SLIPSTREAMING
Cycling is all about slipstreaming. Sitting out of the wind in the middle of a bunch of riders is easier than riding at the front, and creating the "hole", you use 30-40% less energy. Birds do the same when they fly in V-formations.
Until recently, I used to go cycling mainly on my own. The nearest club was more than 15km away, and I didn't fancy riding 15km (and possibly 15km back) just to ride with other people. So the setting up of a cycling club in my home town earlier this year was a great development. There are training sessions three times a week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, though I don't go to them all. And you get to ride in a bunch, with all those slipstreaming advantages.
On Thursday evening we did 50km in less than 2 hours. It was a very windy day, so doing it on my own would have been a nightmare. Coming back at the end with the wind behind us, I was doing 50km/hr on the flat without really trying. Very satisfying.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
THE ROYAL WEDDING
What is one to make of all that?
Well, it certainly showed Britain at its best. The precision timing of the various arrivals, the Household Cavalry and the Guards on parade, the trumpeters, choir and music, the clergy in their robes, the fantastic church (if you want to know what inspired mediæval man, then visit Westminster Abbey). There were too many television shots of Elton John, Posh and Becks, and David Cameron. But there were also some good ones; Rowan Williams as an avuncular Archbishop of Canterbury, Prince William looking like the cat that had got the cream, and - best of all - that political bruiser and current Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke lurking in the choir stalls.
In the fashion stakes, some of the women had dreadful dress sense; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, William's cousins, spring to mind. The bride looked lovely, of course, all brides do. Apart from her, the best-dressed females were Kate Middleton's bridesmaid and younger sister Philippa in a figure-hugging white dress, and the Queen, resplendent in a very simple yellow number. Sometimes it takes an 85-year old to show what elegance means.
I watched the whole thing live on Danish TV. Although Denmark has had a continuous monarchy since before 1066, Danes also go nuts about other countries' weddings and coronations. DR1's lead commentator was mortified when she got William's uniform wrong; it's hard to imagine the BBC's being as interested in Scandinavian heraldry.
Walter Blotscher
What is one to make of all that?
Well, it certainly showed Britain at its best. The precision timing of the various arrivals, the Household Cavalry and the Guards on parade, the trumpeters, choir and music, the clergy in their robes, the fantastic church (if you want to know what inspired mediæval man, then visit Westminster Abbey). There were too many television shots of Elton John, Posh and Becks, and David Cameron. But there were also some good ones; Rowan Williams as an avuncular Archbishop of Canterbury, Prince William looking like the cat that had got the cream, and - best of all - that political bruiser and current Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke lurking in the choir stalls.
In the fashion stakes, some of the women had dreadful dress sense; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, William's cousins, spring to mind. The bride looked lovely, of course, all brides do. Apart from her, the best-dressed females were Kate Middleton's bridesmaid and younger sister Philippa in a figure-hugging white dress, and the Queen, resplendent in a very simple yellow number. Sometimes it takes an 85-year old to show what elegance means.
I watched the whole thing live on Danish TV. Although Denmark has had a continuous monarchy since before 1066, Danes also go nuts about other countries' weddings and coronations. DR1's lead commentator was mortified when she got William's uniform wrong; it's hard to imagine the BBC's being as interested in Scandinavian heraldry.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday, 28 April 2011
RUBBISH SERVICE (2)
I borrowed a trailer today to take stuff up to the dump. Notably those big doors that I have taken out from the barn.
Even though I had chopped them up, the resulting chunks were still pretty heavy. It wasn't too difficult getting them onto the waist-high trailer; but taking them out and putting them up in the head-high container at the dump would be another matter. After struggling with the first - and smallest - one, one of the municipal employees came up to me, and asked me if I needed any help. This was not, as I first thought, picking up the other end of a door and helping me throw it into the container. It was turning the ignition key in his huge JCB digger that is used to flatten stuff in the containers when they get too full. So I simply put all the chunks in his shovel, and puff, into the container they all went.
As I said earlier, rubbish rubbish service has been replaced by good rubbish service.
