Given that I am in the south of France we only had a partial eclipse, and it was very cloudy..
So this is a heavily cropped phone camera picture that I took while sat at the side of the ski run.
Monthly Archives: March 2015
[push] It’s more falling with style..
Achievement unlocked: Just completed my first black run!
Think that makes me qualified to deliver Milk Tray..
[life] Take time to enjoy the small stuff..
Today has been brilliant..
The bulk of the day has been spent skiing*, the skiing has gone really well with me mostly skiing on dark red routes.. so I pushed myself and did well, ok there were a few spectacular wipe outs.. but if you don’t fall over your clearly not trying..
Then there was vast amounts of beer at a pub with a live band.. (who rocked), then there was Calsone, followed by chocolate ice cream..
Not really sure how I could have a better day.. **
* But that can be replaced with other physical activities.. like cycling.
** Ok maybe if it had included a strawberry milkshake or a very good hot chocolate..
[potd] The Holborn Dragon
[potd] Free sunshine
[potd] Look up
Trying to get out of the office for a walk at lunchtime, and while I’m out take a photo..
This is today’s effort.
[Life] We are the sum of our decisions
Every once in a while you make a seemingly innocuous choice and later you learn some details of what might have happened had you chosen differently.
Today I have learned some details about what would have happened if I had cancelled my plans last night (go see my osteopath) and taken up on another offer.
Alas I must remain a tease and not divulge details but all I can say is that I have missed out on a chance in a lifetime.
I suspect that this opportunity will never exist again in my spacetime.
Arg.
[Edit: Auto correct had me go see my sociopath, which would have been a very different kind of evening..]
[potd] Nice evening for a walk..
[Commute] Back on the bike..
Today was my first cycle commute since my spectacular crash in September..
Today I learned:
– That I am really unfit.
– My cycle computer thinks it is a round trip of 80 miles. (Rather than just 20)*
– It wasn’t as cold as I expected. Which meant I was wearing too many layers.
– That I like cycling, the turbo trainer is dull.
* Clearly it detected some RF interference while it was in my bag under my desk, it also thinks that my top speed was 78mph.
I wonder if I can use that as justification to buy a shiny new GPS one?
[Rant] It’s elf and safety mate..
Last week, (sorry this post is horribly late) I visited a timber yard to buy a short length of window sill board. I am finally getting round to putting a nice window sill in the kitchen.. It has only taken me erm years..
Anyway, after wandering about a bit I found what I was after, but as I only needed 1.25 meters I needed to get someone to cut it to length for me. This is where the fun started. The chap I was dealing with hadn’t been trained on the static circular saw, and the company safety policy prohibits untrained use. Sensible enough if you ask me.
So I ask who can use the saw.. which is met with a blank look..
At this point I also learned that it is policy that staff members can not use hand saws… But if I had a saw with me I could cut the wood for myself. Sorry what!
Given that I am not a full time builder with a van full of tools, I didn’t have a saw with me, and the sharpest thing I was carrying was a pen..
This clearly identified me as a very strange person, clearly I was comfortable in a timber yard, I knew exactly what specific thing I needed, but I wore a suit coat had no discernable paint marks and had no tools with me..
What was worse, not only did I not have tools I didn’t have a van or a car having walked.
While I was quizzing yet another member of staff just who could use the power saw, my original helper returns carrying a hand saw, that he has borrowed from a slightly perplexed builder who is visiting the yard.
Apparently I am allowed to use a hand saw in their workshop, but they can’t.
So I set to and cut my own bit of wood, before returning the saw.
This has just left me baffled. Clearly they have identified a safety risk with the use of hand saws.. one that is so serious that it can’t be mitigated by staff training. Yet untrained members of the public can be given a saw (that has been borrowed from some other member of the public) and allowed to cut their own wood in the workshop space of the timber yard. Given that they have a duty of care to members of the public, I wonder just what would have happened if I had had an accident.