up and single they're now not present at all. Worse, in movies where there are women telling their stories, they are centred around their relationships with men. Can't a woman have a life and an existence of her own?

Bleh.

Addict dies in prison, media gets on moral high-horse.

2010-04-20T08:49:00.006+10:00

As if the corporate media had any morals whatsoever. It doesn't, of course. It pretends such, in order to encourage hysteria, anger and outrage over the slightest things and thereby support the legislation of morality... By an equally immoral government mind you.

Carl Williams died yesterday. The man who inspired a character in a crappy fictional crime series. A convicted murderer and drug trafficker. Son of a convicted drug trafficker and an addict. Grew up surrounded by crime in a world which pretends that some forms of addiction are "success". What hope did he have?

In the scheme of things, workaholics are just as dysfunctional as heroin addicts. The outside shell looks okay, because our culture values money uber alles, but the dys-function, the basic psychological screw up, is the same. Likewise with religious excess. Likewise with enabling behaviour, martyrdom, alcoholism and gambling addiction. All the same stuff. Different facets of the same stone, or different colours in the same fucked up rainbow, but all the same underneath.

In this wonderful liberative, encouraging and supportive culture we have, those who work hard even at the expense of their family life, are the ones most often promoted. We have a Prime Minister who can't even sleep at night, and is also a religious fanatic, and he's supposed to be an image of the "success" in our culture. Psychologically it's just as screwed up as the late Carl Williams but we like it that way so we can keep sinking the boots in to those who fall short, make ourselves feel better. Measure ourselves against this dysfunctional, ridiculous construct of "success" and console ourselves if we don't look like a hollywood stereotype.

Media knee-jerk hysteria, advertising, overlearned stereotypes... It's all the big fuck up of Anglo culture. Media and government harrass, stress and traumatise people to the point where they self-medicate, like the teenage drinkers on the streets in the city. Then the abusers sink the boots in. They make a profit. Like maggots on the body of a victim crawling in deeper without even waiting for them to die.

Images of disaster crowd and overwhelm us on a daily basis. Advertising gets under the skin, past the defences and wrings out your emotional attachments. There's whole armies of people employed in advertising. MBA's, corporate professionals, psychologists, even doctors and neurologists doing MRI's of people's brains to show how effective ads are at altering the physical function of an adult brain, let alone that of a child. Whole flocks of vultures in suits conniving and conspiring to push your buttons, manipulate your will and trigger your impulses. Without you even realising. Consider the ads for the TAC, workplace safety and skin cancer. It has been demonstrated that advertising which triggers the trauma centres of the brain is likely to be memorable. Memorable? That's because it's traumatising.

Advertising is specifically designed to get past all your conscious thinking and push buttons. Yet individuals and parents, without degrees in psychology or an army of well educated assistants to filter the stuff in this sewer, are expected to make reasonable responses. As if a family home is invaded by a dozen heavily armed SAS troops and the police turn around and say "it's your own fault you should have had a stronger lock." Images of disaster, war, violence and yes advertising are kicking down doors and barging in unwanted, in the minds of exposed human beings, on a daily basis.

We've also learned from working with those poor bastards who were shipped to vietnam back when the Asian communists were threat du jour, that it's possible to be vicariously traumatised by exposure to someone else's experiences. Trauma is an overwhelming breach of a person's emotional boundaries. It results in loss of sleep, anxiety, anger, nightmares... also associated with anti-social and risk taking behaviour and (surprise, surprise) addiction.

There's no point putting the blame on the individual and expecting them to make their own constructive decisions without the support or resources to do so. Media psychology and manipulation is specifically designed to thwart and overwhelm individual decision making. It's purpose is to push buttons and train certain reactions, without a person's permission or even awareness. This is a fundamental and massive breach of those human personal boundaries that have evolved in us to keep us sane and enable us to co-operate successfully as a group animal.

Ever wondered why the western world has plagues of depression, suicide, addiction and domestic violence that won't respond to nagging from governments? We're doing it to ourselves. Every time we open a paper or turn on a tv or (gods forbid) listen to a politician.

So don't let's get all judgmental about poor Carl Williams. He never stood a chance. While the government and media are actively, consistently placing unreasonable stress on people without remission, there's always going to be some who will fall through the cracks and many, many who will self-medicate. While ever we are governed for an economy that requires thousands, even millions to remain unemployed, there will be those who are emotionally destroyed by the exclusion and abuse. You can't have government and corporate leadership by dysfunctional individuals and then get all surprised when the population is also dysfunctional. You can't govern with religious extremism and actively create addiction in people who are simply trying to get by, then act all shocked and outraged. Well, you can, but not legitimately.

The late Carl Williams is simply the most recent and most visible human sacrifice to the god of money and the economy. Until we wake up to what we're doing, he won't be the last.

RIP, Carl. I'm so sorry.

Another ANZAC day comes around...

2010-04-19T19:50:00.003+10:00

and what have we learned?

Hmmm.

This sticks in my neck every damned year. It's the anniversary of a time when "we" meaning Australian troops with the support of the Australian Government and apparently that of Australian citizens, attempted to invade a nation with which we were not at war, at the behest of our Imperial betters.

Not Vietnam. Not Iraq. Not Afghanistan. Not Korea... Turkey.

The Turkish are very good about allowing Australians to visit the site of the Gallipolli invasion, despite the twisted and inflamatory red-neck nationalism that has propagated here since John Howard took his turn at the helm and set us back a century. For the Turks it's an anniversary of them successfully seeing off an attempted invasion by stupid convicts who couldn't think for themselves.

But what have we learned? Bugger all, really. There's a whole bunch of flag waving, a flag mind you that didn't exist in the first two world wars, but we'll wave it anyway and get drunkenly patriotic in substitute for any real self-esteem. Or honesty. There's some marches and memorials, of people who did what they were ordered to do despite the illegality in these cases. And there's the mention of brave soldiers... Yes, many of them were. Certainly seeing off Hitler's axis was no mean feat. But is it really serving the memories of those who died defending their homeland and families from ruthless, greedy, lawless murderers by behaving in that manner ourselves? WTF does the flag stand for anyway, if that's the case?

Do us a favour. Be honest about who's worth remembering and for what.

Token females

2010-04-19T19:38:00.003+10:00

Was discussing with a friend the other day about filtering. No, not the retrograde nanny-state internet filter proposed by KRudd, rather self-imposed filtering of media that pisses you off or causes you to throw your hands in the air and want to bail. If you're trying to take a positive approach to life and live well in every moment, odds are you probably don't enjoy watching hysterical news reports about disasters, fabricated warfare or other things that are not your responsibility and definitely not encouraging.

There are days when one feels somewhat like a bit of a luddite. Of course it's common for "old fogies" not to recognise the latest music, cartoon characters or actors loved by the young, but when you find yourself admitting to not only not liking television, radio or print media but beginning to heartily dislike movies as well, then you're kinda getting into stick in the mud territory LOL.

But what's a woman to watch? When you know the scripts of Aliens, Predator and so forth by heart, there ain't much left. And even those are a hefty compromise because they're all about that "I'm tough" attitude the patriarchy is so enamoured of. Watching chick flicks is a possibility, if you like to see yourself as an ornamental breeding animal who defines herself purely in terms of her relationships to various men.

Just about every time you bung in a DVD and hope for some entertainment it's seven men and one token female... And she's a two dimensional stereotype at that. Don't you wonder what it would be like to watch a Guy Ritchie geezer movie in which half of the eight or nine main characters were female? What would be so bad about depicting the 51% of the population who aren't XY?

Not going to delve into all the psycho-social reasons for the subjugation of the female of the species... Just wishing there were some more entertaining movies out there. James Cameron can't do it all by himself. Or shouldn't have to, anyway.

Great Southern Free Paganism

2010-02-22T23:51:00.001+11:00

Mainly because I like the numbers in today's date... but also because one must begin somewhere... Here's the introduction in my development of a new spirituality. It's based on years of study of psychology, sociology, theology and politics.

1. Humans are an animal species.

2. Given the desire, resources and opportunity humans can improve their experience of life.

3. We have nations so that we know where we come from. Not to wage wars over.

There's lots more to come, including clarification of these points but these are the introductory points.

Blessed be.

Where did February come from?

2010-02-18T11:53:00.003+11:00

That's a rhetorical question. Not so much a request for information about the Roman or Gregorian calendar as it is an observation that time flies when you're battling depression and Centrelink.

They've been harrassing my family for months now. On Friday I rang Julia Gillard's office, since she's the local MP... to recite the list of threats, letters, errors and unecessary penalties, and was asked by the staffer: "So what do you expect me to do about it?"

This is only the welfare and mental health system in a country with the highest per capita rate of suicides on the planet, in a low socio-economic area where more than the average one in five suffer from mental health issues.

But yeah. It's February and my analytical/synthetical/political typing fingers are beginning to itch.

Yesterday I was looking through the Parks Victoria site, perusing some of the forests, reserves and parks available within an hour or two of here... There are caves, bushwalks, bike trails and mountain biking. Most of the camp sites are free.

Hepburn regional park includes Mount Franklin and the mineral springs near Daylesford.

Langi Ghiran is a large area out the other side of Ballarat toward Ararat. There are caves as well as MTB and other trails. There's substantial Aboriginal art in this area. Looks like the separate parks aren't going to load by links here, so you'll need to use their java list to find them if you want more info.

Brisbane Ranges is near the You-Yangs and Anakie gorge, on the road between Bacchus Marsh and Geelong. That's a flatter but gorgeous area with some rock climbing.

Mount Alexander is a bit further north of Mount Franklin, with MTB, rock climbing and caving. The mountain is called Lanjanuc by the locals and is an important high point. A large area of former pine plantation and gold fields is being rehabilitated and added to the park.

Mount Buangor's a 2400 hectare park 60k west of Ballarat, so not as far as Langi Ghiran. There's a few aboriginal sites remaining. Walking trails extend into the national forest next door. There's caving and waterfall walks as well as rock climbing and MTB.

Lerderderg is just west of Bacchus Marsh, and also includes climbing and MTB with the added bonus of kayaking and rafting. Woohoo!

Mount Eccles and Mount Napier are further south and west of Melbourne on theHamilton-Port Fairy road, toward the coast. They're located on old lava flows so there's caves and aboriginal sites. Mount Napier is north east of Eccles and is an extinct volcano. This is an exception to the list as camping fees apply in the Summer season.

There's also Werribee Gorge, the Organ Pipes, and the You-Yangs, but you can't camp in any of those.

So with the exception of the volcanic sites at Mt's Eccles and Napier, these are all free to camp, have great opportunities for cycling and exploring and they're withing an hour or so drive from here! Mts Gambier and Arapiles are further away and are not free to camp, but they're very, very worth it if you're looking to rock climb. Mt Gambier would probably be fantastic for MTB too. Must revisit there sometime soon.

This comprises my "to do" list for the next few months.

I'll bring back stories and photos. Promise.

Hey look, it's December already

2009-12-08T15:33:00.003+11:00

At present I'm considering whether to continue this blog or simply revamp it again. I'm not following the cycling as much these days and with my hip playing up I don't get to ride much.

However... I took my brand new recycled walking stick out for some air yester-evening and it was wonderful. The walking stick is not for my hip, rather because of the growing number of uncontrolled dogs and untrained owners around here. It's one of the things that goes along with depression, the whole anxiety trip and avoiding things that you feel are going to piss you off or stress you out.

Anyways, I found this walking stick in an op shop and decided it would help deter dogs and idiot/dysfunctional dog owners. So now I'm Grumpy Granny Muahahaha!

One you-beaut thumping great cane. Check.
Horse shoe in the hand bag. Check.
What else? Hat pins! Yes, half a dozen stiletto sharp hat pins would be great.
And hobnail boots.

Look out you young whipper snappers, Grumpy Granny is on the loose!

As it happened, on my walk yester-evening the only people I encountered were two polite gentlemen, one with a couple of well-behaved dogs, both on leads.

So it works. Yay!

And the Summer break is coming up. This is generally a very relaxed time of year during which I cook lots of yummy stuff and spend time gardening and reading. All the salad greens and veggies are planted and doing well so far. There's some flowers beginning to appear on the tomatoes. There's still some deficiency with the soil in the second patch behind the garage, dunno what that is... Tried two or three types of fertiliser and sand but so far stuff is still wanting to bolt to seed... Might have to pick the brains of the horticulturalist next door.

And confest! Yes, confest is on again over new year and this time I really, really want to go. The Mister is getting things planned to come along so we should have a few days of pleasant hippie-dom up in the bush... and yes, there is some concern that we won't want to come back.

In the meantime, happy Litha!

Talk like a pirate day is coming up.

2009-09-15T11:00:00.002+10:00

I only know this because I happened to pencil it in on a year wall planner thingie that I got from Uni way back when starting study again seemed like a good idea. Now that papers are due, it doesn't seem that way.

Anyways... I've also recently picked up crocheting again. Usually over winter when I'm going through my annual depression I knit. I mean, what else are you going to do when it's freezing cold and you don't feel up to being sociable? And there's cats in the house so balls of wool go down really well.

So. Just in case you're a mad handcrafts kind of person and find the flying spaghetti monster a constructive alternative to patriarchal religion... Check out these pirate crochet mittens LOL True!

And my other half who is now sometimes referred to as my Mister... Yes, the same one, I've kept him for some 8 months now LOL... bought me a you-beaut-fantastic pasta machine for my birthday! Yummo!!

Bruno, AIDS and the World Cup

2009-07-24T00:20:00.004+10:00

Recently I went with a couple of friends to see Sacha Baron Cohen's latest effort Bruno. Fuck it was funny! I laughed so hard I had tears running down my face... then had to walk through the shopping centre still laughing. It was brilliant. They guy is a piss taker of world proportions. Naturally I sat through the whole thing analysing the anti-homophobia sub text... if you could call it a sub text. He's pretty blatant, young Sacha. It's actually so heavily stereotyped that it's more a piss take than Borat was. And more funny. And oddly enough Sacha looked really hot. %-[ (Visit the site and play "dildo defender btw LOL)

I'd been having a bit of a rough time recently since one of my kids is in VCE and really feeling the stress. When your kids are having a hard time you don't feel like a good parent if you can't fix it for them... but that's the point of being a teenager I suppose. Learning to fix it yourself. Anyways, in one scene in Bruno, Sacha is interviewing parents of child models. He wants to shoot a promo which has a young African child being crucified and a bunch of Anglo kids standing around the cross.

He was asking the parents what sort of conditions they would accept in the photo shoot for their children. Being crucified? How about playing with acid? Lit phosphorous? Antiquated industrial machinery? Amateur medical experiments? Several parents agreed to everything suggested, anything to have their child cast for the job. I felt like not such a bad parent after that LOL.

The reaction to the photo was interesting though. Needless to say there was no boiling in acid or other dangers, the photo in question was indeed an African child on a cross but is was fairly photoshopped. Being a former sometime student of theology, I thought it made a really interesting point... something along the lines of the oppressed and oppression in global society. One of my professors at Whitley would have really loved it. And now that things haven't worked out at La Trobe, I'm feeling that I was rather spoiled by my time at Whitley. But I digress.

Anyways, a room full of African-Americans thought the image was blasphemy. How Sacha got out of the room alive is beyond me, though the conservative African-American audience were much better mannered than the redneck ultimate fighting fans.... But I won't spoil it for you.

Now, where does the world cup fit in to all this? For the last World Cup, this is soccer btw, there were purportedly 8,000 purpose built brothels in Germany to provide for the fans. Groups fighting human trafficking were appalled by the prospect for abuses and violence in this instance. I'm not referring to it as sex slavery because that might sound too much like bedroom games between consenting adults.

The next World Cup is in South Africa. Prostitutes working in some African countries have HIV infection rates as high as 90%. How many soccer fans might come home from the festivities infected with HIV? How big an outbreak of HIV infections might we see in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia as a result?

Considering also the rising incidence of child sex trafficking in SA, the image of the child on the cross was rather thought provoking. In a way we are potentially at risk of reaping what we've sown by ignoring the HIV/AIDS tragedy in Africa for so long.

In case you're of the opinion that HIV is god's vengeance against homosexuals, here's a quote from the Australian Positive Women website:

According to a UNAIDS report almost half of the adults living with HIV and AIDS today are women. Over the past two years, the number of women and girls infected with HIV has increased in every region of the world, with rates rising particularly rapidly in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls already make up almost 60% of adults living with HIV.

A stereotype exists that HIV/AIDS is a gay disease. HIV stereotypes can prevent women, and their healthcare providers, from seeing themselves at risk of HIV infection. HIV is not a gay or straight or a male or female disease. AIDS is a human disease.

Take your condoms, boys and girls.

Oh, and well done Sacha.

TdF, Cavendish relegation and distractions

2009-07-24T00:02:00.002+10:00

Well, le Tour is proving as much a disruption to normal life as ever... sitting up till all hours bouncing in the bean bag barracking for Thor or Mikel or Tyler will do that. And how was Thor Hushovd's ride last night?! Tres bon!

In the early stages is was pretty obvious and annoying the way Mark Renshaw would lead Cavendish out... very well mind you... then only to sit right in the middle of the charge and basically play interference for the sprinter. After doing this two or three times Renshaw was then heard complaining at length about the other teams not helping the Columbia HTC crew in their attacks on the road. Well, der.

I was beginning to wonder how far it would go. Indeed, there are supposed to be protocols in cycling, being a European sport with some traditions. Do we want rugby on wheels?

Anyways, after the two of them squashed Thor Hushovd out of the spring the other night, he finally complained and the referrees relegated Cavendish to last spot for that little effort. Fair enough, I thought. He apparently didn't... so Hushovd rode out on the attack on last night's stage and took the available sprint points to clear the air. One of the commentators was saying before the stage tonight that some world class competitors get a bit highly strung and this is probably an example, but it was really good to see Thor riding so well.

When landlords brown you off

2009-06-04T13:30:00.002+10:00

There's all these ads around at the moment asking people to take advantage of the rebate and get solar panels on their homes. Some are even saying it can be done for zero cost.

Needless to say, since good old Kevin has convinced me to join the Greens again, I'm quite interested in the idea of going solar. This morning I rang the real estate agent to ask about the possibility of us organising it here for the house we rent. We've been here for four years now and the landlord has been very "easygoing" you might say. If I want the fence painted or repaired, or the hole in the kitchen floor fixed, I need to do it myself, but there's no problem having a couple of cats and a veggie patch.

What surprised me was when I asked the agent about the whole solar thing. Wouldn't it be good for the agency to be nice and green and have all their rental properties switching over from polluting energy to solar? It sure would, he said, but they've sent around plenty of advices to their landlords about it, especially considering the rebate... And you know what the response was? Zero.

It's hard to imagine why that would be. Surely everyone is aware that we need to make changes to our energy usage and generation. Surely everyone would like to take advantage of a free offer to do it for nothing? Well, you'd think so. Maybe they all have shares in coal mines? Hmmm. Who would want to make money out of something that poisons the planet? Not very sporting, really, is it?

Anyways, it will take a couple of days to get a response, but please cross your fingers for us.

We hate you too, Kevin

2009-06-03T19:17:00.003+10:00

The other day in conversation, the subject of pension changes came up. We were a little confused as to why the Government would increase aged pensions, disability pensions and just about everything else, but not single parent pensions. How does it make sense in a climate where more and more people are expected to compete for less and less jobs if a depression takes hold, and also force single parents to continue to compete for those jobs?

It was bad enough when Howard brought in his hell-spawn misconception of "mutual obligation" and forced heavier unecessary burdens on single parents and unemployed people... It was really crappy when the laws regarding single parents working were changed and put pressure on people just when they really don't need it.

For a supposed Labor Government to not only keep these discriminatory changes but exacerbate things by singling out single parents for further mistreatment is absolutely disgusting. Not only is it petty and mean spirited, it makes no sense while the economy is under suspicion.

The conclusion we came to is that being another Sydney Anglican, Kevin Rudd must have a similar religious agenda to that of the maggot Howard. Only if someone was deliberately trying to keep women dependent upon men and punish separated and divorced women, and over 90% of single parents are women, would this make any kind of twisted sense.

It's exactly the sort of thing we've come to expect from those slimy, underhanded control freaks attempting to import US style extremism to Australia. Bastards. Women have it hard enough in cock culture as it is without their added hatred and pathology.

You know, after the second world war Menzies went on a bit of a campaign building infrastructure like the Snowy River project to attempt to provide us with reliable utilities. It was seen as a pretty good thing that every Australian had a piece of this improvement to the nation's infrastructure. With stable power supplies we could build a secure community and businesses. Somehow in the 90's we were convinced that selling off all that stuff was necessary because otherwise we'd be communists. Only communists or socialists would deny the free market the chance to compete to provide Australians with utilities they already had.