Walter Blotscher
I borrowed a trailer today to take stuff up to the dump. Notably those big doors that I have taken out from the barn.
Even though I had chopped them up, the resulting chunks were still pretty heavy. It wasn't too difficult getting them onto the waist-high trailer; but taking them out and putting them up in the head-high container at the dump would be another matter. After struggling with the first - and smallest - one, one of the municipal employees came up to me, and asked me if I needed any help. This was not, as I first thought, picking up the other end of a door and helping me throw it into the container. It was turning the ignition key in his huge JCB digger that is used to flatten stuff in the containers when they get too full. So I simply put all the chunks in his shovel, and puff, into the container they all went.
As I said earlier, rubbish rubbish service has been replaced by good rubbish service.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
GOODS AND SERVICES (2)
A month or so ago, I said that I thought that goods had become too cheap, and that services had become too expensive.
Yesterday I bought some socks for kr.69.79 (or just over £8). However, not one pair, but ten pairs. How people can grow cotton, make a pair of socks in Bangladesh or wherever, ship them halfway around the world, and then sell them for kr.5.58 ex-VAT is beyond me.
By contrast, my mother-in-law wanted a gardening job done. She has a beech hedge which surrounds her house. In amongst the hedge, at regular intervals, are 10-12 young trees, about the size of our apple tree in the photo below. Having reached head height, the trees needed pruning and shaping, so that from now on they grow straight and symmetrically. Not a particularly demanding job, if you know what you are doing (I offered to do it for free, but she wanted a professional). It cost kr.6,000 + VAT for a day's work.
I rest my case.
Walter Blotscher
A month or so ago, I said that I thought that goods had become too cheap, and that services had become too expensive.
Yesterday I bought some socks for kr.69.79 (or just over £8). However, not one pair, but ten pairs. How people can grow cotton, make a pair of socks in Bangladesh or wherever, ship them halfway around the world, and then sell them for kr.5.58 ex-VAT is beyond me.
By contrast, my mother-in-law wanted a gardening job done. She has a beech hedge which surrounds her house. In amongst the hedge, at regular intervals, are 10-12 young trees, about the size of our apple tree in the photo below. Having reached head height, the trees needed pruning and shaping, so that from now on they grow straight and symmetrically. Not a particularly demanding job, if you know what you are doing (I offered to do it for free, but she wanted a professional). It cost kr.6,000 + VAT for a day's work.
I rest my case.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
THE RESILIENCE OF TREES
There is an apple tree outside our back door. The old tree was quite large (you can see the thickness of the old trunk in the picture). But bits of it were dead, and the rest was hanging over the hedge in a lop-sided sort of way; so I cut it down two years ago.
I quite expected that to be that. However, far from rotting into nothing, up popped 10-12 new shoots last spring. Since I didn't want a dozen trees where one had stood before, I chopped down all but two of them last autumn. These two are doing well, and have just burst out into bud this week (see below).
You would think that something that has had its head (and arms and legs) vigorously chopped off would find it difficult to survive, let alone bounce back. But this tree has done so, and I am impressed. All it needs to do now is to produce apples this autumn, and we'll have a nice tree with fruit, and at a height where they can be easily picked.
Walter Blotscher
There is an apple tree outside our back door. The old tree was quite large (you can see the thickness of the old trunk in the picture). But bits of it were dead, and the rest was hanging over the hedge in a lop-sided sort of way; so I cut it down two years ago.
I quite expected that to be that. However, far from rotting into nothing, up popped 10-12 new shoots last spring. Since I didn't want a dozen trees where one had stood before, I chopped down all but two of them last autumn. These two are doing well, and have just burst out into bud this week (see below).
You would think that something that has had its head (and arms and legs) vigorously chopped off would find it difficult to survive, let alone bounce back. But this tree has done so, and I am impressed. All it needs to do now is to produce apples this autumn, and we'll have a nice tree with fruit, and at a height where they can be easily picked.