It seems pretty ironic to me that the kind of thinking that implies that Menzies was a communist is behind the current financial terror.

What pisses me off is that this, in connection with equally ridiculously right-wing religion is an influence in a country that is supposedly a democracy. Why should 1% of the population have such influence to penalise and discriminate against other Australians who are down on their luck... What sort of stuck up bastard uses mediaeval morality to judge who is worthy of assistance when life has taken a turn for the worse?

The other thing is that this is contradictory even within their own belief system. Jesus specifically forbade Theocratic style Government. "The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them but it shall not be so among you." The New Testament was supposed to be about individuals relating to god, not a forced national morality drive. Add to that the fact that the very people this religion is supposed to be caring for are the poor, widows, orphans and strangers in the land... Geez, it looks like one big cock up all round really.

From those of us who have had enough of locker-room male supremacy in Australia and would rather live as full human beings without the Government under-handedly penalising us for our gender, we hate you too, Kevin.

Bah Hummer

2009-06-02T17:24:00.004+10:00

In case you've been on Mars for the last five or so decades and don't have enough evidence yet that car culture is unsustainable, GMH have driven the point home by going begging (again) to the US Government.

We can only hope that they'll either go out of business entirely or be revamped by some kind of uber-Green group that will use the assembly line and other assets to begin some genuinely useful changes.

At a time when the planet is choking in pollution and wars over resources are killing and traumatising millions, who can have any sympathy for the people who marketed Hummers?

And on with more good news, there was a brilliant story last night on the ABC's Australian Story about Dr Maarten Stapper who's using natural microbes to regenerate fertility on farming land poisoned by chemicals. I had a bit of a laugh at one point when the journalist was interviewing a couple of really crusty old farming types who looked like you'd expect them to have little to do with any bloody hippies... It was heart warming to see the way Australian farmers are embracing a chemical free alternative to land management and erosion control. Onya! Of course Dr Stapper had been kicked out of the CSIRO for teaching farmers how to use good alternatives to the toxic waste they're expected to flood their paddocks with.

While I'm online... How about Denis Menchov! What a brilliant win after that very scary fall in the time trials. Wow, my heart skipped a beat! And his trusty mechanic had a spare bike ready for him to remount and go on to win the race. Mechanics rock.

I should write more about the Giro when I'm online again. I've just found out I have three slipped discs and two damaged joints in my spine... the painkillers are a lot of fun if you don't need to do anything for a few hours but space out. A little like computer games but you can do it with your eyes closed. In a way it was good to find out. Now I know what's causing those stabbing pains shooting down the front of my leg when I'm riding. It wasn't a hip problem at all, it was pain from a damaged facet joint. Hmmm.

Anyways. Hummer bites the dust. Fuckin eh!

What goes around comes around, the 'pig iron Kevin' edition

2009-05-26T17:08:00.008+10:00

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in my bitch blog... but since it's about resources, here it is.

After the second world war Menzies was referred to for a while as "pig iron Bob" in reference to his having sold iron to the Japanese before the war.

As you are probably aware, discussions are currently underway regarding the proposed sale of a Rio Tinto mine in Australia to a Chinese company. It was something of a surprise to me to see an ad on SBS in which Barnaby Joyce is advising the Government to block the sale, particularly considering how the Howard Government sold off everything that wasn't nailed down. "You sell the milk, not the cow." He realises belatedly.

But this isn't only about milk sales. For decades we've been selling primary produce overseas then buying back the manufactured products. A waste not only in terms of jobs, but also in fuel and pollution trucking shit in laps around the planet in order to bolster someone's profit margin and generate a multi million dollar executive bonus.

What really pisses me off in this case is that we're selling ore no-strings to one of the largest arms producers on earth. The US under Bush was referred to as the world's most dangerous rogue state, and we have yet to see how the military-industrial complex will fare with Obama. The US pretends to have some limits on their arms sales yet while we are called in to assist in Afghanistan and Iraq, they're actively selling the munitions that create the destabilisation. China is likewise selling guns, planes and ammunition wholesale to countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe. Profit uber alles.

According to the UN, the war in Sudan is about ethnic cleansing. That means genocide. Like the Jews, Slavs, Gypsies and others in WW2. So we see that China is actively profiting from and supporting this practise of genocide.

What's worse, we're supplying and encouraging them.

If anyone were killing Jews en masse these days, or even Muslims as in the case of the war in the former Yugoslavian states, there would be outrage. But as in the case of food shortages, no one seems to give a rats that African people are being slaughtered. Sure we get a two minute spot on the evening news if something happens to a Sudanese refugee, but no mention of the arms supply, or Australia's complicity in the genocide.

After the second world war there were trials held and all sorts of repercussions for those who had exploited circumstances and profited from the war. Even today companies like IBM are mentioned in detriment as having assisted Hitler's evil empire. Without punchcard technology the death camps would not have been able to murder nearly so many people as they did.

Under the influence of "free trade" and the so called level playing field, which has been so charmingly illuminated as a complete wank by the current financial mess, countries, or rather large corporations, could pretend complete moral irresponsibility for the products or materials they manufacture and distribute.

But beyond the mere morality of all this is the fact that we live on one planet. Refugees are coming out of places like Sudan, Burma and Afghanistan, travelling illegally because that's the way refugees always have to travel when there's a fucking war. They come to countries like Australia where they hope they might be able to live in relative peace and quiet. After they've done a turn in a dog run out in the desert and been consigned to some outer urban slum. They come because they've been bombed, shot at, sometimes tortured and generally had their lives threatened. They come because someone is selling arms to the warmongers who persecute them. They come because someone has sold primary produce to the manufacturers of arms.

What really irks me is the way some retrograde white supremacist Herald-Sun readers get their fur in a bunch about refugees coming to Australia. How dare they not want to live in a war zone. How dare they seek out a life of peaceful well-being. How dare they invade "our" land.

How dare we sell the stuff to build the bombs and bullets that destroy their homes and drive them out.

Next time some Today-Tonight watcher gets going about "bloody reffos", ask them if they've bought anything made in China (clothes) or the US (Ford, Holden) recently.

Life and times.

2009-04-25T11:48:00.003+10:00

Well it's beginning to feel like we're coming into winter. There's even been a couple of drops of rain out here, which is something of a novelty. And there's more cycling on telie. It's quite exciting having the TdF on over the Yule season. Double celebrations.

Last weekend the telecast of the Tour of Flanders was on. I'd kept up with the race itself and was also looking forward to seeing vid of it. The bf was over for the weekend again and we were planning to watch it. Of course, on the day there was a power outage. I rang the company and sure enough the only place in Australia where there was a blackout was my neck of the woods. Grumble fuck. Oh well, stay in bed for another couple of hours :D

The power came on halfway through the show, so I did get to see the women's racing, which was quite something. The crowds might not be the same, but the competition certainly is!

All this cycling has me wanting to get back on my own bike a bit more. I'll have to take it down to Dandenong to the other half's place, since he's right near the bike trails down there which are much more integrated than those around here. Riding laps up and back on the creek trail, getting multiple punctures on the broken glass all over the place got a bit boring.

When I started back at Uni I was hoping there'd be a way to incorporate some bike travel in the commute. It's a 130 km round trip in the car, which would be a pretty long ride even if the local track did connect with the ring road. There's the option of taking the bike on the train, but that would mean having it on both Connex and VLine in peak hour. Something I'm not really motivated to attempt at present. One day I caught public transport to experiment with an alternative to car travel and it took me 5 1/2 hours to get to and from a 2 hour class. Needless to say I'm distinctly unimpressed with Victorian public transport these days. Hardly a novelty, I'm sure.

So it's trips to the local shops and watching on tellie for me at present. Not too bad when you're curled up somewhere warm with someone nice to cuddle.

experiments in blogging part 85,999,832

2009-04-17T15:19:00.007+10:00

Okay, after half an hour stuffing around with javascript trying to get a myspace link to work here... bugger it I'll just post the link.

Bad Domme

Apparently it's from some sitcom called The Whitest Kids You Know... which I don't watch, but the vid had me crying with laughter. Cheers!

Boom bikes

2009-04-15T21:26:00.003+10:00

Ever ridden in Critical Mass and been appreciative of the bikes with speakers attached? Some of my fondest memories of Mass are of riding down Bourke St to the tune of "Flight of the Valkyries" provided by Val.

On oobject there's pics of a number of bikes with some unusual approaches to this... Among other things such as extreme truck loads and vintage analog lie detectors.

Oddly, when searching for a link for CM I got a mercedes site. Um. %-)

Roubaix 09

2009-04-15T13:34:00.007+10:00

Go Boonen. Wow, what a race!

Watching the 2009 Paris-Roubaix was about the middle of a lovely relaxing long weekend for me. The other half came over and we were sitting around watching DVDs and otherwise enjoying some vegging time. I hadn't kept up with the full starting list so it was a little more excitement trying to figure out who was who and becoming more familiar with some of the new team colours. There's a lot of blue in there this year. And how similar does Katusha look to Francais de Jour in the peloton!

Half way through Cancellara was looking pretty good. Apparently he's had some time off due to illness and O'Grady wasn't there because he's broken his collar bone poor bugger. The breakaway wasn't really caught though, it was more of a game of chance on those narrow roads and especially on the cobbles. Not exactly news in Roubaix, is it? No matter how good a rider or a team looks, it's still a matter of avoiding those huge pile ups.

So Saxo Bank didn't manage to catch up with the leading group. I was waiting for a huge showdown between Hushovd, Pozzato and Boonen for the finish, how exciting would that have been? Then the three way crash and later Hushovd met with a barrier only a few k's from the finish. Boonen must have been beside himself. LOL

Cycling Flix has video of the last kilometres and the two big crashes that decided the race outcome. For some reason blogspot won't let me link to vids there or on youtube. I could download it then post it here vicariously, but that seems too much like poaching. Steephill have photos and links to the other coverage too.

Not to be outdone, the other half stayed up late to watch motoGP the next night. It was cancelled because of rain so he had to get up in the middle of the night for it LOL. In case you're wondering, Stoner won, which he's done a few times now at Qatar.

This makes three for Boonen. The opinion of the media seems to be that he's in a bit of a league of his own now. Not many other riders have won Roubaix three times. He's probably under a bit of pressure to pull something out after last year's carry on too. And get to TdF this time. He and team Quickstep are certainly looking good for it now!

Gent-Wevelgem that I was so keen to watch was won by a young rider Edvald Boasson Hagen. After stuffing around for some time with links to net tv that were restricted to European watchers I eventually settled for Cycling News' ticker update. It was almost as frustrating as it was exciting to follow. What do you get when you cross UCI pro touring with notepad??

The result was that lots of commentators were remarking on how Merckx won Gent at a young age, so now Hagen is in a select league also. Two Aussies, Goss and Hayman finished third and fourth which was a pretty good result for the patriotic among us. Cavendish was a favourite before the race but didn't get there.

Cycling News also has the round up for Vuelta al Pais Vasco. Alberto Contador won and is quoted as saying he's pretty happy with his improvements in time trials. Cadel Evans finished 8th. Michael Rogers who rides for Columbia Highroad finished 4th. Good going. Simon Gerrans was also in there at 19th. Gerrans rides for Cervelo with Hushovd and Haussler, so hopefully we'll be seeing some of him in the TdF this year also.

Brett Lancaster is also a Cervelo rider this year. Actually, have a squizz at their riders' profiles page. They have a womens' team too and are involved in promoting womens' cycling, which admittedly I've been pretty slack with this year. That's a really friendly page setup.

I dunno how they're going to feel in all that black in the South of France in July though.

Il Giro d'Italia is coming up on May 9th and looks like it's going to be another fantastic race. SBS are having evening highlights shows which will be great. Tour de Romandie is running April 28 to May 3rd though an English translation and riders list are yet to appear. Have to dust off the French perhaps? ;-)

Localish news

2009-04-08T12:40:00.004+10:00

Some good and some bad news unfortunately. Young cycling competitor Jobie Dajka has passed away. The story speaks more of the trouble he'd experienced than his gold medal performances at the Commonwealth Games or his potential as an Olympic athlete, which is unfortunate. Dajke was part of a great team in the Manchester games and it's a real shame to lose him.

Other bad news concerns some stats in a study of cyclists turning up in emergency wards. Apparently we're not sure if this means more cyclists are getting hurt or more people are cycling. 26,000 thousand people were treated between 2001 and 2006 and 47 died.

New Jersey is passing laws ruling that car drivers must leave a three foot buffer between themselves and cyclists on the road. Apparently a lot of places are doing this... but isn't that what a bike lane is supposed to be for? I'm not entirely sure this will have much effect, apart from putting some onus on drivers who hit cyclists for crossing the imaginary line. Wouldn't it make more sense to follow the scandinavian idea that makes car drivers automatically liable in any accident with cyclists?

The Age, in some of the most blatant display of News Corp's influence in the buy into Fairfax, has run a "pedal peril" commentary... Needless to say many cyclists have recounted stories of near misses and injuries, and calls for more bike paths and better cycling infrastructure. The comments alone are worth a read if you're interested in road cycling in Melbourne.

I have been hit from behind, had multiple front-on near misses from drivers cutting in/across, and been road raged repeatedly. That I have just spent $500 on lights - which are bright enough to rival a cars tail and headlights, and therefore take the excuse of "we didn't see you" away (I will run these on a flash mode day and night) - shows just how unsafe the average cyclist feels. The only [c]omplaint against a motorist which I have formally lodged with police resulted in a "cautionary phone call" to the driver, despite him having run his car up on the footpath to try and get me, and despite other motorists acting as witnesses to the "he was really trying to run you down" incident. So, what exactly is being done again??

My wife used to ride to work every day. She has recently stopped as she has had far to many close calls with cars not allowing appropriate space or in some cases down right rudeness with profanity being hurled at her along with wolf whistles etc. On a few occasions she has had empty coke cans thrown at here usually by some obese car driver with no manners. Why would you want to cycle with all that going on. We all talk about trying to be greener and healthier yet it is frowned upon by so many. In general we seem to be hell bent on destruction.

This one takes the prize, however:

I don't see what all the fuss is about! Theirs to many cyclists on our roads these days and I for one am sick of there disregard for people who use the roads for there purpose, driving cars. Bikes belong on the footpath and we shouldnt spend our tax dollars on any more unnecessary bike lanes. I understand that people want to get fit but whats wrong with a BIG session on the exercise bike or stepper in front of telly?

Naturally there were also complaints about the behaviour of some cyclists, but since 90% of road laws are knee jerk media driven reactions directed at controlling cars with no reference whatsoever to cycling I'm not going to bother.

I'm inclined to wonder if we need to make some changes in the percieved dominance of cars on the road. Which is hardly a novelty. How about liability laws [Guardian UK] that make car drivers responsible for accidents they're involved in? In many cases where drivers hit cyclists, the cyclist is injured or killed while the driver walks away and only a few scratches on the car. It's hardly motivation to pay attention. Either way, it's infrastructure and an underlying attitude that need work.

Such is covered in the website of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims.

Sure there's enough tarmac out there for everyone, if we're sensible about sharing. Well, except at peak hour but that's the problem with cars and cities. There simply isn't enough space to make that much road surface and still have a functioning city. Cars are too big and most only carry one person. However, the point I was trying to make is that more bike lanes aren't going to prevent road crashes. (Someone said "please don't call them accidents.")

Oddly enough, just this morning I had an email from someone asking MelBUG about cycling from Melton to Footscray. A person who has a new job here wants to cycle because public transport would leave them stranded in mid afternoon. I felt dreadful having to make the reply that there was pretty much nothing unless she wanted to ride on the side of the freeway, only a couple of feet from V doubles doing 110kph.

So I suppose you're wondering what the good news is? Heinrich Haussler is planning to ride as an Australian in the 2010 pro tour season. Haussler finished second in the Tour of Flanders, in which there were 7 other Aussies and 2 New Zealanders riding.

You'd think that a sports mad nation would embrace such a move and then expand to embrace all others who might follow in those tyre tracks... Ironically this story is carried by News Ltd who are some of the worst proponents of car culture on the planet. You gotta laugh.

Flanders, Vasco...

2009-04-07T10:33:00.007+10:00

While writing about Gent, which I'm still really excited to see, I made a comment to the effect that Stijn Devolders was riding in the Quickstep team, assuming that Tom Boonen would be their "leader".

This wasn't the case in the Ronde van Vlaanderen yesterday. Cyclingnews quotes [Devolder] as saying it's the most important race of the year... Which may be why he's won it twice now. That doesn't change much for the Roubaix or Gent, which Boonen will have a good chance at, but good on Devolders.

Here's the full photo gallery of Flanders 09 from the Steephill site, which is rapidly becoming one of my favourites!

Cadel Evans meanwhile is riding in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. A week long tour of basque country and absolute climbing fest, complete with every Spanish cyclist you've ever heard of, naturally.

It's an interesting exercise seeing which riders the big teams have in which races at this stage of the season. Saxo Bank have Cancellara and O'Grady riding the one day classics while the Schleck brothers are in the longer races. Silence has Evans, Cervelo has Gerrans, Astana have Popovych and Horner in the longer ride. Cunego must be intending to have another crack at TdF after his unfortunate injury bail out last year. There's a depth of logic or tactics to all this that I hadn't previously realised. The teams really do put their riders in the right places to develop both their fitness and their particular strengths.

Happily, there's a whole truck load of Aussies in riding in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. Have a squizz at the Vasco pages on steephill. Following the season is certainly a great way to lead up to the TdF. Rather than seeing only the snippets here and there, you see how the teams and riders are performing, who's doing what and who's doing well. Not to mention the strategies of the management. It's a bit like Cycling Civ... If you're bent to think of it that way.

I'm hammering the new ADSL upgrade viewing all these vids etc. Found a couple of decent cycling vid sites to assist with that ;) Cycling Flix is run in the Netherlands. Definitely worth a look. There's also Tutti Bici Web, in Italian. The big web tv channel for all this would be Cycling TV, but it's not free.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned Cavendish. Probably because it's a bit embarrassing to be bitchy about newcomers, and British newcomers at that. A little like not liking Lance Armstrong, possibly. Well, he certainly does have a good chance in the Gent, but I'm hoping to see an exciting sprint finish with one of the lesser known riders taking it out... Unless Boonen or Hushovd get up. But I have a feeling I'm going to have to get used to seeing Cavendish taking out stage honours.

Waiting for Gent

2009-04-06T17:15:00.006+10:00

In the midst of the weekend stuffing around the thought occurred that there might be a bike race on somewhere. A perusal of the SBS schedule showed no cycling, but you could watch 9 or so hours of soccer if you're thus inclined.

This is obviously not a bike fix... so I went on a bit of a search to find out when exactly Gent-Wevelgem was on. Turns out it's this Wednesday. No immediate tellie coverage but you can watch 20 hours of various footballs if you feel like it. So yeah, that's why I've included the organisers' link. Plenty of info!

Saxo Bank are fielding Cancellara and O'Grady, which makes sense considering the way they've ridden in the last couple of Paris-Roubaix... (Which I mention because I saw those but not last year's Gent) Oscar Friere won last year but he doesn't appear to be in the lineup this time. Neither will Evans unfortunately. Silence Lotto have accepted a start in le TdF but as yet there's no riders listing for that.

Someone was saying Gent is traditionally a race for sprinters. I guess the couple of "hells" are there to keep them awake ;-) This explains the presence of so many sprinters. Husovd is there, Columbia are trotting out Cavendish and Hincapie. Niki Terpstra is among Milram's team. I'm pleased to see Boonen is riding and not only because I'm a fan. Stijm Devolder and Matteo Tossato are supporting him which looks good and he's won it in '04.

However, Katusha have Gert Steegmans, Filipo Pozzato and Sergei Ivanov starting. They look like a solid bunch of riders. It will be interesting to see how the team dynamic develops among those guys in the lead up to the grand tours.

As mentioned, Mark Cavendish is riding. He's certainly doing very well at the moment and his success in last year's TdF was stunning. It remains to be seen if he'll do so well in a one day race like this, particularly with those hells thrown in toward the end. If he can pace himself he might give some of the other favourites a bit of a spur.

A race like this is always going to be seriously hard to pick, from 228 starters. On a course of 203 kilometres a lot can happen.

Aside from the previous winners and promising sprinters, I'll be interested to see how Herve Duclos-Lassalle and Aleksandr Kuschynski finish. Just out of curiosity.