Walter Blotscher
Monday, 25 April 2011
HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA (2)
The "Obamacare" healthcare bill, which was signed into law last spring, has already been subject to legal challenges. In particular, the courts have been asked to rule whether the universal obligation to take out some sort of health insurance is unconstitutional, on the grounds that Congress is exceeding its powers (the basic principle is that powers are reserved to the states unless the constitution specifically says otherwise, and it is felt by many that the interstate commerce clause does not cover the matter). Five federal judges have considered this question, three Democrat appointees and two Republican, and their decisions represent the party line. The Democrats in Michigan, Virginia and Washington D.C. have decided that the mandate is constitutional; the Republicans in Florida and Virginia have decided that it is not.
These decisions are now wending their way up through the appellate system, and will almost inevitably reach the Supreme Court at some point. Given that, isn't there much to be said for shortening the process and getting the Supreme Court to decide now? After all, if the mandate is unconstitutional, then a lot of what is currently happening "on the ground" is going to be made redundant. No, decided the Supreme Court today. Fast track procedures take place only rarely, in times of war or constitutional crisis; and this is not one of those.
A victory for legal punctiliousness. But is also leaves that legal uncertainty. Until the Supreme Court definitively gives its view - and that is not expected for at least another year - it will not be known whether Obamacare will survive in its current form.
Walter Blotscher
The "Obamacare" healthcare bill, which was signed into law last spring, has already been subject to legal challenges. In particular, the courts have been asked to rule whether the universal obligation to take out some sort of health insurance is unconstitutional, on the grounds that Congress is exceeding its powers (the basic principle is that powers are reserved to the states unless the constitution specifically says otherwise, and it is felt by many that the interstate commerce clause does not cover the matter). Five federal judges have considered this question, three Democrat appointees and two Republican, and their decisions represent the party line. The Democrats in Michigan, Virginia and Washington D.C. have decided that the mandate is constitutional; the Republicans in Florida and Virginia have decided that it is not.
These decisions are now wending their way up through the appellate system, and will almost inevitably reach the Supreme Court at some point. Given that, isn't there much to be said for shortening the process and getting the Supreme Court to decide now? After all, if the mandate is unconstitutional, then a lot of what is currently happening "on the ground" is going to be made redundant. No, decided the Supreme Court today. Fast track procedures take place only rarely, in times of war or constitutional crisis; and this is not one of those.
A victory for legal punctiliousness. But is also leaves that legal uncertainty. Until the Supreme Court definitively gives its view - and that is not expected for at least another year - it will not be known whether Obamacare will survive in its current form.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday, 24 April 2011
THE APOSTLES' CREED
"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth ..." is the first sentence of the Apostles' Creed. As the earliest creed, or statement of belief, in the Christian Church, it is silent on some issues, which later caused huge doctrinal problems, and which were made explicit in subsequent creeds such as the Nicene. Notably questions about the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As such, the Apostles' Creed is accepted by Christian denominations, who otherwise disagree with each other about lots of other things.
The Danish Lutheran church uses the Apostles' Creed, albeit with one modification. At the beginning Danes add the sentence "I renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways". This change is mainly due to Nikolai Grundtvig, the 19th century theologian, who is one of the most influential people in Danish history.
I have always thought it a bit odd to start a creed, which is a summary of what one believes in, with a firm statement of what one rejects. I was reminded of that oddity, as I went to church on a beautifully sunny morning this Easter Sunday.
Walter Blotscher
"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth ..." is the first sentence of the Apostles' Creed. As the earliest creed, or statement of belief, in the Christian Church, it is silent on some issues, which later caused huge doctrinal problems, and which were made explicit in subsequent creeds such as the Nicene. Notably questions about the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As such, the Apostles' Creed is accepted by Christian denominations, who otherwise disagree with each other about lots of other things.
The Danish Lutheran church uses the Apostles' Creed, albeit with one modification. At the beginning Danes add the sentence "I renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways". This change is mainly due to Nikolai Grundtvig, the 19th century theologian, who is one of the most influential people in Danish history.
I have always thought it a bit odd to start a creed, which is a summary of what one believes in, with a firm statement of what one rejects. I was reminded of that oddity, as I went to church on a beautifully sunny morning this Easter Sunday.
Walter Blotscher
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