No one in Aus is showing the race which is severely disappointing considering the number of sports channels and HD channels there are available now. If anyone knows of a station netcasting it please let me know! Other than that it's hang out till the 10:10 on the 12th for Paris Roubaix. Can hardly wait!

Oh, here's the link for ASO for info on the courses of other French races. Cheers.

Edit: The very wonderful Phil has informed me that Cycling Central is indeed on the case and will be showing some highlights at least of Gent and Flanders in addition to the live Roubaix. Actually, that's a pretty decent site these days. Lots of info on the pro circuit as well as what's happening in Aus and in women's cycling. I knew there was a reason why I like SBS. And it's not only the French films :D

Rehi... chicks following bikes and '09 cycling season

2009-04-03T12:46:00.005+11:00

Well. It's been a while. How is everyone?

After a lazy Summer in the beanbag reading my little bum off, I got all hot and flustered and decided to return at Uni. Hmm. It's beginning to look like anthropology and psych will be more interesting than the beginners philosophy subjects that are on offer, but French is going really well.

Other than that, spent the weekend at the new bf's place and of course the Paris-Nice was on. Hehe. It was a highlights show and they tend not to be as interesting as watching the whole thing or an extended version as you don't get a chance to get a feel for the race, the politics, the teams or the riders themselves. Those of you who follow pro racing will understand what I mean about the politics LOL (That's the UCI page, btw)

Okay, let me see what links I need here... Hmmm... haven't done this in a while.

Cycling News have a teams database for UCI pro, continental and women's racing, not to mention details on MTB and BMX etc. which is pretty handy. Their road page gives you rankings, a full calendar, transfers and previous years' teams. How good is that?! Velo news also have a great teams page and team and rider bios on site.

I'm mentioning the teams because there's a few name changes and new groups this year that I hadn't kept up with. While sitting on the lounge room floor watching the race, I had the laptop going, looking up the info on summary teams and riders LOL. It was a bit of a switch from the usual Anglo image of the sports watching bloke and his long suffering girlfriend. My other half was lying on the couch watching the whole thing pretty much in silence, possibly a little surprised by my enthusiasm :D

So. Louis Leon Sanchez rode a pretty smart race. Contador was disappointing in a way, but with a relatively new team like Astana behind him and considering their fluffing around last year he rode pretty bloody well. A bit like Evans finishing second in last year's TdF, which was the equivalent of running on to a grand final ground with a team of reserves players IMHO... Might be worthwhile keeping an eye on this Sanchez. Saxo Bank naturally took out the team classifications, a repeat of last year's success as CSC. Damn, what a fine team! Garmin look similarly well oiled, but it would take someone like Phil to give you all the background goss on that lot. They've had so many chops and changes in name and sponsorship over the last few years it's not funny. Sylvain Chavanel also rode well. It was good to see him in the yellow jersey.

The thing that particularly interested me, and the spur for firing up the laptop in the middle of a race telecast, was the new Russian team Katusha. Don't bother looking for it on the Cyclingnews site, their link is broken... but here's an article about the name and history of the team. Tinkov might ring a few bells.

And have a look at some of the riders they've signed! Wow! Not only McEwan and Steegemans, which must have been a bit of a blow for young Boonen... Karpets, Botcharov, Pozzato and haven't we heard the name Ivanov somewhere? Someone must have gone nuts with the chequebook. One of the reviews I was reading went on about some of the younger talent they've signed, I wish I could find the link for that as it's pretty interesting, and they've made a smart move in signing some of the older riders like McEwan who might have a bit of trouble beating Cavendish and Boonen these days but will pass on a wealth of expertise to the new comers. If they can avoid the sort of bullshit Astana and others experienced and settle down as a team, not to mention developing the tactics necessary for grand tours, they'll be giving Saxo Bank and Garmin some serious trouble this year... IMHO ;-)

Next weekend Ghent is on, but SBS aren't covering it for some reason. The following sunday is Paris-Roubaix. Woo-hoo. Can't wait. There's a holiday for it this year ;-) About time too. With any luck I'll be following the live net broadcasts in French now. Yay!

That will do for now. Better get offline before the storm shorts us out again. :D

Quicksilver

2008-12-23T17:40:00.003+11:00

Recently I picked up one of Neal Stephenson's books, Quicksilver. Those who've read it will probably anticipate my oncoming enthusiasm! :D It is brilliant. Presently I'm halfway through the second in the series, which he titled 'The Baroque Cycle' and am enjoying it thoroughly.

It's interesting to observe a continuation of themes and character types in some of his books. For instance the piracy, mathematics and religion in Snowcrash. The well intentioned almost anti-hero similarity between Hiro Protagonist (seriously) and Jack and Bob Shaftoe. (Think about it.) A Russian kayaker, a samurai and an intelligent female lead are all present though in differing forms. Stephenson's ability to elegantly merge discussion of science, religion, politics and piracy is remarkable, and this time he's doing it in the form of historical fiction rather than cyberpunk.

I'm inspired to re-read Zodiac and Cryptonomicon to analyse the themes and characters in those further, though from memory they are less obviously present. Obviously as a female and a fan of Margaret Attwood, I'd love to see more intelligent and fully human female characters, but even as a radical Womanist it's hard to fault this fabulous excursion through 17th century Europe, other than observing how much still needs to change culturally for womens' lib.

A comparison with another book I've read recently might be curious. Terry Pratchett has co-written a book with one Neil Gaiman, which was sufficient to recommend Gaiman to me. I must say it was quite a disappointment. Gaiman is the author of Stardust, which was recently a movie. Despite the subject and potential for story, the characters left me cold. There was no one in it with whom I could identify. The females were nothing more than transparent, two-dimensional stereotypes. Sadly those in Neverwhere were the same. This was a real let down since the story and the universe in which it took place were intriguing. I might read Good Omens to see if Pratchett has had any mitigating influence in this regard.

So, having another two of Stephenson's and Attwood's latest up my sleeve, this Summer's holidays look like being a wealth of entertainment. Not to mention some inspiration to study more European history! I also feel the need to read Les Miserables to see if Jack Shaftoe might be echoed there. Oh yes, LOL, when I began the second book in the cycle, The Confusion, there was an air-punching moment of excitement over one of the characters. Fortunately I'd not read the back of the book, which contained a thoughtless spoiler in one of the reviews... but I won't spoil anything here. The books have been out for some time now and may even be hard to get hold of, but if you need something to read over Summer and aren't enthused by the prospect of 800 pages of weapons specifications or vapid reinforcement of social gender constructs, Neal Stephenson is well worth considering.

Speaking of which...

2008-12-11T19:07:00.003+11:00

There's been a little more talk of an Australian pro touring team. No one's holding their breath, but wouldn't it be fantastic to see? If Khazakstan can do it... ;-)

[Cadel] Evans, taking his annual break at his home base in Barwon Heads, said: "Getting an Australian team up is what I am keeping busy doing. I had a meeting this week and that is something we are really working towards. It has become a real interest for me. We are well placed on the talent side of riders, team staff and even equipment manufacturers. We have all the experts in that regard. And now the interest is coming from the corporate side. You obviously need a lot of money to run a team. It's certainly a possibility. When, I am not exactly sure, but I am working on it as well."

Something to dream about. :D

When updating iGoogle recently I noticed the little news feed gadgets and decided to add the ABC, of course and a tab for cycling news. Fortunately most of what's coming through is quite positive, like this. Less excuse not to post now, too.

There's a New Year's Eve ride on, for those who are interested, meeting at 7:30 at the IMAX theatre next to the Exhibition Buildings in carlton. Not sure I'll be there, but it will be a great ride knowing that lot.

Stop the clean feed

2008-12-02T15:54:00.002+11:00

Protests are being organised around the country against the Government's proposed internet censorship. Since we don't live in China, Burma, Iran or Saudi Arabia why shouldn't we be permitted to act as civilised adults and make our own decisions regarding internet content? Why should such filtration be entrusted to a Government body with a vested interest? Why should we have a system so obviously open to serious flaws?

Stop the clean feed.

GetUp! anti-censorship campaign.

See you on the 13th.

Cycling central relaunch

2008-10-31T09:28:00.003+11:00

Hi, hi... Haven't been posting much over here in recent weeks. Been kinda busy on other projects. To whit, sorting out my mythology and world views... There's an interesting old religion reconstruction that goes by the name Asatru. Really interesting stuff, if you can filter out the shotgun toting, pig-ignorant, redneck, porch monkeys. Because it's spiritual stuff it's over on my bitch blog. So far I've avoided getting into any rip roaring flame wars, but stay tuned ;-)

News in my inbox this morning was from SBS. They're relaunching their cycling central show. Yippee! Toma's hosting it again, which is great because he does such a fantastic job with all their cycling stuff. It starts on Decmeber 1st which will save me having to look forward to xmas... The email doesn't say what time, but that will obviously be in the zombie box guide at a relevant date.

In addition there's a special about Cadel's ride in the 2008 Tour de France on this Sunday, Nov 2nd, at midday. That should be cool. I'll need something to help me recover from the kids' birthdays. LOL Both my kids have birthdays this weekend, they're born a day either side of Hallowe'en (Beltaine) Dunno how I managed that, but it makes for at least one seriously hectic weekend during the year.

Other cycling shows they have on are the Melbourne to Warrnambool on Sunday 9-11 (LOL) and the Tour de Faso on the 16th. It's good to see some more coverage of cycling. After le Tour they had some reporting on the Vuelta and the Giro, but it tended to be 15 minutes at 7 in the morning... These hour long shows on Sundays are heaps better IMHO. If all else fails and you really need your fix, there's always the UCI, Pez and Cycling News.

Blinking in the daylight.

2008-10-26T14:15:00.004+11:00

Friday morning.

Well. It's been a while. What can I say? There's been important stuff to do. Developing archetypes and dealing with flashbacks and lots of fun stuff like that. :P

A bunch of us have been going for semi regular rides around the shop with the MelBUG crew, which is a bit of fun.

For a short while a bloke from Melton Shire was in touch with the group and wanting to get some cycling related infrastructure off the ground. That lasted about three weeks. Heh. Not a novelty. Looks like I'm going to have to draw up a paper and collect a couple of VicRoads papers and throw something at Council myself. That may be amusing! Check out the online bike network while you're there.

The gym membership is going pretty well, thanks for asking. ;-) The only hassle is the long term side effects from some pills. Apparently they're notorious for stuffing up your endocrine system and metabolism. This leaves me with difficulty both losing the weight I put on and in recovery. Still, I'm enjoying the work outs and it is showing some benefit.

Cycling: So what about Lance, eh? Rolando who's a PT at the gym was telling me about Lance's book and is a real fan of him for having survived and all that. I'm a little sceptical for a few reasons that probably won't be popular, but I'll suspend judgment coz who cares really. At least if he rides in the Tour Downunder it will be huge press coverage which is always of benefit for road cyclists.

Happy Beltaine, everyone!

Quickie update.

2008-09-05T20:44:00.003+10:00

While I'm waiting for a few downloads might as well write an entry, what?

Spring is allegedly upon us. The days are beginning to warm up and it's certainly time for a bit of a Spring clean. So I pulled my finger out and joined a gym as my birthday present to myself. It was totally worth it! I'm even enjoying the pain LOL.

At the local outpost they run various classes as well as the usual weights, of course, but the classes now include Tai Chi and bellydancing. There were more than a dozen of us there tonight, giggling our way through the whole thing and having an absolute ball. The music was fantastic. Gotta love Arabic drumming!!!! Now I'll have to save up my pennies and go buy a Natacha Atlas CD.

The shed is still full of bikes, despite my hope that the new council contact would help me place some of the recycles. He's so busy he doesn't know what day it is, so I might have to go back to the Werribee mob who assist Burmese asylum seekers down in Wyndham. Gotta clear some space!

A bit of rain has helped the veggie patches no end. It's quite exciting planning what will go where for this Summer's crops. It will be planting time in a few weeks so I'm ripping up weeds and turning dirt with gay abandon. This year eggplant and chillies are on the list along with the stalwart tomatoes and cucumbers that did so well last Summer. We might well feed the whole street again. There's a strange satisfaction to looking out the dining room window at $100 worth of organic lettuces sunning themselves in the yard. ;-)

Last weekend I ended up at a party full of hippies down in Geelong, which was fantastic fun. Lots of bellydancing and drumming... Good value. Bout time I started socialising more.

Cruising the bike blogs and assorted errata.

2008-08-27T16:13:00.004+10:00

You know you're getting paranoid when anything that sounds remotely like swooping has you ducking so hard your helmet comes off... In traffic yesterday I thought I heard a magpie and wound up having to pick my lid up off the tarmac. Needless to say there was no bird, only several amused drivers shaking heads.

Chris L has posted photos of a trip to Lamington National Park. I'm really becoming jealous of the places he has nearby to ride to! Have a squizz at the pics, he's a great photographer as well as a keen cyclist.

Spinno's new site was up for maintenance, hopefully that means he'll be back more often!

There's a *slow* bicycle movement getting underway in Copenhagen. Slow is a little like downshifting... Slow wine, slow food etc. a movement that eschews the fast pace of modern consumerism for something more human and more meaningful. The idea of riding for enjoyment and not having to flog myself on the roads kind of appeals now that I'm 42. (And after spending most of winter on the couch LOL) World Institute of Slowness.

Rooman is promoting 350.org, which is about reducing carbon emissions and a change in awareness in global culture and the world car free network.

On the wonderful Wheels of Justice site, maintained by the superlative Chris S, there's a page of crankbusters.

And after a roundabout search that started at The Age, making sure there was no bad news today, I found the main UCI pages which have all the teams and current rankings etc. Should be a bit of fun. Don't know how I didn't come across that earlier.

Edit: I might throw in a shameless plug for my MelBUG website, where we're trying to encourage people to tell Parks Victoria that the new park down in Melton South desperately needs BMX and MTB tracks and a bike shed for recycling included in its development. Cheers!

Government thinking.

2008-08-26T13:00:00.003+10:00

Poached this one from Treadly and Treehugger, which looks like a good site. Cheers.

Emerging from the cave.... Maybe.

2008-08-25T18:02:00.002+10:00

Well, rehi! My gods, it's been a horrible winter. I've had this long running fight with depression that's been going on since about April. Possibly the worst one ever. Ugh! Even went so far as to try medication (again). Which didn't work for me (again). But I got away without too many life threatening side effects this time. (Whew!)

The sun's been out a bit which is really nice. The magpies are already swooping. Getting in early, perhaps. This year I'm going to try the bunches of cable ties attached to the helmet like a plastic echidna. Plenty of other riders around here seem to find it helpful.

Other news is that Melton Shire Council seem to be thinking about doing something about all the cyclists appearing on the roads and trails around here every Summer. I got a call from a bloke who manages some of the leisure and recreational stuff around the traps and he's a mad keen mountain biker... So we've been reading other councils' reports and looking up stuff on the net and generally beginning to have a stab at developing a cycling strategy for the far out west of Melbourne.

The good news is that we're actually included on the VicRoads PBN for Melbourne!!

This means that something might eventuall actually happen to build and connect some bike paths around here. And that would be a very, very good thing.

Vive la Tour!!!

2008-07-09T15:16:00.008+10:00

Yes, it's on. And the tiredness (or is that excitement?) is getting to me already! Good thing I have the place to myself for a while, to sit up all night watching the racing and sleep in till noon. It feels a bit like working night shift. I have to get out and ride around in the arvo to ground myself.

The start this year was interesting, I guess it's good to mix it up a little, but there might be a reason why the race usually starts with time trials and stages to suit the sprinters. It's awesome watching those gut-wrenching, white knuckle sprints in the first few stages... It kind of sets the mood, which is important because it's a three week long race and despite how good any particular rider looks to start with or how well their team is organised, you don't really know until the last few days and everyone's through the mountains, what's going to happen at the finish. It's unpredictable, and the sprints and time trials give us something to wonder about trying to predict it all anyways.

And Boonen's out. Bastard. Stupid bugger should have kept the coke in Amsterdam. Now I can't watch him for three weeks. Bloody thing. Grrr.

So anyways, how's Evans going! Looked very clever in that trial last night, not going hammer and tongs until the last 10k. He does look like an experienced rider. I really hope he finishes well.

Okay. Links.

SBS Tour de France '08 homepage.
SBS TdF forums. Good value!
Cycling news.
Pez Cycling.
Velo news.
The road diaries. A SRAM rep on the road with le Tour.
and Spinno's new site for good measure coz Phil's insight is generally worth a read, if he gets his stuff together and starts blogging again.

OMG Another two and a half weeks of this. I'm in heaven!

One more thing...

How funny was Paul Sherwin last night during Jen's Voigt's time trial? He kept saying "He really is a beast of a man, I love the way he races!" I was laughing out loud thinking, Geez, calm down Paul. But he's right, Voigt really is great to watch, even if it does look like all his power is going everywhere but on the ground. What's that old line about a rider who sprints like a rabbit humping a tennis ball?

cycling Tour de France Jens Voigt Cadel Evans

Beautiful winter days

2008-06-03T13:58:00.006+10:00

Well it's now officially Winter. Don't you love it? Brisk chilly foggy mornings and long slow afternoons by the heater. I haven't been doing much cycling at all since I'm still fighting off that horrible flu that's going around, but the cycling fitness I did have meant it didn't hit me nearly as hard as some other folks I know.

In order to get that last post off the top of the list, I'll link you to a couple of my favourite places for reading about cycling when I'm not doing it.

Treadly and me always has some neat cycling related news and jokes.

Life cycle, Chris has a camera and knows how to use it! And he's up North so always seems to have great riding weather.

And as always Phil at Spinno. The Tour de France is coming up and we'll look forward to seeing Phil blogging it hopefully. He's one of our most articulate and clever bloggers and found the cartoon.

After the Roubaix I was all inspired and rode quite a few trips that week... until the cold hit. Hopefully we'll organise a couple of bike fixing days in the shed next week with MelBUG to get us back on track and moving again. I've also lost all my bookmarks in a system crash, so the warmth by the heater as I trawl through millions of old posts and pages looking to reconnect is appreciated. Staying up really late is also good practise for le Tour. I promised myself that this year I'd have a DVD recorder and be able to get some images of the scenery. It was the Tour a couple of years ago that was so gorgeous in the South of France that got me painting again and I've still yet to paint a landscape LOL.

Anyways, happy cycling and happy Winter!

On rain and dogs.

2008-05-18T12:59:00.004+10:00

(Warning about the grisly pic...)

It's been raining here this weekend, which is fantastic. The garden needed it almost as much as the fields and creek. Lovely!

In recent weeks I took a rake and hessian sack down there and cleaned up some of the broken glass. It would be great if there were somewhere for the kids to drink other than in a rare green space. Well, it would probably be better all around if they had something to do other than drinking.

Hopefully the council will get on board with the idea of having a public bike shed and several good BMX and MTB tracks in their you-beaut-wonderful new 300 hectare park.

Unfortunately there are also many dogs around the creek environs. Yeah, I know, people always say "it isn't the dog, it's the owner." Supposedly. Yet after years of being up to our knees in dog droppings that are never cleaned up, the creek smells like an open sewer after a decent rain. It's disgusting. Similarly is the number of small animals that are mauled by roaming dogs.

Recently a bloke walking a dog on a lead allowed it enough lead to attack me as I was cycling past on the shared trail. He didn't give a rats. Fortunately I was quick enough to pull my leg out of the way as it went for me. Fortunately also it went for me and not my 72 year old mother who was riding with me. She's on medication for her heart and a fall or dog attack could be quite serious.

I yelled at him for his trouble, and later considered going back to confront him. Mum thought it wiser not to, but why should be put up with this crap?

I'm considering whether to upload this pic since it's so horrible but it might illustrate the problem. People are forever saying "don't blame the dog, blame the owner. Dog's are great pets, friendly, easily trained and so forth." Well, if this is the case, prove it. Damn it.

Bloody prove it.

Something about public transport...

2008-04-15T14:52:00.004+10:00

During the past week I've been seeing these ads on the idjut box about some bloke with a ride on mower and a bunch of trailers. The voice over says something in a weird slightly pommie accent about having to take hundreds or thousands of people to work in the morning.

"Imagine having to take nurses to hospitals..."

Um. Okay? Whatever.

The bit about the futures analysts was a bit rough. I mean, whose idea was it to privatise the public transport system for fun and profit? Why pick on futures analysts while other bean counters embedded in the global corporate kleptocracy sell off publicly owned utilities and ground us all? Hmph.

The real twist was the final mumble about how ConXXX are now putting on more staff, more carriages and more services... Does that mean that all these years later they're beginning to undo some of the hack and slash that came after the big sell-out.. I mean off?

Meanwhile, advertising notwithstanding, the news is that ConXXX have racked up record fines for stuffing up services. Not that the fines stuff makes any sense anyway. The company is operating for profit, not for service provision. That's the big and important difference between private oligarchy and public service. If you fine them, their profits go down and then what happens to services, huh?

During the Cain-Kirner years (showing my age now ;-)) people (media voices anyway) whinged quite a bit about slow trains and union membership. Then Kennett came along with the you-beaut wonderful idea of selling everything that wasn't nailed down with the intention that something ought to run better for it. What that something was, we still aren't sure. After Kennett then Bracks and now Brumby, the schools, hospitals and in particular the public transport are *still* in a huge hole.

Of course, anyone who's ever worked for a multinational conglomerate was laughing themselves into spasms at the mere suggestion that 'private enterprise' would be more efficient or productive than union organised disorganisation of publicly owned infrastructure.

So now plenty of people are wondering what Ms Kosky's on about and when we're going to get a Minister for Public Transport who at the very least wants the job... Not to mention some productive changes. $millions blown on myki, anyone? Don't ask how many baggage carriages that would have bought to carry our bikes on peak hour trains.

Or how many bike paths could have been built to connect up all the bits and pieces around out lying areas so we could by pass the whole schmozzle altogether and peddle our way around town.

But that might be far too sensible for politics.

The big 200!

2008-04-15T13:09:00.002+10:00

Yay!

For what it's worth. 200th post.

The papers finally caught up with the fact that there was a bike race somewhere in Europe over the weekend...
Gritty O'Grady
Boonen wins Paris-Roubaix

But you've probably read all about it by now... :-)

Paris-Roubaix

2008-04-14T10:55:00.005+10:00

I must admit I'm sitting here with pretty bleary old eyes after staying up very late last night watching the live cover of the Paris-Roubaix.

What a race! It's pretty obvious now why this is such a popular race and why people have been raving on about it.

Don't let me forget to mention the Melburn-Roobaix held on Saturday. That would have been fun! Might have to pencil that one in next year as a prelude...

*Sigh* If only Phil Gomez was still blogging at Spinno. I'd love to read what he thought of it. Where are you Phil??!!!

The interest here was partly because Stuart O'Grady won it so convincingly last year, and partly because it was SBS's first live telecast of the race. With the TdF coming up later this year, it pays to get in some practise sitting up late in front of the box waxing artistic over the gorgeous scenery and alternately screaming "COME ON O'GRADY GET IN THERE YOU BASTARD!!!" Or words to that effect while the teenage kids are sitting in the night room rolling their eyes at their mother's never ending weirdness.

The Pro circuit is of course a team sport and this is also great fun watching the tactics and sometimes surprisingly gentlemanly aspects of the sport with team cars helping out other teams' riders on rare occasions and generally behaving in a fairly sporting manner. There's the grand opera aspects of the Euro personalities and dramas that add a laugh. Last night it was disappointing that team tactics kept Stuart from having another real go. He certainly looked fit, especially considering his huge crash in TdF last year... But Cancellara was up there at about 20 or 30 to go and O'Grady couldn't risk leading one of Boonen's team mates up to compete with Fabian.

As it turned out, Boonen didn't need any help anyway. Damn that guy's gorgeous. Heh. Ahem. Anyways, what a race!

The Italian rider for Lampre, Ballan, did well to keep up with those two. For a while there I had visions of him surprising everyone and winning it. I reckon we'll be seeing more of Lampre in the next few years.

Other Aussies were in the Roubaix, Baden Cooke, Christopher Sutton and Mathew Hayman bringing up the rear. No mention of Sutherland, perhaps he was sitting it out with McEwan and Evans. Check out the UCI Road Rankings. ABC Sport report.

It's something of a surprise to me that I'm so into all of this. Until about two or three years ago, I was the kind of person who didn't bother following sports at all, preferring to participate in them myself. Partly because of the enjoyment of cycling, the great people I've met at various bike related events and partly because of the efforts of the SBS team and Mike Tomalaris in promoting these events, here I am staying up all night watching classic cycling races and keenly anticipating every little mention let alone race coverage.

Hopefully SBS can expand or at least continue their reportage of this event in years to come. Hopefully they can increase their cover of women's racing, as they did with the Cycling Central show when it was on. As it stands this morning, yawning and wiping the sleep from my eyes... the summary is "thanks heaps, folks!"

I'm hooked. And tired.

:-)))

PezCycling Roubaix '08
First edition Cycling News.
106th Paris-Roubaix results.

Fire dancing.

2008-04-02T20:49:00.005+11:00

The equinox weekend was great for getting out the poi. Thought I'd share some of the fun with you.

FWIW I'll put it here in writing, I won't be following the Beijing Olympics because of continuing human rights abuses by the Chinese Government. Fortunately there's lots of other cycling and bike fun stuff to blog about.

Now I've seen everything.

2008-03-25T02:31:00.000+11:00

The Goth-o-matic poetry generator....

My Very Own Darkly Gothic Poem

to be as she

It is a night of subtlety, a song of ethereal pain,
wolves vent their loneliness. The beautiful one
stirs.

Night shrouds her gaunt form,
an everlasting desire.

Her ebon hair cascades over
pale and tragic shoulders, and her
full crimson lips part slightly, to taste the
life streaming from the
pale flesh beneath
her.

Now a night of ecstasy,
I hunger.

The legs have it.

2008-03-22T23:25:00.003+11:00

Fancy riding down Beach Road in this?

What a gorgeous day it was today. For some time I stuffed around deciding whether to go out for a stretch to Toolern, it's a 30k loop I used to ride last year. A friend, however, has a horse who needs exercise and I've been dying to get my bum back on a horse for ages.

So, after a 23 year break, I'm back in the saddle. Not the two wheel saddle, the four legged one. Cool. It was bumpier than I remember! And I thought my bike needed shockers!! :-)

It did feel good though. Definitely something I'll do on a regular basis when I can, or while I can rather.

So the road ride can wait till tomorrow. Looks like the weather will be really good for it this week too. It's going to take some time for all the little muscles in my legs to become accustomed to the lateral movement for horse-riding after a couple of years on a bike! (The nether end is otherwise coping fine so far, thanks for asking)

Yanno how they say that smell is the strongest memory stimulant in humans? Smelling like horse sweat really takes me back..... :-))

On to other topics bike related....

Following my decision to have a favourite pro rider, which I haven't done since Eki left a year or more ago, my trail of pheromones was rather leading me toward favouring Tom Boonen. Last night, however, while perusing some of the stranger FaceBook groups one tends to frequent in the small hours of the morning I came across a series of jokes on The Official Rules of The Euro Cyclist group about young Tom. Just the title page of that group is a crack up if you follow road cycling!

Examples:

23. You shall NEVER, under any circumstances, acknowledge the presence of a cyclist riding a bike costing less than €2000 in a public place. This could be severely detrimental to your image.

24. You shall NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, associate with triathletes. It is FORBIDDEN to have any number inked onto your body before a race.

25. Any physical activity, other than cycling, is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. This includes any form of running or swimming and their derivatives (this includes walking). The ONLY TWO other sports with a recognized degree of euro are Cross Country skiing, and long track speed skating.

30. ABSOLUTELY NO FORM of seatbag, frame pump, mud guard or mirror shall come within 2 meters of your bike.

34. Coffee is a necessity and as such must be consumed strong (ie. espresso) on a patio in Italy in full kit, it shall be drunk black. Sugar is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. The only milk present shall appear frothed on top (if at all).

54. In the event of a crash, no matter how badly you have injured yourself, you shall proceed to mummify yourself with fishnet gauze. The act of gauzing oneself is looked upon with respect by other Euro Cyclists because it
is a statement of commitment and strength of character to continue racing when injured. White Gauze is the norm, but world cup striped gauze and or national colors may be worn on select occasions depending on the rider.

Anyways... there's another link to something similar. "The thought of 'seeing' a 16 year old in my late twenties blows my mind, it is just so distasteful."

Which pretty much sums up the feeling the morning after. Admittedly a fair bit of reactive cringe factor is projection due to my being very aware of a lack of dudely (or womanly for that matter) company in the last few years.*

Complications aside, there's still something a bit creepy about guys approaching 30 who still hit on school kids.

But aren't they nice dogs?

Now it's time to go have another look through the latest results over at cycling news and pick some favourites to follow for this year's Tour. Astana are out, so I guess Contador and Kloden won't be riding. Bummer. Popovych has signed with Predictor-Lotto. Perhaps the Aussies won't all be sidelined so early on this year??? (She says hopefully.)

I'll leave you with this for amusement. :-))

* That is, of course, due to a need for more training/mechanicking time ;-)

Another day in the life of facebook... and TdF preludes.

2008-03-21T18:06:00.004+11:00

After hanging around last Sunday to watch the Tour of California, (and gee isn't Leipheimer hungry!) it occurred to me to have a squiz on FB for Tom Boonen groups. (In spite of my Feminist self I always find myself drooling....)

Well, as you can imagine, there are one or two. The funniest is I'd do Boonen and yes it includes plenty of male members... I mean, guys who've joined the group...

LOL, the Boonen home page includes calendars. :-))

As for this year's Tour de France, apparently Astana are not invited. No more streaking Borat fans then? It's a bit of a shame really. Much as cheating and drugs are despised in pro-sports of any kind, the whole Tour is a jolly big soap opera and the exclusion of such colourful teams and riders is a detraction.

Happy Nabon!

2008-03-21T17:26:00.003+11:00

Yes, the Autumn Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere was yesterday. With a full moon tonight, early Saturday morning, it's a great time for Goddess worshippers.

Ages ago I used to correlate Pagan rituals and beliefs with Biblical stories and some christian practises, but that no longer seems appropriate. The Old Ways stand on their own.

Another cause for celebration, particularly if you're a free thinking woman, is the worship or celebration of Minerva.

As always various sources provide differing information, one book suggesting that Minerva was originally a Goddess of wisdom and financial management. Others such as that linked, consider her the inventive power and Matron of skill, the creator of numbers and musical instruments.

The five days from March 19th to 23rd are considered sacred to Minerva, which this year overlaps perfectly with Nabon (the second harvest festival and Autumn Equinox) the full moon and Easter.

To celebrate in this household we had muffins made from fruit and nuts (apricot, date and almonds, yum!) pancakes, chocolate, a fair bit of good wine and lots of reading. This is my kind of celebration!

And with the veggie patch going very well indeed, it is a good time to express appreciation for the fertility of the earth and gratitude for the living environment.

Party on!

Living in the real world.

2008-02-22T13:17:00.003+11:00

This morning when I logged on, expecting to do some updating and find out about applying for a grant for bike recycling, sitting in my mailbox was a note about a facebook group "Every time a cyclist is on the road I contemplate running them down."

Needless to say quite a few cyclists weren't very happy about it and were encouraging each other to report the group. On closer inspection I noticed that the group had no current admin... Muahahahaha.

Have a look what we've done with it?

The name can't be changed now, but everything else that can, has. Initially I wanted to close the whole thing, but no doubt if it's closed another dozen worse iterations will soon spring up. So the group is there, moderated, operating as an advertisment for cyclists to speak back to drivers and educate them regarding the fact that bicycles are legal, legitimate road traffic.

One of the members who is also a member of a group "Fuck off, I'm not saying sorry" sent me mail saying 'ha ha, get a car'. Isn't it lovely to get mail from Young Liberals?

Another unfunny comment was from a young woman who obviously should not be in possession of a license, telling about how she swerved toward a cyclist the other day, not with the intention of actually hitting him, just to scare him. The cyclist did come off his bike, however and who knows what injuries might have been sustained. People have been saying "but it's only for fun, no one actually does this." Replies have been sent informing them politely that it does happen every day in actual fact.

Anyone who has photos or links of stories of drivers being charged for criminal negligence or attempted murder should please forward them so they can be posted to the group.

Now for my next trick.... :-))

Bike fixing

2008-02-18T17:23:00.011+11:00

Having done some work on my bike in at bike fix over the last couple of weeks, here's the plug for everyone else who might like to spend a peaceful Sunday afternoon in the Exhibition gardens up near the top of Canning St, with a bunch of other bike mad people doing things to bicycles.

Shameless plug!

2008-02-12T11:05:00.000+11:00

MelBUG is now launched!

http://meltonbicycleusergroup.blogspot.com/ is off and running, much to the amusement of onlookers.

Feel free to promote it everywhere... ;-)

Bikes update

2008-02-09T00:32:00.001+11:00

After months of consideration and procrastination, the mermaids have finally been painted.

This is the frame of Juliette, my favourite frankenbike, now adorned with hand painted mermaids and dolphins. Not bad for and old bike saved from the neighbour's shed, eh?

We get some odd looks on the train. The mermaids have nipples because there's really no reason to import the odd US cultural idea that nipples are obscene.

Kitty updates

2008-02-09T00:10:00.000+11:00

A day or two before New Years, someone dumped a couple of kittens down the drain out front of our house. The first we knew about it was when we heard them crying all bloody night, for three or four nights. So of course they had to be fed. Being an adopted person myself, this was obviously never going to be a rational decision! How would acquiring four cats be rational?

It wasn't long before they'd come in for food.

It wasn't long before they moved in.

It wasn't much longer before they became house cats.

Tigger von Fishwycke

Mister Mephisto

They spend quite a bit of time playing with Desdemona Crowfeather (Six) who was delighted to have some playmates. There are no photos of them with Panda because she was horrified that we'd let street children in the house. We think she was a model or something in a past life.

Tigger went to his new home a few nights ago (where he is no longer chewed upon by bigger kitties), so Mephisto is settling in on his own and slowly becoming more friendly.

Six had her op not long ago, and was only drowsy for a day. Heh, I've made her a Nun. Hmmm. Aside from the minor inconvenience of having to stay inside for a few days, she's quite happy and the most beautiful cat I've ever owned.

Contagious idiocy

2008-02-07T22:22:00.000+11:00

No, that doesn't explain my case, it's purely home grown.

This is about VLine contractine a severe case of velophobe idiocy from Connex.

Melbourne Cyclist has very helpfully noted the changes and is organising protests to both this and Connex.

Here's a copy of the complaint I've sent to VLine:

Hi, I'm a cyclist and I rely on my bike for getting around once I get into town. As a pensioner I can't afford to drive my car everywhere and having been stranded in town on more than one occasion by faulty trams and trains I am in no way prepared to give up bringing my bike into town so I can do things I have to do.

Your "discouragement" of bikes on peak hour trains is pathetic. This wasn't necessary before Connex shot themselves in the foot and is not at all a reasonable response to any crowding problems. Why blame cyclists for timetable problems?

This is discrimination.

Find a better solution.

This is simply one more way in which the State Labor Government is revealing itself to be not so different from the former Liberal hacks afterall.

How do you spin that?

2008-02-07T20:02:00.001+11:00

One of the news releases over the holidays which was most interesting related to studies on unborn children being affected by air pollution. Traffic fumes 'stunt foetus' was the story The Age ran, and note how its alarming news is qualified by questions...

An Australian study of more than 15,000 ultrasounds found women exposed to heavy pollution had foetuses with shorter femur bones and smaller head and abdominal circumferences.

Researchers say the 10-year study should act as a warning for expectant mothers to avoid sitting in traffic for too long and not to walk near busy junctions.

Is soon tempered by:

Dr Christine Tippett, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study provided "interesting new research" but was flawed.

"They have just gone on the women's postcode but we know that a very large percentage of women are in the workforce and could spend at least 25% of their time away from their postcode of residence," Dr Tippett said. "We should be very wary of giving women a message to avoid air pollution. How do you do that? Do you sell your house, do you move your job, do you go and live in the Blue Mountains?"

Dr Tippett said more accurate evidence could be obtained through a study that examined factors such as women's socioeconomic background.

The study's authors admitted a lack of information on maternal lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking and alcohol consumption.

Though that really is a good question. How do you escape the infernal car except by moving to some obscure remote area? The problem is too big, so the best way to deal with it is not to react to car culture by saying "driving while pregnant is like smoking while pregnant and second hand car fumes are as bad as second hand smoke" Imagine pregnant women frowning at drivers in community health advertising. Nope, can't do that. The question about postcodes is not as big a shotgun as you'd think. What postcodes in Brisbane these days aren't affected by second hand fumes?

Even if we did stick our heads in the sand and accept that there are holes in this study so big we'll happily ignore it completely, what about all the other evidence of car and truck exhaust related illness? As to the issue of smaller babies,

Carbon monoxide combines with haemoglobin to reduce the oxygen carrying ability of the blood. Long term (chronic) exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide may produce heart disease and damage to the nervous system. Exposure of pregnant women to carbon monoxide may cause low birthrates and nervous system damage to offspring.

Low birthrates? Is that science speak for still births and miscarriages? Nervous system damage, does that mean deformities? How exactly is this good stuff or even stuff we should ignore?

Dr Henry Gong, Director, Los Alamos Health Centre: It’s like smoking, cigarette smoking, you inhale the particles and gases, same thing with particles that primarily come from combustion.

Suppose you read other studies in Australia and overseas about links between air pollution and cardiovascular disease, strokes, asthma and other illnesses. Since car exhaust can cause potentially as much problem as smoking, why aren't there public health warnings? Why isn't the Government acting to reduce car sales and driving levels? Why are we still promoting "motor sport" without qualification? Hell, they took on cigarette advertising!

Not that we'll expect anyone to do anything about it any time soon. But today I'm happy to be living in the boonies and not pregnant.

shameless Bike plugging!

2008-02-07T18:29:00.000+11:00

Yeah, I realise this is three in one day, but there's holidays to make up for!

BikeFun!

Photos at flickr

Limited News, anyone?

2008-02-07T17:44:00.000+11:00

Find more photos like this on Melbourne Cyclist

Thanks Treadly for the link.

Was checking out Chris' site Melbourne Cyclist and found her views about the cycling code of conduct I was whingeing about last year.

Oh well. I guess any comments about relevance in the midst of car culture would be all too confusing.

Better go for a ride!

But not via any Connex service... Bin the bike ban is a site set up to keep you up to date about the State Government and Connex's latest efforts to embed their own heads ever more firmly in the dark.

And their facebook group reads like "Screw Connex and their ban on bikes". Couldn't have said it better meself.

Fortunately out here we're on VLine service, so getting in to town for rides or games is *so* much easier than farting around with Connex. And remember children, Uncle Jeff said that privatised public transport would be much more efficient and serve everyone better.

But enough of the depressing stuff. Clear blue oceans. Clear blue oceans ;-)

Over Summer I finally got myself in the right state of mind to make some real use of the tools I've picked up in recent years, like still mind meditation, visualisation and various sports psychology tricks. It took a while, but it's working out for me now pretty well. Better than it was, anyway.

Yanno, if the media weren't propped up so much by car sales advertising income, someone might note that for every bicycle on the road there's one less car to sit behind in traffic. That's the byline for the MelBUG btw. Like it?

Kung Hai Fat Choi

2008-02-07T17:36:00.000+11:00

Happy Year of the Rat, everyone!

Yes, I'm still alive. The holidays were great, now the kids are back and back at school... I'm hanging in there. The meditation helps enormously!

For some reason the camera software vapourised so when it's all reloaded and working there will be some Summer pics and a write up or two on Melton and bikes in general. Also, been back at Critical Mass and having a ball with those nutters. Someone started bike polo... Should get some pics of that too.

We've started the Melton Bicycle Users Group. There's a facebook group, of course MelBUG It's rather lonely at the moment so feel free to drop by or add some moral support.

Code of conduct

2007-12-13T17:15:00.000+11:00

Last week or was it month? when I was having a squizz at the Age... there was some noise about fallout from the Hell Ride trial. Apparently there were calls for a change in some legislation because of all those evil bike riders. I had a look at Treadly's site because he generally has some lucid comments on stuff like this. Maybe Wheels of Justice? Heh, or I may have been dreaming it!

Anyways, in the interim, despite my mental health related aversion to news and televisions there have been several incidents that have been unmissable. Firstly the deaths of four young men in a car that may or may not have been racing along somewhere at about 160k, secondly the death of a cyclist who was hit by a truck while on a training ride for Amy's Ride.

This now descends into a predictable whinge about how come the media are still foaming at the mouth about anyone riding in lycra while cars and car drivers slaughter thousands and it's merely good press.

Someone left a comment on another blog of mine opining that considering greenhouse gas issues these days, you'd think cycling would be supported...

While we're all shrieking for knee jerk legal responses and a public flogging for every cyclist who does something stupid (or sometimes smart) or even for simply daring to defy car culture, why exactly is there no questioning of the momentum and motivations behind the same car culture that resulted in the deaths of those four much mourned young men? It's as if there's some kind of magic force field, a wyrd perhaps, that prevents us from seriously considering the true nature and costs of maintaining so many cars in Australia and the insistence upon equating violence, aggression and fast cars with masculinity.

We can cry for the dead, but not rethink our driving. It's not allowed. Rupert said so.

Rehi...

2007-11-26T16:03:00.000+11:00

Hat tip to CFSMTB for the image!

Well after a month and some of unsettling ups and downs, I'm back at blogging. Yes, rumours that I was getting sick and tired of politics and those endless ads may have some truth in them. Sometimes when you're trying to keep your head above water, it helps to unplug and go out in the garden for a while.

The weekend was great, for cyclists and many others. Great weather and not too hot, lots of rain recently. It's been a gardeners delight. The pink and gold "silver"beet are looking like they've survived and our lettuce crop is going gangbusters.

And there was something else on over the weekend, wasn't there? Oh yeah, almost forgot. John Howard got voted out of his own electorate. While recognising that it's not very sporting to gloat over a win, as a single mother all I can say is, "Suck on that!"

The swing to Labor wasn't as big in Victoria as in other States, particularly Queensland. My theory on this is that after we voted out Evil King Kennett and young Steve was supposed to save us from all the wicked Liberal legislation, selling off everything that wasn't nailed down and then bringing in pokies to steal the rest... In the years since there was a substantial decline in egomania in Victorian politics but nothing much else changed. The education, health and public transport systems are suffering. Pokies just about out number humans. Taxes are still high. More people than ever, particularly those suffering from mental illness, are sleeping on the streets and the Premier was apparently recently sprung trying to sneak through approval of GM crops. Not to mention the situation with public utilities in the hands of private enterprise.

So having seen the stunning lack of difference between tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, Victorian voters didn't jump on the landslide with quite the same gleeful enthusiasm of those in Queensland... but Queensland has a female Premier. Maybe there's something in that?

Now comes the honeymoon. The papers are full of commentary, informed, intelligent and otherwise, about what the change will bring.

Personally two things seem important. If changes are made to the descrimination in welfare laws, then we may have a decent PM this time, otherwise he's just another Sydney Anglican with a conservative agenda. Secondly, it's good to see you on the dole queue, John old son.

Now on a much more happy note.... We have a new kitty in the house! Our existing feline resident is not exactly brimming with excitement at the thought, but we could not remain black-catless for long. Pics will be soon forthcoming, after I've caught up on 6 weeks of 'nets absence... in the meantime, she's black Abyssinian and her full name is Desdemona Crowfeather. Six for short.

The Bicycles of Summer

2007-10-15T14:53:00.000+10:00

In The Age this morning a journalist was chatting with a couple of guys from Bicycle Victoria about the number of biking events being held in Melbourne in October.

I was a bit stunned to read the other week that there's actually a cycling festival being held this month. The Go Bike Expo is on over the weekend of the 19th to 21st at the Alexandra Gardens in town. Hey, that's this weekend! Better get my bike legs on and head into the city.

It's part of what's being called the Melbourne Cycling Festival, which includes the Around the Bay in a Day ride and the last stages of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. There's also Ride To Work Day on this Wednesday.

So. Wow. I'm kinda pleased to be living in Victoria at this point!

It's great to be getting so much positive media for cyclists, both sporting and commuting, in the sometimes less that encouraging mainstream media.

The thing that still sticks in my mind, however, is the actual integration of bicycles as traffic on Victorian roads. That's the real issue behind all of this, I think. It's one thing to be encouraging squillions of people to dig out ancient treadlies or buy brand new hybrid/MTBs, but if people can't ride safely on the roads and drivers still think it's funny to try to run people into the dirt, well, we haven't really come very far, have we?

After writing to the local paper about cycling space around Melton, I've been looking out at the bike lanes and road surfaces a lot more as I've been travelling around town... and came to the conclusion that it isn't the lack of bike lanes or riding trails that are the main problem. The biggest problem is that drivers around here, much like many other places, don't treat bike riders as "real traffic". If "taking the lane" was considered kosher and people overtook cyclists with plenty of breathing space, not to mention refraining from turning left over the top of riders or screaming abuse, things would actually be quite civilised on the roads around here.

This time last year I was writing lots about how good the drivers were... things have apparently gone down hill in the intervening year. This is not good news for anyone who is considering dusting off their bike for a bit of exercise or travel to work or school.

How about a driver education festival?

That'll learn me.

2007-10-08T18:14:00.000+10:00

Yanno how I wrote to the local rag and shot my mouth off about the lack of bike paths... Well, they got the letter and are intending to publish it.

That's fine and dandy.

And the reporter who wrote the original article wrote back to me, offering to take me up on the suggestion that they come for a ride around and see what it's like around here in traffic. Ookie. LOLzorz. That'll teach me!

Said reporter previously did a tour around town in one of those motorised wheelchairs for an article about seniors mobility and it was well recieved, so I am looking forward to this. Hopefully I'll be able to find some other riders to come along.

Heh, we could turn it into a Mass ride! Wo0t!

I'll let you know how it goes.

cycling Melton roads

Too cute

2007-10-07T16:50:00.000+10:00

Riding to work, in Melbourne and Melton.

2007-10-06T11:35:00.000+10:00

Happy, happy, joy, joy...

For the first time in a while the homepage greeted me with good news... After I'd scrolled down past the guy convicted of murdering his children and the six people dead in a night of horror on the roads... After all that there was some really good news.

Cyclists on the rise appears in the Age this morning, with an enthusiastic statistic about the numbers of people riding to work in spite of media velophobes and car hoons. Yay!

SIX thousand more people are riding to work in Melbourne than five years ago, data from the 2006 census shows.

The first release of transport figures from the 2006 survey has shown that, of the 2.15 million Melburnians who went to work on census day last August, 27,500 said they rode their bike. In 2001, that figure was 21,500.
The figure far outstripped the increase in other cities.

Okay, so statistically it isn't mind rending, but it's better than nothing. Unfortunately, there's a downside. Well, two really. But this is where things get interesting when comparing the information coming from researchers to that coming from Government. At this point I need to edit in a warning... calm thoughts and happy places, warm blue oceans and stuff like that ;-)

Cycling groups were delighted with the increase, compared with the 2001 census, but transport experts were not so enthusiastic.

When it said "transport experts" the term brought to mind the big fight about closing one lane of St.Kilda road to traffic last year to make room for the thousands of cyclists requiring safe space on that road.

Years ago, city planners would never have believed that cycling would be a major transport issue. But fuel prices, the benefits of exercise and the chance to reduce one's impact on the environment have all helped the rise.

The State Government has promised to spend $110 million over the next 10 years to promote cycling and walking, but Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas has shut down plans for expanded bike lanes on St Kilda Road.

And from the business section: Bracks missing the train to liveability.

The thrust of Melbourne 2030 (M2030) was to protect Melbourne's liveability in the context of a population expected to grow by a million people, by concentrating major change in growth centres built on an expanded and upgraded rail network.

Under Labor, the roads lobby has been successful in getting more road space per head of population. Its main effect has been to increase congestion, and support the urban sprawl and the development of shopping malls that can only be accessed by car.

Which is not to say that the Liberal State Government was any better at transport management. Especially since, when they weren't selling schools, they were selling public transport.

Pallas showed his contempt for non-car users and the Melbourne City Council when, within 24 hours of the public announcement, he vetoed a well-thought-out plan by the council to introduce dedicated lanes for bicycles along St Kilda Road. His decision ignores research that shows that both modes of transport benefit from being separated.

Bicycle usage is inhibited by cyclists' justifiable fear of being struck by a speeding car or colliding with opening doors of stationary cars.

Each bicycle carries as many commuters as the overwhelming proportion of cars that enter and exit the city each day. The decision is not even good politics, as increased road space devoted to bicycles will reduce congestion in the central business district, and postpone the need for congestion taxes, as bicycles have outsold cars in the past seven years.

Wheels of Justice also has copies of other articles about this story, including Minister runs down cycle plan. Deep breaths now...

So, back to the original good news story about six thousand more people riding bikes to work, why was there a downside?

Melbourne University transport planner Paul Mees said the increase — from just 1 per cent of all trips to work to 1.3 per cent last year — was a blip compared with 1951, when 10 per cent of trips to work were made on a bike.

Oh, right. Back in the magical fifties, when everything was so much better that we had to invent valium (sorry, can't help it) lots more people rode bikes to work. I guess there would also have been lots less people on the roads, there being many less people in Melbourne altogether.

At this point it seems like I could have cut and pasted the whole article, but that would be less fun.

Dr Mees said the increase in cycling to work had come almost exclusively from "middle-class inner-urbanites".

Those who lived in the outer suburbs did not have the luxury of not using their cars, Dr Mees said.

"Did these people who have started cycling used to drive, or did they used to walk or take public transport?" he said.

"If they used to walk or take public transport, there is no real environmental benefit."

The census data showed that workers who lived in the outer suburbs were not leaving their cars at home to cycle or take public transport — a far more important issue than whether those in the inner city chose to cycle or take a tram.

"Whether middle-class inner-urbanites are swapping one non-car mode of travel for another is not terribly relevant to the goal we set for our transport policies in (planning blueprint) Melbourne 2030: getting cars off the road," Dr Mees said.

"If all it has done is get people who used to walk or take a tram on a bicycle, then it has failed terribly."

Now that I'm going to have to disagree with. Having been stranded twice in Melbourne by public transport that either didn't show up, broke down or a combination of the two, not to mention the much publicised overcrowding on our you-beaut-wonderful privatised public transport system, any body on a bike is a good thing.

Has everyone forgotten that electrified trams and trains run mostly on brown coal? Have we entirely overlooked the fitness benefits physically and mentally that come from regular exercise such as riding to work?

Melbourne city isn't the only place with problems balancing transport needs with road lobby bullies however. At home here the local Shire Council was given a wooden spoon for it's efforts, or lack thereof, developing safe cycling infrastructure.

Of 31 councils' 2007-08 budgets measured by the group's bicycle spending index, Melton Council was bottom of the barrel, allocating no cash to cycling per resident.

Bicycle Victoria facilities development manager Jason den Hollander said other councils such as Wyndham and Casey had made endeavours to connect areas with Melbourne trails.

Bicycle Victoria thought Melton should consider linking trails from the growth corridors to the township and rethink how the Western Highway cut Melton in half for cyclists.

The council responded thus:

Council leisure services manager Adam Boyle said the council invested $322,500 into its hiking and biking network, equating to $3.71 a resident.

``This is new paths, it doesn't include maintenance and upgrade to existing paths,'' he said.

He said the council's budget did not specifically mention funding on bike paths but that new bike paths were hidden in roadworks projects such as Gourlay Rd, and community infrastructure works such as Westlake Recreation Reserve and Cambrian Way Reserve.

In growth areas, Mr Boyle said developers established footpaths and shared paths.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but a couple of tracks around a lake in a new estate doesn't cover it when you have to ride along a four inch wide strip of rubble next to a 100k zone, or try to 'take the lane' in the face of can throwing car hoons to get to said recreational bike path. What about kids getting to school having to ride through the heart of the town? No parent wants their kids put at that kind of risk.

Being something of an opinionated little blabbermouth, I took the liberty of composing a response to their article.

Regarding the article about bike lanes and bicycle infrastructure in Melton Shire (Leader 2-10-07), as both a car driver and a cyclist I must say I agree with Bicycle Victoria awarding the Shire a big fat zero for its "efforts".

Putting in narrow little bike lanes or off road trails in new estates around a bit of swamp is loads of fun for weekend rides. For anyone who is serious, however, cycling to fight heart disease or diabetes with some regular exercise, not to mention those of us who'd like to ride to work, it's useless. The Council can't shunt it's responsibilities onto housing developers and then pretend everything's just dandy.

Most people who really want to ride a bike to school, to work, for real health benefits or sporting training, need safe, well-maintained surfaces at the edges of roads, and in the lanes, throughout the Shire. We need useful routes that safely connect with work places, train stations and shopping centres and places to put the bikes safely when we get there. Car drivers need to know that bicycles are legitimate road users and must be treated like any other traffic when travelling in road lanes or being overtaken.

It might be of benefit if Mayor Mamarella hopped on a bike and came for a ride with a few of us to see exactly what it's like for cyclists having to deal with narrow, uneven and disintegrating verges on roads where cars are whizzing by at 80 or 100 k's an hour.

Rather than leaning on Bicycle Victoria to adjust their interpretation of little numbers, why don't we do a little forward thinking and plan for more people to ride safely? Cyclists and drivers would really appreciate that.

That about covers it, I reckon. Admittedly not many people would ride to work from here if they worked in the city centre... but I had a look at that the other day. Melbourne is only 40 k from here. That isn't actually a huge ride if you were on a half decent road bike on a half decent road surface. Plenty of people work in Sunshine or Footscray, and that's quite doable, especially in the warmer weather.

All it would take is a bit of forward thinking and planning for something other than car culture and road lobbies. If it took six thousand more cars off the road every day, wouldn't that be worth it?

Zero award

2007-10-05T15:48:00.000+10:00

The local paper arrived yesterday with the wonderful news that the Shire of Melton recieved a big fat zero for its lack of effort introducing and maintaining cycling infrastructure around the traps. Heh, I agree, it's pretty tragic out here. And I'm not only saying that because I was nearly run over last time I went cycling onroad.

For the record, the council disputed the claim saying that the amount it had spent on bike lanes etc. was "hidden" in other costs for road maintenance and resurfacing. The council intends to work more closely with Bicycle Victoria in future, not to improve anything for cyclists around here, but to stand over them and make sure they don't give us another big zero in future. Hmmm. Progressive politics for you.

How to get home from work?

2007-10-04T23:47:00.001+10:00

Just recieved a friendly reminder, for an event that I stand a chance of getting to, which will make a nice change.

National ride home from work day on Wednesday October 17th.

Be there!

Even if, like me, you don't work or don't work anywhere remotely near town.

Message for Kevin.

2007-10-04T22:58:00.000+10:00

I'll add this here too, mainly because it's funny, also because I can't seem to figure out wordpress' img thingie.

Thanks CFSMTB. :-)

Facebook, eh? Part de deux.

2007-09-23T22:57:00.000+10:00

Yes, the only place on the net where one might be invited to a group "I would like to marry a TdF rider" by a married TdF rider :-D

In a fit of silliness and sending add friends to certain names I recognised, I also find myself a bit of a fan of a few riders. Years ago when KISS were out here the first time, there was a fanclub that could be joined. You would cut a voucher out of a magazine and fill it in with a pen, then send it via post with a cheque... and wait weeks for some stuff to be sent back to you via post. It was kinda magic. These days it's point and click.

Other vaguely humorous stuff that's keeping me up way too late on a Sunday night are things like top reasons to date a cyclist (not that I'd know) and the sublime the official rules of the Euro cyclist That one did actually have me laughing out loud.

I reckon Treadly would love this one:

26. In the event a motorist disturbs your ride, you shall proceed to ride up beside the car, form a clenched fist and bang the trunk of the car while doing your best attempt to sound irritated in Italian. Wild arm/head movements are strongly encouraged to enhance the apparent rage.

So. Magpies, eh? Recently people riding by here have begun carrying old fashioned metal bike pumps, tree branches, having plastic ties arranged on the helmet like some sort of echidna and the oddest though most inspiring, the inflated rubber glove. I dunno if that's supposed to look like a rooster? Guess we ought to have a few test rides...

31. Coffee is a necessity and as such must be consumed strong (ie. espresso) on a patio in Italy in full kit, it shall be drunk black. Sugar is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. The only milk present shall appear frothed on top (if at all).

Melbourne's car culture in the news.

2007-09-15T08:58:00.001+10:00

The idea of a car free day popped up in the "news" recently.

Car free day for midcity streets was proposed by some forward thinking folks, but torpedoed by politicians with roads lobby means money mentalities.

The first I heard of it was over at Spinno, where the commentariat supplied further interesting links including a grass roots response suggesting that Messrs Brumby and Pallas really need to get their priorities right. That's not hard to agree with, that sinking a proposed car free day because the Government still can't provide adequate public transport around town is not a smart move.

So why is this being blogged a week after it was news? On logging on this morning, a curious article popped up in a newspaper page... Speilberg and Hanks to stop Melbourne traffic Ahuh.

A week after ridiculing the plans of five young environmentalists who wanted to stage a car-free day in the city, the State Government has backed the plan to close the intersection of Swanston and Flinders streets and all major roads feeding into it.

No problemo. Let's all take our bikes into town for Lammas! Public picnic anyone? This could be a serious street party!

cycling Melbourne car culture

Sirsasana

2007-09-14T19:24:00.000+10:00

Hope this works. I'm a little "elsewhere" at the moment. It's been rainy, cold and wet here recently (Yay!!!) so I haven't done much riding... Other than a little sunset cruise the other night when I discovered that the rear wheel nuts were loose, so I spent the ride getting my left pants leg caught in the chain and the right caught in the wheel. That was a bit of a giggle. The thing that bothered me was noticing just how many magpies there are around here. There seemed to be many, sitting inauspiciously, innocuously on tree brances and power lines, silently watching. After last year it made me distinctly uncomfortable.

Here's a nicer pic:

But this post is about another achievement. And it feels very much like an achievement. Finally I managed sirsasana! Wo0T!

There's a good little video at iyoga which is a wonderfully helpful site. There's also a group on facebook (yes, I succumbed) and the advice I found there helped me reach the position without ending up flat on my back. Which I did a couple of times during the week, much to the amusement of my son.

So, on that note I'm off to watch an SBS doco about the 'other stolen generation', kids like me who were adopted during the 50's to 70's. That's another story.

I'll settle with feeling humbled and proud of myself for beginning practise of the King of Asanas. I'm so stoked. You couldn't tell, could you? ;-)

yoga sirsasana

crowlie

2007-09-12T13:35:00.001+10:00

What zombie?

2007-09-12T10:30:00.000+10:00

74%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Not that I'm dating or anything... but zombie proofing the blog is obviously a priority around here.

Chaser!!!

2007-09-07T19:45:00.000+10:00

Chas for PM!

Heh. That's it really.

Apart from a cruise down the MTB track near the creek with me aud mum, (ghod we laughed, the two of us old dears on ladies' bikes) there hasn't been much riding since that woman in the big arsed sedan nearly skittled me coming around a roundabout. Prolly looks very shy in comparison with seasoned die hards like Chris and Dave, but that's where I'm at.

However, regarding my everlong postponed return to the climbing gym, the yoga etc. seems to be working. Raising my arms laterally overhead no longer results in that horrible gristly clicking indicative of impingement... Yay!!! For those of you unfamiliar with hideously disfigured shoulder joints, well, what can I say? Using your arm/s in a forward position all the time and not doing any counterbalancing can result in the joint changing shape. Which is a real bugger when you take up rock climbing and discover that for the last twenty years your shoulders have been pushed out of alignment and become deformed, resulting in the need for all the joint, soft tissue and ligaments to realign to restore full movement and stability. (bit like my head) I can now do handstands without feeling like there's a razor blade lodged in my shoulder joint. Three odd years of work addressing twenty odd years of bad posture isn't too bad I spose. Sleeping at night without the knives in my shoulder is the biggest bonus.

Oh, the big news down this way is that 300 hectares of land that was to be sold to developers for another factory farm of battery mc mansions will now be developed as a park. This is *such* good news for this area! The council et al are requesting submissions for this proposal, which runs for a couple of k either side of Toolern Creek. Needless to say I'll be sending in links to the Whirinaki park in NZ.

So, all in all, it's been a pretty good week. ;-)

Gematriculator

2007-08-11T12:48:00.000+10:00

Eh, I'm having real trouble getting a decent evil rating on any of my blogs. The Feminist blog was only 33% evil... until I hacked the count. >:D

Deadly car culture.

2007-08-10T13:24:00.000+10:00

Here's another one for every cyclist who's still unhappy about the reporting of the James Gould incident compared with, say, Ian Humphrey.

A driver in Norlane yesterday hit a woman with a pram, and drove off!

The really annoying thing in this instance is the way the driver's superiority on the road is left unquestioned. I mean, he was a man driving a car, of course he should have every right to drive wherever he wants. The incident is reduced to [the woman] was crossing a pedestrian crossing on the Princes Highway when she was hit... Another astounding case of the use of passive language. Hit by what? A shopping trolley?

If this had been a cyclist, what would the report have read? Something like this: A criminally negligent cyclist in the midst of a testosterone driven pack hit and seriously injured a woman and her two year old son yesterday while racing along a freeway. Police have condemned the incident saying bicycle riders think they are above the law. Drivers on said freeway have taken up the cause, joining in throwing beer cans, screaming abuse and otherwise acting as vigilantes to help deter this dangerous menace. Angry mobs have been asking parliament to "do something" about this increasingly dangerous activity of riding bicycles.

As it is, the article almost implies that the woman should not have been pushing her pram across a pedestrian crossing. What if a driver needed to drive there? Sheesh, these people, walking in front of cars!

car culture cycling australia

Incongruous media attitudes, again.

2007-08-08T14:31:00.000+10:00

The verdict into the death of James Gould was handed down today. According to the media the Magistrate described it as "pathetic". The article was likewise, in failing to observe the many other issues involved, including the nature of roads design in Victoria. As another pundit observed, if the timing on the pedestrian lights had been ten seconds later, Mr Gould would probably not have been hit. But was there any comment on the traffic on Beach road or lack of infrastructure for pedestrians in general? Heh. What is this, a democracy?

Recently on my Feminist blog I likened criticising the mainstream media as shooting fish in a barrel... but they're in it to make a quick buck, not inform or educate the public, let alone hold any bureaucrat or politician accountable for planning decisions or accepting influence and funding from road lobbyists or car manufacturers.

Still, the contrast between reporting regarding the "hell ride" and other road accidents can't go unnoticed. Particularly this... McGee lawyers argue for permanent legal stay If this were a cyclist, we'd have episodes of a soap opera devoted to it by now. Being a driver, however, he and his lawyer brother can weasel their way out of explaining themselves for as long as they like.

That case triggered a royal commission after Eugene McGee was acquitted on a reduced charge. He had been drinking before the accident and was not breath tested after he hit a cyclist and left him to die on the side of the road. Eugene, who was referred to as "a criminal lawyer" and his brother applied for a permanent stay because there had been too much media coverage of the case.

Curiously, the commission found some very odd goings on in South Australian law at the time. The DPP is said to have directed police to report the case rather than arresting suspects in cases of sexual assault or major crash investigations. Hmmm.

Wheels of Justice has a file of related media coverage if you're interested in reading more about the case... (but don't forget to take your blood pressure medication!) including reporting about the pathetic fine handed down to a convicted hit and run driver despite there being harsher charges and penalties available.

Edit: CFSMTB informs me that there are three files at WoJ relating to this case and the attending legal indiscretions.

I'm tempted to also compare it with this article about a road rage incident. Although the report does focus on the injuries to a two year old girl, we notice how she is indirectly injured by a broken window and a car lock, not a maniac in his thirties, well and truly old enough to know better, who assaults the girl. She was injured by a man in a fit of rage. Two men, actually. Two drivers who thought it was reasonable for them to attack a woman with two young children.

Car culture, eh?

violence road rage cycling media bias

That's a worry.

2007-08-03T23:04:00.000+10:00

Things are pretty competitive over in South Aus apparently. An Adelaide cyclist who ran over another cyclist while allegedly driving drunk has taken bail to compete for a place at the Beijing Olympics!

His team mates might be hoping he's a better cyclist than a driver, but at least his coach won't be complaining about him not being aggressive enough.

cycling

Apre le Tour

2007-08-03T12:33:00.000+10:00

A kind friend sent me an email referring to a question regarding gaol time for women who have abortions. Heh, like I need encouraging! For those who may be interested, all political correspondence is posted to my crowlie.wordpress blog these days.

Well, the Tour finished but the allegations and media carry on certainly didn't. One of Contador's compatriots Iban Mayo gave a positive sample for EPO, though as it has been observed he came 16th... and the race winner himself was castigated over involvement with a previous doping scandal, which gave me the impression that some members of the press were suffering post Tour withdrawals as much as many of us fans. There's no racing to get all excited about, so like a junkie scouring the bottom of the bong, they dragged up a year old story about a doping investigation.

In the SBS forum these things had been discussed over and over, as with the stages, food and the dresses of the women presenting the stage trophies... In the end someone suggested "Have you ever watched Eurovision?"

That sounded like a really useful approach, to me. Rather than taking the whole thing too seriously, and how could you, what with Paul and Phil carrying on? This made the last couple of stages much more fun. It was like watching a glorious cycling opera. And if I feel the need to become seriously involved I can ride or work on my own bike. :D

cycling doping tour de france

Ups and downs.

2007-07-28T16:17:00.000+10:00

Well, it's been an interesting few days. After reading various views of team Astana and Alexandre Vinokourov, I was watching their performance with some ambivalence. Then after he did well in the time trial, bummed out the next day and came back, I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. The look on his face as he crossed the finish line, the poor bugger looked like he'd given all he had. I thought that sort of determination deserves some respect, regardless of whether his team's tactics have always pleased cycling pundits.

I'd been going to write a post about reconsidering Vinokourov because of his obvious determination. Because of the effort he put in to come back. Because he simply didn't give up and kept trying. In hindsight it's a little cringeworthy the way he was always crossing himself before a stage and had that little cross around his neck that even the race commentators observed. Experience suggests that when it becomes superstitious like that you're pretty desperate.

Then came the news that the team had been expelled. Hmmm. I dunno if that means Spinno was right, but it certainly made a strong point. I guess my final observation would be that the poor bastard must have been desperate. We all do stupid things during our lives. You don't live to be 40 or 50 or 90 without doing something you regret and need to learn a lesson from unless you're living in a cotton wool bubble or a third generation war-loving Republican. I can only say I hope Vinokourov learns whatever lessons he needs to learn and moves on to something better for himself and for cycling fans.

Then Rasmussen was kicked out by his own team. Now that dragged on for far too long. Admittedly he has not been proven guilty of taking any illegal drugs, however there were enough suspicions for him to be banned from competing in the championships in his own country and from competing in the Beijing Olympics. He apparently hadn't informed the team of where he was training and thus wasn't subject to the normal anti-doping tests, so, they showed him the door after what, three or four days of wearing the yellow jersey. I guess the team management were too nervous about the possibility of all their publicity from the Tour turning out to be negative and really shut the gate after the horse had bolted.

The both of them pissed me off. One of the Cofidis riders, Moreni, tested positive and that team was sent packing too... but at least, very least, he admitted he was sprung. Bloody hell, you would think that at this level they'd expect to be caught. So much publicity, so much testing, so much B.S. But having been sucked in to supporting these two riders, Vinokourov and Rasmussen, having felt something for them, pig's bum, having even talked to my son about how incredible it was the way they were riding... That stings. It's a good thing my intuition served me well and I didn't write those "go for it!" posts about two guys who turned out to be cheats... but when you read them on other blogs you can see how people feel cheated when riders are caught. Not only for breaking rules, but for cheating. Cheating the other riders, cheating their teams and pissing off their fans. Pissing off people who might have been encouraging their kids to take up cycling because it's so fun and exciting.

So now begins the rounds of law suits and counter suits for Vinokourov. He reckons he's innocent and with a test will eventually be supported either way, like (in theory) Landis. But Rasmussen can't really do much, can he? He hasn't failed any tests, just didn't hand in his homework.

On a tangent, that reminds me of a joke that went around about the Winter Olympics. There was drugs testing for snowboarders and some wag commented that you'd expect snowboarders to test positive! At the time, I laughed. When TdF blog ran a smart arsed post about drugs testing for bloggers, I laughed. But now that it might apply to mountain bikers, well, when it crosses over into a world wide event, the biggest cycling event in the world and one I'd held up to my own kids as being a big deal... Hmmm.

This series of events initially tainted my viewing of the whole race. No, that did not mean I didn't sit up till all hours watching it. Not that tainted ;-) But sitting up watching riders who seem to keep on keeping on regardless of big falls, or who come back miraculously after bad days, or who are still in fine form after three weeks of daily riding hundreds of kilometres including the Pyrenees, I can't help wondering if the bloke I'm cheering for tonight might actually be a drug cheat. Bummer.

Go Cadel!

2007-07-23T20:16:00.000+10:00

Cadel Evans, omigodomigodomigod what a legend! One of only two Aussies left in the Tour... And he's second in the GC. How cool is that?!

Alexandre Vinokourov, whom Phil adores, was very well placed after the time trial from hell, but didn't cope on the Pyrenees.. so kittens all over the world are sleeping soundly tonight.

Not like there's any pressure or anything, but if he wins, and people are starting to talk about an Aussie winning le Tour, do you think it might make road cycling just a little more legitimate on the roads in Aus?

Looks like there's a couple of real mongrel climbs in the stage tonight. Heh, I really hope he goes well.

cadel evans tour de france

Borat at le Tour

2007-07-20T16:13:00.000+10:00

Found this on a forum last week... Too good to pass up.

Team Astana are based in Khazakstan... from whence Borat hails. We'd made a couple of jokes about it here, but it seems a Tour fan went one up.

Every time I see it, it makes me laugh. Check out the looks on the faces of the guys in the peloton.

Update: organising blogs.

2007-07-20T14:43:00.001+10:00

Winter rides along Toolern creek.

Time to get organised.

For a while now this has been my main blog, to which I've added entries on everything from le Tour to abortion laws. It seems it requires some management.

So, to simplify things for ppl who'd rather read one and not the other, I've begun using one of my other blogs. crowlie.wordpres.com is where I'll write all my cultural/political observations, leaving this blog spot for cycling related posts. Sounds nice and simple.

Until you consider the way the media treat cyclists. Not to mention the legal system in Australia covering for dangerous drivers who kill cyclists and walk away scott free.

I'm in danger of ending up a cross between Phil and Treadly. Oh well. Worse fates can be had, I'm sure.

Victorian abortion laws.

2007-07-19T13:24:00.000+10:00

MPs seek safeguard on abortion story appeared in the online press today. Well, at least it's in Victoria and not a football for the Federal election... She says waiting to see an expression of 'famous last words'.

The changes are about decriminalising abortion, though it tends not to be prosecuted at present anyways. If it goes under the health act, as proposed, there will be limitations to the effect that a woman's mental or physical health must be threatened before the procedure can be done. This would make it more difficult to obtain an abortion. That would increase the number of backyard abortions... Hard to see how that's an improvement, but the Premier is a Catholic.

Do we really want to re-create the US system where a very few church goers dictate to the rest of the population what they can and cannot do, then restrict their education and employment based on "user pays"? Do we really want to create a class society in which the dollar is god and people excluded from the upper echelons of society are condemned to a life without adequate education, health care or other opportunities? Why would we want to create such a barbaric society? If people really believed that the law of the concrete jungle was the best way to do, they could take off their clothes and go live with apes. The measure of a civilised society used to be how the poor, widows and orphans were treated, back when society was civilised. Before we used 'free market economies' to effectively reintroduce slave labour.

Would be nice if in the 21st century Australian women could make up their own minds what happens to their own bodies. Particularly since there's already 6 billion people on the planet.

That brings up another point. Why are politicians so keen for Australian women to have more babies? Aren't there too many humans on earth as it is? Aren't we having trouble feeding, clothing and housing everyone? Aren't we producing way too much pollution and clearing way too much forest and ripping up established environments? What's the go with wanting an increase to all that? I notice, however, that no white politician in a 'good' white country talks about women in Africa having more children... Curious that.

If such approach to growth is based on a misrepresentation of a 3,000 year old tribal tradition and stories of origin from the Ancient Near East, it only goes to show Nimrod is still alive and well. And illegitimately claiming God's authority for his bastard imperial agendas.

abortion reproductive rights womens rights

Quote to build a dream on.

2007-07-16T14:32:00.000+10:00

Following their invasion of aboriginal communities the rvery caring Howard Government has announced plans to change welfare laws so that a proportion of the money can only be spent on food and housing. This came as a surprise to pensioners and the unemployed, who already live week to week and also many with jobs who are still unable to make ends meet. Broke householders going hungry.

Lest cynics among us think that this is simply pre-election noise made by a Government with a notorious lack of concern for any child who doesn't happen to have a father who writes large cheques for the Liberal Party, voters have been stunned by new moves in other key areas:

To put their money where their mouth is, the Government is increasing rent assistance and spending billions on an overhaul of the public housing system. A ministerial spokesman said "Because no pensioner or low-income earner can get ahead while the money that should be putting a roof over their head is being spent on luxury plane refurbishments."

Similar plans have been unveiled for public health. A departmental representitive from the Health Minister's office told us, "Because no child in a low-income family can get ahead while the money that should be providing health care, education and community services is being consumed by a Government spending billions of dollars on advertising to blow their own trumpet."

Many in the private sector praised the new agenda and announced their own plans to begin contributing to Australia's future. Multinationals and key chain retailers are putting a boycott on takeovers and market maneuvering that puts Australian owned small business out of work and limits minimum wages and other employee benefits. In addition, 1% of every transaction normally hidden in inter-departmental or overseas tansfer "clever accounting" will now be set aside to pay taxes and support infrastructure in the communities these large companies use as markets. "Because no Australian can get ahead in life while utilities are being run for profit and unfair business dealings rob communities of funds to support basic human necessities or put greater tax burdens on individuals."

Politicians and citizens groups alike recieved the welcome news with much celebration. After more than a decade of using people who are down on their luck as scapegoats and turning them into veritable punching bags for the politics of resentment, those who have benefitted most from business and politics in Australia are beginning to five something back. Voters everywhere are more than happy to hear that as a nation we are no longer treading on the poor and the mentally ill. A spokesman for the Department of Finance said, "It is about time that all people in Australia were treated like human beings, regardless of their socio-economic status. We recognise that we need to govern not only for the economy, but for the community, for the people of Australia."

Aboriginal communities are likewise very happy at the announcement that instead of invasion by Army and Federal Police, they will now be given the funding and assistance for development programs, housing, education and health care that have been denied for more than a decade.

The Howard Liberal Government seems at last to have learnt a lesson from history, perhaps from Bastille day. Having confessed to years of misrepresentation, lies, greed and exploitation of the Australian people many politicians have begun to make restitution for their misdeeds and to repair some of the damage that's been done to our society. Apart from various statements of new plans and a new politics of fairness and honesty in our nation, the Government are being appropriately humble.

Just kidding. They're full of shit. But it was nice to dream for a moment.

politics howard racist Australia

Eric Zabel sums it all up.

2007-07-14T17:08:00.002+10:00

Last night in a brief interview aired before the Tour de France telecast, Eric Zabel commented on his green jersey win. Was he going to keep it for another stage?

"I'm too old for this shit."

LOL Now that's humble. From a bloke who's admitted to having used drugs for the race, who's apparently clean now and keeps on racing. I hope he does well.

But Tom Boonen won it again last night. He's doing pretty well for himself and his team. Though he does have a pretty determined team helping him.

Speaking of determined, Bradley Wiggins probably takes the cake for that one in last night's stage. He took off on his own in a breakaway after only about 2k's. 190 k's later he was still going! Certainly would have scored himself a lot of points, but even with his and Chavanel's efforts team Cofidis aren't showing up very well in the standings.

Tonight's stage begins the mountains, which are regarded by many as the real racing of the TdF.

eric zabel tour de france

2007-07-14T16:40:00.000+10:00

Your Score: The Thelemite

You scored 30 Materialism and 90 Phenomenology!

"For there are no Gods but Man"-Aleister Crowley

That sure doesn't stop you from communing with them. You are the Thelemite, committed to the Western occult tradition of Spare, the Golden Dawn, Crowley etc. Though you lead a life of elaborate ritual, you realize that truth and falsehood in this ritual are irrelevant distinctions: the only thing that matters is what works.

Now if you just loosen up a bit, you could cross the Chasm of Choronzon.

Thinkers you may agree with: Osman Spare, Aleister Crowley, Robert Anton Wilson
Thinkers that may challenge you: Phil Hine, Peter Carroll

Link: The Metaphysician Test written by Jaylhomme on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Cancellara muffins.

2007-07-13T17:11:00.000+10:00

For holding the yellow jersey again, have a food named after you LOL.

Stage five was great to watch. The breakaway was a little more determined and the hills brought some drama. The descent after the final long hill was astonishing. These guys must be nuts.

A couple of riders had nasty falls, apparently Cadel Evans narrowly missed one, but Vinokourov and Kloden from team Astana weren't so lucky. Poor Vinokourov had to finish the ride with half his shorts hanging off. Sylvain Chavanel decided to put in another strong effort, and took the King of the Mountains jersey from Auge, who I didn't see much for the whole race.

The Aussies Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers are beginning to show up in the top 20 now at the finish. I think I'm leaning toward backing Rogers atm. Partially because he's not so popular as Robbie McEwan, who hardly needs my support, partially because I still have a soft spot for Eki, who rode for T-Mobile and also because they sponsored a women's pro racing team in Australia. Yay!

So, the food thing. Must have been boredom or something but the thought of lovely lemon muffins seemed like a good idea. For a dinner starters would be a thin chicken and corn soup, followed by Lemon chicken. If you wanted, you could substitute the lemon for apple, creme de menthe or pistachio and munch away inspired by the race for the green jersey... Or raspberries in white chocolate if you like hills.

T-Mobile could inspire a whole menu with their colours. Entre of prawn cocktail. Main course of smoked salmon mousse and a desert of raspberry souffle with white chocolate. Yeah, I might barrack for them ;-)

CSC or Predictor-Lotto are the ones to go for if you like dark chocolate. Euskaltel and Rabobank might be jaffa, chocolate and orange, or orange and coffee. Dunno about the blue teams, though. What is there, blueberry, blue-eye or blue vein cheese... Probably very French but you'd have to be keen. Discovery channel? I hate black pudding.

The regions the Tour is currently racing through are also inspiring for wines. Today I had to go out and buy a bottle of red.

Coming into the mountain stages, all those tall trees and maybe snow, I'm looking forward very keenly to these stages, while I sit rugged up by the fire. The ads for the Tour Downunder have me thinking now. Many of the best Aussie riders compete as well as a fair swag from overseas. There's a few rides for old farts like me who don't compete but like to ride. In South Aus in Summer that could be really fun.

tour de france 2007 cycling Cancellara

Anti-cycling media at it again!

2007-07-12T19:33:00.000+10:00

This might take some time.

Certainly, I'm not the only one with their fur in a bunch over the latest attacks on road cyclists in the Melbourne media. Treadly reckons he's so busy swearing he can barely type, though manages to make a very good point:

I can’t help wondering if this Police exercise is going to lead to gleeful media reporting when a handful of rogue cyclists are nabbed on the Hell Ride. I just hope the papers keep it in perspective. I suggest they consider the following as starting points.

In Victoria, in the last 12 months:

* Number of people killed by bicycles: 1
* Number of pedestrians killed in road trauma: 55
* Number of people killed in all road trauma: 338

And let’s not forget those 40 cars per week going into Police care because their drivers lack the maturity and common courtesy to behave responsibly.

Rooman feels similarly regarding the "Melboring Meedya".
Cfsmtb has managed a lucid though heated response,

The tragedy that befell to James Gould was appalling, totally avoidable and should never never happen again. But utilising the Police Air Wing to keep control of a bunch of cyclists? Suppose what is really required; education, awareness and accountability is far too left of field to consider? No, it’s far too logical to seriously consider, lets instead take a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.

Then referring to the Wheels of Justice site for something more composed.

To all of which I, obviously, would like to add in typical 'let's trawl through all the real issues' fashion.

Firstly it's a hideous contradiction. There's so much advertising in the media about getting on your bike (or otherwise off one's nether end) in order to avoid diabetes, heart disease or stroke, to get more sunlight so you don't get cancer, to ride to school or work and reduce emissions... Etc. etc. But don't even dream of taking up cycling for fun for sport. That's going too far and we will then treat you as terrorists in order to sell more newspapers to the intellectually challenged.

Secondly it's scapegoating. There are lots of problems with road laws and road use in Melbourne, but they aren't caused by people listening to sensible suggestion and getting on their bikes. They're largely the result of decades worth of poor planning, roads built for statistical car use inspired by pushy car lobbies. Not to mention governments who use knee-jerk reaction in order to get re-elected as the best measure for prioritising development and legislation.

Thirdly there hasn't been any effort to develop space or infrastructure to assist sports women and men in their road cycling training. Many, many people young and old will be inspired by the fantastic performances of the many Aussies representing us on the world stage in events like the Tour de France. What will happen when they venture out onto the roads, perhaps with dreams of one day representing their nation? Some brain donor stuck in convict mentality regimentation throws beer cans at them. Or some other velophobe tries to drive right over the top of them! Pretty poor form in what is supposed to be the most sporting nation on earth.

Finally... Whew, calm down Lis you're almost there... Finally it is selfish in the extreme. Cyclists are legitimate road traffic. We are human beings legally permitted to use the roads for transport. For people who prefer to waste petrol to abuse us for our choices is barbaric. For the media to exploit such an attitude in order to make money selling papers is parasitic and disgusting.

Actually, there's one more. In addition to the hypocrisy of abusing people who listen to sound medical advice and get on a bike, there's the added contradiction of not accurately comparing car and truck traffic to bicycle traffic. Not only does it make a mockery of the Amy Gillet foundation's efforts to encourage us to share the roads, it completely disregards the dangers in car driving. Treadly's made a good list there of the numbers of people killed by cars and other traffic. While the media have been foaming at the mouth about spending $1800 an hour having police helicopters follow cyclists up and down Beach Road, their other head was tapping out this little gem... Two pedestians killed in 24 hours. Notice the passive language? Killed by what, hmmm?

This also reminds me of a climbing story. Often when discussing the pleasure and excitement of rock climbing with non-climbers, the response centres on the dangers. I'd find myself responding with something along the lines of "But you drive..." Because so many people drive every day without thinking, doesn't make it any safer. It makes us need to be more responsible. Scapegoating cyclists in an age when there isn't enough petrol left and when there is far, far too much pollution around is not only hypocritical and inappropriate, it's just stupid.

Apart from which I reckon the helicopter effort will backfire. It will seem like a serious race being covered by police and media, and most of the people caught breaking the law won't be cyclists.

cycling roads traffic car hoons media bias velophobe

Stage four. Still in the Hunt.

2007-07-12T18:49:00.000+10:00

This entry was almost titled "God of thunder", but that would be headline du jour, non?

Today's stage was contested a little more fiercely than yesterday, over a slightly shorter stretch. Again the landscape was magnificent. Definitely inspiration for painting... Ahem. Back to the cycling.

A breakaway yadda yadda, catching the breakaway yadda yadda... Oh yeah, Sylvain Chavanel took two of the three climbs but not the third, so his team-mate Stephane Auge retains the King of the Mountains jersy. Now that was good team tactics. The way the teams work together, both competitively and cooperatively has really made an impression.

Actually it reminds me a little of the European climbers who often camp with us in Summer out at the crags. Rock climbing is a different scene to road cycling, sure, but the Europeans manage to bring a much more mature attitude to community and relation. I always appreciate their contributions. Summer before last it was a couple of guys from Lyon. Great blokes.

Back to the subject... You can see I have other things on my mind ;-) For great news reports from devout cyclists, have a squizz at TdFblog, SBS Cycling Central TdF pages and Cyclingnews.com

Personally, my deepest impression of the fourth stage was of Robbie Hunter. He made such a good effort in that sprint, to be beaten by mere inches by Thor Hushovd, and he looked so upset. My heart really went out to him. Hunter's put in such a consistent effort over the last few days, been up there in every one of the sprints but hasn't quite nailed one yet. Hang in there, mate. Maybe Friday the 13th will be the day? I'm almost tempted to do a spell for him, but that would be interfering, which is never kosher. With his determination, however, I'm sure he can do it himself. Hunter seems to have the work ethic of a domestique and the talent of a sprinter, I really hope he gets one.

Tour de France cycling tour de france 2007 robbie hunter

Cancellara worth his salt.

2007-07-11T14:28:00.000+10:00

After a crazy stage dawdling along through the gorgeous canal country of Northern France, Cancellara stormed home.

It's a good thing for me that I'm the kind of person who's interested in all those little villages and big castles... Even the commentators seemed to be losing it a bit after six hours. The breakaway took off at what, 30 k's and no one chased them until Auge made his move for the one hill. No wonder they were talking about swans and cameramen photographing snails. Who was it, Levre? Who rode through his home town and had a couple of dozen family and friends kissing him on the side of the road for a while. Vastly different reception from that given road riders down here at the moment.

For a while there it seemed like television to knit by, something you normally can't do while watching le Tour. Then Auge and Willems went out to catch the two Frenchmen who'd been leading on their own for 200 k's, and things brightened up. I was hoping Auge might hang on and win the stage, especially since he'd thrashed himself so hard yesterday. Still, he took King of the Mountains in his team's home country. I only hope he hasn't gone out to hard in the early stages before the alps.

But Cancellara was really impressive. Everyone was watching the likes of Boonen, McEwan and the other sprinters, I almost thought Steegmans might get up on the adrenaline from his minor crash, like McEwan did for stage 1. Robbie Hunter, the South African was also in there. He hasn't won anything so far, but is consistently in the bunch at the end, so he might surprise us yet.

In hindsight, this would have been the stage to tape and go to bed early. The flu I was attempting to fight off has now moved into my chest, despite frequent gargling with toxic chemicals and drowning myself in lemon tea. Maybe I should've stuck with the vodka? Hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come. The last thing any of the Tour riders need is to come down with something like this if it's still snowing in the alps. Brrr.

The next stage is a fair bit shorter, and hopefully the riders won't be asleep on their bikes, but you kind of feel like the one you don't watch will be a stunner. Over three weeks of racing, though, it would be seriously devoted to watch the whole thing. Maybe they need more rest days for the spectators?

Belgian stage 2 and tour de.... Toolern?

2007-07-10T17:58:00.000+10:00

Toolern Creek bike track is a far cry from the Belgian roads but fine for the likes of me.

Stage Two of le Tour was gorgeous to watch for the most part in a fairly relaxed artistic sort of way. Being a flat stage, there wasn't much in the way of hills, one breakaway that lasted quietly most of the stage, all was well for the two Belgians Steegmans and Boonen to take honours for the stage in Belgium.

Tim at Masiguy has written a great blog about the sporting relationship between the two Belgians. This is something that has really impressed me about the race and European cycling in general. Being such a big race, there is plenty of opportunity in the Tour for sportsmanship, individual and team, competitive and cooperative. One good example would be the cars. When a rider drops back to change a wheel or pick up water, their own team support car is not permitted to pace them back into the peloton, however other teams cars can and often do. You can also see the riders talking to each other, talking tactics perhaps, and the cooperation among the riders in breakaways sharing the lead. I'm comparing this for a moment to footballers or others having tantrums on field... Granted there are problems in cycling, but I'd be very happy for my kids to watch this rather than baseballers throwing bats and punches over a referee call.

Thousands of locals were there watching, of course. Again I was impressed by quite how big an event this is. There was a real sense of history to this also. Not only because of the ancient castles, churches and exquisite villages lining the route. The sculptures and other stuff created in the roadside paddocks by fans spoke of a real connection to the communities in these countries. It was beautiful to watch. Even the looming storm was picturesque.

Except for that massive crash about 100 or so metres from the finish line. It looked like someone had bumped wheels and on the narrow street stretch there was nowhere for about 150 riders to go but over the top. Cancellara looked like he got pretty bashed up in the fall. Three or four Aussie riders were caught up behind but not in it, from the look of the standings. TdFblog (which is quite a fun site) has more detail on their stage 2 crash roundup.

There isn't much more news about who's in and who's out, apart from Vaitkus with a broken thumb and Bennati who's apparently having scans. It seems to be a wait and see as to who won't start the next stage tonight. The commentators had been going on a bit about how it was much safer on wet roads to be in front of the pack. Their point was certainly well illustrated.

Earlier they'd been discussing who among the riders preferred the wet weather. Apparently one of the Danes in particular is a fan of the cold and wet. In Winter some of the riders, probably also mad Danes, take up cyclocross riding to keep up their fitness. In Winter in Northern Europe, mind you. At the best of times cyclocross is a sport for those fit to the point of lunacy. It's like off-road or mountain biking, but when the terrain becomes too steep or rough to negotiate by bike, you pick up the bike and continue on foot.

As I'm sitting in the loungeroom by the fire, swaddled in woollen blankets and imbibing hot lemon drink, such talk made me feel like a prize wimp. The cold that was threatening to turn into something much worse has been pretty much held at bay by all the winter greens and vitamin C I've been scoffing, but this morning I found myself shivering, even sitting rugged up my hands were shaking. Not good. And before you wonder no it isn't DT's ;-)

So what to do on a sunny winter's day when you're trying to compose a couple of overdue Uni papers? How about working on the bike!

Yesterday I'd almost had a big crash myself. On a quick ride up to the shops, there's a roundabout... The mere mention of such things may well have experienced bicycle commuters wagging their heads, I'm sure. Anyways, despite hand signals and road laws, a woman in a big fat Ford tried to drive right over the top of me in the middle of the roundabout. The car missed my leg and front tyre by about an inch. I was pretty stunned, by disbelief as much as anything. Some gesticulations borrowed from soccer players attempted to communicate my response to her, but it seems drivers who can't see hand signals or bike riders don't use mirrors either.

Today I preferred to keep to the bike track by the creek for a bit of a gentle "tweak" ride. This was probably something I should have done after changing the chain before going out to play in the traffic. Anyways, the brakes had been very tight, as I'd set them when riding in the middle of the city with all the trucks and taxis on Spencer St. I was reminded of this when I grabbed them yesterday and was almost catapulted over the handlebars down a hill. There was also a bit of noise from the rear deraileur.

The illustrated bicycle maintenance encyclopedia has lots of little hints and tips for routine and other maintenance, so I pick it up fairly frequently before any tools. It's come in very handy for ideas to have up my sleeve for hubs, cables and gears. There was a note about some rear deraileurs having adjustments on them so the cable didn't need to be constantly tweaked. Since there'd been a bit of noise still after changing the chain, I thought I'd have a look at that. Good thing, too. I don't know how I did it, but I had the chain running over one of the guides on the deraileur. Well, that's where the noise was coming from!

There weren't anything like the bolts the book described on the rear deraileur on this old bike, but there was a couple of screws that didn't look like they were attached to anything. By experimental trial and error I discovered that these did indeed affect gear changing. They're quite touchy, requiring only quarter turns. The kids by the creek might have thought I was mad, riding up and down the same hill repeatedly, jumping off the bike every 20 metres or so to fiddle. It has worked, however and J now shifts gears beautifully and the loudest thing on her is the whirr of tyres. Exquisite.

Just down the road there's a bit of trail I've been watching with growing interest as an off-road track develops.

Since I had the camera, it looked like a good day to have a squizz.

It looks quite pretty and is a fairly sedate sort of track. Not really what you'd call mountain biking, which is fine since J isn't really an off-road bike.

Looking back, there's a couple of different ways to start.

While I was in the shed, the thought had occurred to raise the saddle and lower the bars, to have a bit more fun on the road. It turned out to be fortunate I didn't. Particularly since we're also on semi-slicks rather than dirt tyres.

Further on it gets a bit muddy and you're fighting a bit not to get too tense as the wheels slip.

It's so pretty down here. I can see why people take this up as a sport. And right at the front door too.

After a pleasant if slippery ride, the track came to an abrupt end. Apparently.

I guess that's where you're supposed to cross.

Haha, and after I'd been thinking that cyclocross riders were nuts!

This was fun. Perched on slippery rocks with the bike in one hand and camera in the other. Thank goodness I didn't sneeze.

Following the crossing, it began to look less sedate.

Looking back to the crossing.

At this point I'm guessing we're now technically off-road.

There's another creek crossing there behind the bike, that looks quite a bit easier. That is until you notice the almost vertical descent on the hill behind it. Think I'll leave that one for those with front shockers, mtb tyres and mouth-guards.

The track kind of deteriorates into a rabbit track from here on, but it was a really lovely ride. In Summer it would be easier to ride dry and with more people using it might extend further.

On the way back.

That's what the crossing looks like from the road above. Beautiful.

Closer to home there's the start of another track, but it's really slippery. That can wait till Summer I reckon.

So while the Tour is inspiring people to get out in the fresh air (no matter how sick they might feel ;-) and all the brilliant Aussie cyclists representating us might motivate young men and women into cycling even onto the world stage, what are the local press focussing on? Police to tail hell on wheels. Cheap shot. B....'s

Might be time to write a letter to the papers, methinks.

In the meantime, stage three tonight. Yippee!

Tour de France cycling sports

How did he do that?!

2007-07-09T12:02:00.000+10:00

What a stunner! How about Robbie McEwan!

The finish was fantastic, the whole stage was great really. The overhead views of the peloton racing through the countryside were so colourful. The beautiful team lycras in such a large group, moving so fast. At one point I had the impression I was watching some kind of transformer confetti. Bright but powerful. Animated giant lollies.

It was funny how the commentators had been talking before the race, about nerves and anxious riders on the first day. They seemed a bit nervous themselves, rattling on. We seemed to be hearing over and over about how McEwan would "hide" in the pack for most of the race and then come from nowhere at the end. It became a little tedious at one point, I was wondering when we'd hear about the other 188 riders in the race. Well, 187 now. Eduardo Gonzalo apparently crashed through the rear windscreen of one of the race support cars. Ouch.

Millar did really well, leading the breakaway for a long stretch, then Auge the Frenchman got away for a while. It really looked like he was suffering on that climb. Every time they showed his face and all the sweat I could almost feel the lactic acid, poor bugger.

When McEwan crashed with another Aussie, on a traffic island no less, it seemed he'd be hard pressed to get back into the group. The commentators were going on and on about it, but at least they knew where he was, it seemed all eyes were on him.

In the last couple of miles, Boonen who'd been expected to make a pretty good showing, and Hushovd were gunning for the finish line when McEwan comes from out of nowhere, flashing past them like he had Harry Potter's magic broomstick under him. You could almost feel the surprise as the leading riders saw him sprinting up on the right. "What?" "Oh, you must be joking!" Here comes Robbie... There goes Robbie. He was really amazing. I was very impressed. You can tell, right?

Well, I reckon I'm a fan now! Heh. After a nasty crash, being well behind after how many hundreds of kilometres of racing with only about 20 to go, the little Queenslander gets up to win the first stage of the biggest sporting event in the world in astonishing form. You'd think it would be all over the front pages in this sports mad nation.

There's a few hours of overseas, mainly European, news on SBS each morning. It would have been interesting to see how this story was presented there, as opposed to here. But if you can't find anything in the papers, there's always Cycling News. Older fans have probably known about that site for ages but for those of you, like me, whose dog ate your homework, there it is.

SBS also have a great Tour site, including blogs, fora and Lots of video. So if you also found yourself getting up this morning excited to hear others discussing events, there you go.

That reminds me. Lying in bed last night trying to get to sleep after all the excitement, this was running through my head:
My mate Robbie
Made me proud to be an Aussie
As he crossed the stage 1 finish line
In first possie.

Heh, doesn't seem nearly as funny now as it did at 3am, but you get that.

I'm off for a bit of a ride myself. Test out the new chain, visit the newsagents and see if I can snaffle myself a copy of the guide book from somewheres and maybe a paper or two for posterity. I guess that makes me a fan? So this is what patriotism feels like! ;-) Wow. And there's three weeks to go!

Tour de France Robbie McEwan cycling

How about O'Grady?

2007-07-08T20:44:00.000+10:00

Poor bugger. What a spot of bad luck that was, to wipe out like that. And he looked like he was really firing. Around the traps, we seem to like Cadel, but unless O'Grady is really sore, he looked like he was in form and won Roubaix which is no slouch effort.

That's the crystal ball we needed to pick the winners.

Too bad it wasn't around for Phil's contest. Everyone thought the Brits would do well, wanting to look good in London, of course. It was a bit of a shame for Wiggins, but what are you going to do about Cancellara? The 26 year old Swiss man, with hazel eyes and fangs, won beautifully. He also won Roubaix last year and the first and last time trials of Tour de Suisse. And he's the world champion time trialist... In hindsight, he was obviously going to thrash it. In hindsight. At the corner where O'Grady came a cropper, the fanged Swiss caught up to the motorcycle escort of the rider in front! It will be interesting to see how he fares in the alps, but still that kind of speed is very respectable.

Other than O'Grady, my sentimental favourites would have to be Vladimir Karpets, so named for those fabulous sideburns which carried him to victory in the Tour de Suisse two weeks ago, and Alexandre Vinokourov. Vinokourov is the rider from Khazakstan (Isn't that where Borat came from?) and from what the commentators were saying last night team Astana was put together pretty much just for him. The Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych is in team Discovery with Vladimir Gusev, who looks like a youngster worth watching. (IMHO) Now that Eki's not racing anymore, Popovych might be popular around here.

Watching the race beginning last night, it struck me just how big an event this is. Talk about monstrous. People from everywhere, going nuts, having a ball. The footage of London reminded me of how splendid the French countryside looked when I first tuned in last year. That was one of the things that inspired me to take up painting again, all those gorgeous chateaux, churches and villages. It's beauty belies the technology that goes into it, beaming the video from the camera on the motorcycle to a helicopter overhead, then via satellite out across the world. Fantastic.

I really felt quite a bit of appreciation for the crew at SBS who cover this and present the Cycling Central show. Particularly their coverage of women's cycling in Australia last Summer. When T-Mobile sponsored a women's team for races in Aus, it was something pretty special. It's awesome watching all the men in the Tour, but as a woman watching other women race and seeing it given good press, that feels very positive and inclusive. Thanks SBS, and Mike.

But it was another story altogether when considering the overall situation in the mainstream media here. Stories of cyclists having car doors opened on them are reported with almost a "just for laughs" kind of tone. One would think that in a country as supposedly sports mad as we are, people out training would be encouraged. Considering young men and women are out training, particularly those who might one day represent Australia at the most famous sporting event in the world, instead of encouragement shouted at them as they train on Melbourne's roads, they cop abuse or beer cans. Pathetic.

Might it be a form of tall poppy syndrome? Curiously there's an article in this month's Vogue about Australians who move oversees then find themselves castigated for lack of patriotism. When Philip Ruddock made that snide comment about Australians going overseas to participate in terrorism, as if any backpacker is suspiciously lacking requisite patriotic fervour, it seemed simply another expression of paranoid red-neck nationalism, until I remembered that John Howard had been to Iraq not so long ago. It seems Mr. Ruddock did inadvertently have a point.

No doubt that will be cold comfort to car-doored road cyclists.

So. That's the prologue then. All hyped up, are we? Stocked up on munchies and coffee? Not to mention sudden willingness to brave Melbourne's winter weather to go for a ride.

This arvo I was motivated to finally put the new chain on J.

The Shimano Hyper-glide chain that the LBS ordered took ages to come in, ordered because the gears are the older 6 cog version, then it took longer for me to pick it up simply because of lack of enthusiasm. Heh, that's cured! Perhaps because chains wear so slowly, you really don't notice how frustrating bad gear changes become. It gets to the point where a gear change on a hill becomes a bit like a penalty in European soccer, you want to kiss your saint and cross yourself for luck.

Riding around on a new, well lubed chain made an incredible difference. Without the distraction of losing speed flummoxing around with chain sideways, the rider can focus much more on the pleasure of the ride. The book did tell me that once I'd ridden a bike with a well maintained chain I'd want to pay much more attention to it. The book was right. Now to find a wholesale source, since almost every geared bike that needs recycling needs a chain.

One of the interesting thing about the Tour is the mechanics and other team crew. Imagine how good it would feel to have built a bike that was ridden to the podium? (Or in TdF at all?) Talk about job satisfaction.

By the time the Tour's done, I reckon I'll be over this cold and keen to get moving again. Like ever other cyclist out there. ;-)

Not everyone waits though. Last year there was a blog about someone who'd moved a training bike into the lounge room and spent every night watching the Tour telecast while pedalling away merrily. Yanno, that doesn't seem like such a bad idea...

Tour de France cycling

Viva le Tour!

2007-07-07T23:33:00.000+10:00

Righto, with 20 minutes to go, here's the last post of the night.

The prologue of the Tour de France begins tonight, in case you're the one who missed the news. SBS have been running ads featuring Robbie McEwan suggesting we "watch proper tough guys" ride for three weeks. Awesome. Although, when you click the link on their page, it takes you to the movie show site. Oops.

Hehe, they even have a count down to the start of the next stage. Five minutes to go. Woohoo!

Hey, what's this? Phil from Spinno's hosting the blogging! Onya Phil. Damn, I gotta go...

Tour de France

Blue moon blogging, episode two.

2007-07-07T22:49:00.000+10:00

While the kids are away and I'm frantically catching up on everything that's been happening, mainly eating and waiting around for the Tour to start (tonight, yay!) it occurred to me that this blue moon thing is going on this Winter.

In recent terms, a blue moon is one that's the second full moon in a calendar month. We had one of those in June. In Almanac terms, if there are four full moons in a three month season when you'd normally expect only three, the third is the blue moon. We're having one of those on the 30th of July. Since that's not a calendar moon but the result of the difference between the solar year and lunar moonths, it seems that would be the more important one.

Following this, in the third month of Winter, the full moon at the end of August (only a few days after my birthday) will be the subject of a full lunar eclipse which will be visible only in the Eastern states of Australia! How cool is that!

So if you're into the whole moon and seasons thing, as it seems I am, this is looking like a pretty important season. Maybe it augurs well for all Aussies? Maybe an Aussie will win the Tour?!

blue moon full moon

Food blogging, Death By Chocolate episode!

2007-07-07T22:34:00.000+10:00

Warning: You are putting on weight simply looking at this!

It's been years since I last made this desert. It is so naughty the recipe was deliberately forgotten in a vain attempt to rectify bad eating habits.

It is so wicked it made its way back into the conscious realm and my mother, of all people, suggested last week that I make it for the kids. Apparently it has become the stuff of legend. Their father has been telling them stories about this stuff. And that's dating from some 12 years ago, so it must have been good!

The seductive concoction begins with rich chocolate mud cake, to which are added layers of dark chocolate sauce and chocolate ice cream.

In this iteration raspberry sauce makes an appearance, to save the whole from devolving into a miasma of chocolate, delicious though that might be, by providing a contrasting punctuation of fruit flavour. On top is melted white chocolate and mint leaves, fresh from the herb garden. That is it's only saving grace, a mere hint of green stuff.

You could also add marshmallows if you like.

When my eldest daughter came over for tea the other night, we had a version of this with coffee added to the cake as a desert after the "beef shiraz" dish invented last Summer. Rich dinner deserves rich desert, eh?

Now to work it all off!

death by chocolate

Food blogging, eggs benedict, second edition.

2007-07-07T21:47:00.000+10:00

In response to my son's suggestions, I cooked up an eggs benedict for both of us, for lunch last week.

He was impressed with it. I was pleased.

A couple of days later, bored out of my tiny mind and observing the sunlight outside, I decided it was time to get out in the yard and expand the veggie patch. The small one we have is quite productive, but the potential is there for much, much more.

One trip to the veggie patch can yield a whole armful of yummy stuff, most of which is consumed fresh during preparation.

For someone who's never been much of a salad eater, this is pretty good inspiration. It's kind of funny because I used to hate spinach, now it's one of the primary motivators for digging up more lawn. Baby spinach from the garden tastes great, and it can be thrown in with eggs, or chicken florentine, quiches etc. etc. That and baby carrots. For a good munch, I reckon baby carrots would have to be the go.

Anyways, the eggs benedict went down very well. So well in fact that when I asked said son to help with the digging, he was in shoes and out the back door before I'd had a chance to wrench my nether end from the bum trap where I'd been knitting, feeling myself slowly widening and growing ever paler in the absence of sunlight.

It wasn't all veggie power inspiration, however, in the few days since we've been on broadband he's managed to download 29 viruses, spyware and trojans and that's with two streaming virus filters and a firewall working. So the pc was pretty much running like a three-legged syphillitic swaybacked sow, stuck up to it's teeth in tar. And dead. Frustration levels must have been absolutely critical, even for geekboy, resulting in a spell outside in the winter sunshine seeming quite an appealing alternative in comparison.

Good thing we got to it, since every day since then has been raining. The ground will be ever so soft when it comes time to finish off. Sweet carrots, here we come.

Blue moon and a lazy Sunday afternoon.

2007-07-01T19:22:00.000+10:00

In case you hadn't heard, last night was the "blue moon". In this case the second full moon in the month of June.

Wiki has a couple of really interesting entries on both blue moon and full moon, the latter of which includes folkloric names for each of the full moons. They're sometimes also called "esbats". The one last night was the first after "Yule", but not the July moon, so it will be interesting to see if it's called the ice moon or storm moon. Ice seems most applicable here presently. ;-)

Unfortunately being based in the northern hemisphere the names in that entry, along with the names given in my Neville Drury dictionary of magic, are all arse about for us here in Aus. It might be useful to have a page with appropriate Australian references, but who'd decide upon the final names? I wonder if any Indigenous Australians had names for the full moons? That would make an interesting read!

Needless to say, whether you count them by calendar months or seasons, they're fairly rare events. Basically there are more 28 day "moonths" in a year than calendar months of 30 or 31 days, so sometimes there are 13 full moons in a solar year.

The full moon is always a pretty impressive sight. One wouldn't think there are many people who aren't just a little bit impressed by the beauty of the moon. Particularly in the Autumn months when she rises early and golden, the "harvest moon", a full moon is beautiful and considered by some to be a particularly good time for practise of rituals or spellcraft.

All the wands and crystals go out in the light of a full moon, not to mention the sense of connection with the ebb and flow of the universal currents around us. Shame Sooty wasn't around, she loved running around with all her fur in a bunch when I was out under a full moon. Last night seemed particularly good for ritual and visualising energy movement. Great for the kind of "out with the old and in with the new" cognitive suggestion for moving forward in life.

Whether it is considered merely an astronomical coincidence, powerful for magic, helpful for psychological suggestion or simply pretty, there is motivation there for considering the natural world in which we live and remembering our place in the life of the planet, no matter how insulated from it we sometimes feel in the modern world.

After a night spent gently considering the universe and a curious tarot reading, what is one to do on a cold, occasionally drizzly Sunday? How about starting with eggs Benedict? (Heh, now I'm going to think of the Pope everytime I eat them %-) Tangent: looking through all the online recipies, well, there are many different versions. Mine is simply poached eggs on whole grain toast with baby spinach, rocket and sauce. The link goes to another that uses smoked salmon! Yum.

Some years ago when I drank very heavily a friend recommended that dish to me as the best hangover cure ever. It might only be bettered by bacon and egg sandwiches. Back then, some 12 or 13 years ago, it would have been cage eggs and frozen spinach, possibly accompanied by white bread. Years later, about eight years ago, I had a bash at making them myself but baulked at the Hollandaise sauce. It basically read like emulsified oil and raw egg. You could add some protein powder and half a litre of tap water and have one of those new fangled milks.

Yesterday it occurred to me to have another go. That version was much different. So different in fact that I was inspired to take a photo to share. The eggs are vegan, the greens including baby spinach, rocket and assorted herbs all come from my own garden. The sauce was a bit of a concoction. Having no Hollandaise and not willing to pour butter in the blender, a bit of natural yogurt seemed a good alternative. It's too sweet on its own, but with a dribble of cider vinegar and lemon was wonderful!

Following such repast, attending to the garden that produced it seemed appropriate. TV chefs are constantly raving about how good garden fresh herbs are. It wasn't any of them who inspired me to start a herb garden (thanks Bill) but I must say I certainly agree with them now. The simplest, quickest meal can become something special with a few interesting herbs added. The also do miracles for home made soups.

Some of the weeds here are doing extremely well. Some of them also closely resemble edible greens. Every so often I have to sniff a leaf of something that looks like rocket, carrot, spinach or coriander before I can bring myself to wrench it out by the roots. Fortunately the ground is ever so soft, so weeding is pretty easy. Probably one of the best jobs to do about now. Other than enlarging the veggie patch itself.

Other than that, it was certainly a lazy Sunday afternoon. And for Sunday blogging what could be better than religion and cooking? This seems satisfactory.

On a final note, there was something quite sweet in the paper today. Apart from the title, divided in sport, united in love is a pleasant read about two women hockey players who've just had a baby boy. Congratulations.

full moon
eggs Benedict

Saturday morning lazy blogging

2007-06-30T14:24:00.000+10:00

Had a squizz at the papers this morning, a very brief one, and this was about the only thing inspiring for blogging... Lest I embark upon criticism of the Howard Government's fit of activity regarding Indigenous welfare and the demise thereof... Let's save that for a more appropriate time.

Feline five give birth to millions. Perhaps not what I'd have titled it, however it's interesting reading. Someone at a cancer institute did research into the history of domestic cats over the centuries.

At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica ("cat of the woods") accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the world's 600 million house cats are descended.
The house cats in the study fell into five lineages, based on analysis of their mitochondrial DNA, a type that is passed down through the female line.

The article also mentions that unlike other domesticated animals cats may have chosen to domesticate themselves by associating with village and agricultural communities. A symbiosis of lifestyle. Cats benefitted from having rats and mice to live on and humans benefit from having the pests kept away from food stores.

Toward the end the author of the article comments on this in relation to the "haughty independence" of contemporary cats being a result of their choice rather than having been forced into subservience... Personally I don't know any cats who are haughty or independent... I do know a few who are not grovelling and syncophantic though. There's all sorts of connections there about projection and perceptions, it could be theoretically discussed in relation to issues of domination, power, self-confidence and boundaries but it would hardly be a novelty to suggest that humans might learn something from those other beings we share our intimate space with. Particularly not in the middle of a gross political campaign of fear and demonstration of power.

Winter blogging

2007-06-29T13:00:00.000+10:00

Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who left comments regarding Sooty's demise. I really appreciated everyone's thoughts. She is still greatly missed. A friend gave us another cat, a black and white girl named Panda who needed a good home. She's great, but she isn't Sooty. Heh, poor thing, I hope she doesn't feel unwanted ;-) They each have their own personalities. Panda doesn't seem to be at all sensitive to magickal activity. Either that or what I'm doing simply doesn't impress her ;-)

The bloke over the road has managed to keep his dogs in his yard since that day, but I did report them to the council. Mostly because that family also has two little children, a baby and a toddler, living in a house with two farm dogs now known to kill things. Personally I think he's nuts, but that's his business and I'm the one who's certified anyway. :D

It is lucky, though, that the dogs are alright. The garden pitch fork was lying on the ground right at the bottom of the back steps. If I hadn't had my arms full of kitten, things might have been different. Later when I went over to tell the guy, the dogs hung their heads and skulked in shame. There's no point belting a cattle dog, they have heads like bricks and are bred to be kicked in the head by cows all day. I doubt I could make a dint. I did curse them, but thought better of it later. It would be far preferable for things to be more friendly around here, not less and I'm sure they, like me, have plenty of other problems to deal with. Plus karma will be involved and normally I'm the one who wants things to get better, not worse. I really miss my beloved black lunatic, the psycho kitten herself, but creating more negative energy isn't going to resolve it. That's the rationalisation, anyway ;-) the feeling is still simply very sad.

The fortnight since then has been weird. I'm just digging my way out of one of the worst depressions ever. Over Mothers' day particularly, I felt absolutely wretched. (Part of the reason I was so attached to Sooty.) I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say that there were about three months of memories, nightmares, flashbacks and sleepless nights. Blehhhh. :-(

A week to the day after Sooty's death there was a woman murdered in her home only a block away from here. Then on this Wednesday the homicide squad came knocking on my door to ask if I'd seen or heard anything suspicious. I thought, 'Dude, I live in Melton, of course I've seen suspicious people!' Ick. Black humour. It was pretty horrible. Then there's all the stuff in the news about people being raped and bashed and home invasions... So I bought a few good DVD's and left the news and other rubbish out of the loop for a while. It is a hassle when you're decreasing the "triggering", you can end up completely isolated which may even be worse. But news reports about violence and abuse is often reported as if it were some sort of movie or porno script. Yucko.

So that's two murders and a deceased pet since we moved in here. :-{ On the up side I've discovered magick and been freed from all sorts of psychic and psychological 'leftovers'. There's a long way to go yet, I'm sure, but a good rest, St John's Wort and a bit of vodka are doing me well at the moment.

Fingers crossed I get back to climbing in the next month or so. I could really use a summer out on the crags.

It's a full moon tomorrow night. Looks like I'll miss the Critical Mass ride today, but I might get some magic in. Pray for friends, I think, to ride and climb with around here.

Now I'll have to visit CF and ask how those kittens did.

Goodbye my love.

2007-06-14T15:10:00.000+10:00

Cat lovers among you may wish to skip this. It's unpleasant. :-(

Yesterday the neighbour's two cattle dogs, that get out a lot, came into my back yard and mauled the kitten to death right in front of me. I have a really sore hand from belting the stupid thing in the head to get it off her.

I'm feeling pretty drained and unhappy at the moment. She was a magnificent little cat. Just about four months old, growing from a kitten into a cat. A gorgeous cat. I often told her that she was the most beautiful cat I'd ever seen. Her face was exquisitely defined, with a lovely nose, unlike those bred with flat faces that can barely breath.

Already I miss her company in the beanbag. I'd sit down to knit and she'd appear from nowhere, purring and insinuate herself up into my lap. Everything had to be rearranged so she could snuggle there and play with the wool and ends of the knitting needles while I tried not to drop too many stitches.

She was a fantastic climber. The other day while I was hanging out some clothes, she climbed up the fence and onto the roof!

During the day her time was spent running around like a fury, or sleeping on her couch. Or in my lap. Some people say cats aren't affectionate. Sooty made up for all the non-affectionate cats in the world in one go. Some days she'd follow me around everywhere. Sitting in my lap, purring at my feet or bouncing around the garden if I was out weeding or something.

Sleeping with her in the bedroom was also a lot of fun. She'd lie right beside my head and purr me to sleep, or bolt around the room attacking things that weren't even moving. Some nights she'd alternately sleep or do laps around the bed. One night I must have been snoring. I woke up and she was patting my face. No claws or anything, just soft, warm little kitten paws patting me.

The dog must have been a complete surprise for her. She'd never met a dog before. Never been in a fight. Although she was sometimes very enthusiastic about playing, and bit hands, she never had her claws out and was quite gentle for all her energy.

One of the dogs, we think, grabbed or chased her off the back landing. The other had her on the ground in its mouth when I heard her and ran out the back. She was completely in shock. I got the dog away and put my hand out to pick her up. For a moment she kicked at me, then looked in my eyes in recognition. I picked her up and within seconds she was gone. I'm glad she knew that I came to get her, though.

I only did a few sketches of her, thought there'd be plenty of time for drawing when she'd burnt off some of the kitten energy and could sit still. Last night I did another from memory and will probably paint it. She's looking back over her shoulder, like she's saying goodbye.

I'm really going to miss her. She was only with us a couple of months, but we are all now confirmed cat lovers. She was a gift.

Submissive women.

2007-06-04T09:55:00.000+10:00

Edit: I find I need to edit this. Being angry isn't going to articulate my opposition to this unpleasant and erronous tradition very well.

It's back. That age old lie about women having to submit to men. Again, the discussion is disconnected from any history or other relevant information that might have explained where it came from or how truly ridiculous it is. In the media there has been some subsequent dialogue about family roles but it has descended into he said vs she said, without any reason as to why it is in error or how damaging it can be.

It was interesting to see a show on daytime television that connected control issues with abuse, and clarified emotional abuse as being every bit as damaging as physical violence. It would be helpful, particularly given the problem of domestic violence in Australia at present, to see this discussed further, with people experienced in both the theoretical qualifications and the survival of such abuse.

Apart from the long lived Catholic misogyny, based on 2,400 year old biology errors, the emphasis on submissive women is dependent upon a peculiar reading of a very few Biblical texts in a 'literal' manner that didn't exist until the modern era.

In addition to being very unhealthy psychologically, there is no science to support the idea that men are superior to women or should dominate them. The theological ideas about the separation of the spirit and matter, the male seed being self-contained and women being less spiritual or otherwise undeserving of self-respect and autonomy are not part of the faith. These ideas evolved hundreds of years after the original movement began in Catholic monasteries. It is not Christian, it is Antichrist. It's all the fashion among Sydney Anglicans at the moment.

Biblical scholars consider this errant reading to be a compromise with Roman values at the expense of the freedom Christ instituted for his followers. Any man who wants to lord it over his wife, to assume spiritual headship over her, is attempting to sit on God's throne. Like Satan.

Australia submissive women religion

Car culture in Melbourne... at a standstill

2007-05-27T12:54:00.000+10:00

All the news that isn't news at all to anyone who's caught a train or tram in the last year. Gridlock choking the life out of city Not only are there far too many cars on the roads, they're blocking tram traffic... And the train system is so good the Government is considering asking schools to schedule classes at different times so students can avoid travelling at peak hour. Hmm. Sure, that sounds like a great idea. In another reality.

Melbourne does not yet have a "workable public transport system" that could provide an alternative to car travel for a wider group of road users.

Overcrowding is now a significant problem, with eight of the 14 key rail lines at or over capacity.

The tram system is underperforming due to congestion and lack of on-street priority. This problem is likely to grow in the future.

With an average speed of 15 km/h, Melbourne's trams are already among the slowest 20 per cent in the world.

Aren't we all glad the public transport system was sold to companies interested in making a profit, rather than providing service?

To show that we've learned nothing in the last twenty years about public transport, the latest move is not to return control of the system to the Government and employ someone, anyone, who knows something about it and feels motivated to get it all in working order, but to spend $500 million on a new ticketing system!

The "myki" is apparently pronounced "my key", however there's no prizes for guessing it won't be called that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of spending a lot more money on public transport... But surely it should be spent on an aspect which will make some difference for people trying to get to work or school?

At the same time the papers are making noise about how bad the roads and public transport are, they've been giving cyclists a pretty hard time and continue to report on cycling as if it were a "last resort" to car culture, primarily the domain of drug users and adrenaline junkies. Over at Le Rayon Vert, Stu was considering a run in he'd had with some idiot driver recently and wondering if our attitude to cars approaches something like religious intolerance.

Chris and Treadly sometimes wonder what traffic in bike lanes will be like when lots more people take up riding... Personally I'm not worried. With that number of cars off the road it will be much safer to ride on the tarmack. With that many cars left at home in garages in favour of a cleaner, healthier mode of transport, the back of car culture will hopefully be broken and we can move on to being intolerant about something new.

Bikes in the news

2007-05-26T12:24:00.000+10:00

Now that the noise surrounding the accident in the hell ride last year has apparently subsided, the paper this morning had some sports cycling news but it wasn't exactly positive. Well, some was, depending on your perspective.

I imagine Phil at spinno will be satisfied with Richard Young's comments regarding the ongoing Floyd Landis doping dispute.

US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prosecutor Richard Young claimed relatively simple science proved Landis had taken synthetic testosterone during last year's Tour.
"When the facts aren't on your side, you accuse people," Young said in his closing argument.
"The science is solid. Landis had exogenous testosterone in his 17th stage sample and, in his effort to win at all costs, he cheated the rules of cycling and he got caught."

In one way it's nice to hear someone from the US pointing out the facts in a straightforward manner, rather than jumping on the "slam the French" bandwagon. Could it have something to do with the election of a more US friendly French Government recently? In cycling? These days one does wonder.

At any rate the inquiry is going to be a drawn out process, long enough to keep Landis from competing in this year's Tour de France. Personally I think this is a good thing. Even if, by some miniscule chance, he is innocent and all the tests were wrong, at the very least the protests should have been conducted in a more respectable fashion, IMHO. To include questioning of results and protest with vilifying the French and their science was pretty low. While professional teams need corporate sponsorship and the money that brings, to bring marketeering type publicity into a disputed doping charge is not necessary and negatively affects the image of the sport. It's still a freaking sport goddammit.

Ivan Basso has also been in the news regarding doping, but his response was quite the opposite. Though his admissions have been somewhat murky, he seems to be accepting a 21 month suspension with good grace. At least I haven't heard any publicity from lawyers associated with him or his team castigating the French or whoever else was involved in testing and sentencing. Could this simply be European self-respect contrasted with the ongoing effects of Puritanism in the New World? What lesson will young Australian cyclists take from these contrasting attitudes by professionals?

Now to the Really Good News! Denis Menchov is one of two Russians doing quite well, thankyou very much, in the Tour of Catalonia. For this old Eki fan, that's good to see. Though, you know, when your heroes are suddenly all twenty years younger than yourself and those you'd stay up all night to watch racing have hung up the team lycra, it isn't the same. (I wish someone would update that Wiki page...)

For kitten fans.

2007-05-23T23:34:00.000+10:00

The new kitten, who is fast growing into a wild black cat, is something of an inspiration art wise. Often I find myself studying her outline or attitude as she's sleeping or playing.

After a couple of sketches, this is the first painting inspired by her. I quite like it. In a spirit of sharing beauty, it's for sale ;-)

Not that it won't be part of a long series of studies in black cats! All the colours and symbolism are relevant too, of course. Everything has meaning in my tiny mind.

finally ebay

2007-05-21T19:08:00.000+10:00

Quick update...

I finally created myself an ebay account. It seemed a not bad idea to try selling some of the paintings and stuff...

My profile which I think links to anything I have for sale.

Just in case you'd like to know. :D