Trioddity

Global Warming in real time

2007-12-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

The oil refinery on Jurong Island has been particularly active lately. The right hand flame in the video must be over 50 meters tall and has been like that for a few days now. It is usually the size of the one on the left. It is like a giant candle lighting up the South China Sea. That's a lot of carnon dioxide. I'm sure it is visible from Indonesia and Malaysia. Do you feel warmer?

The Empire Strikes A Note

2007-12-20T05:22:00.000-08:00

This is a Salvation Army bellringer on Orchard Rd! They looked taller on the big screen.

"Hang a shining star upon the highest bough."

2007-12-20T05:04:00.000-08:00

Wishing my devoted readership 'season's greetings'. This is Ryan and I at the 'Conrad Continental' for a very enjoyable conference dinner. Look carefully at the composition of the Xmas tree.

Tomorrow the photographer and I are road tripping through Malaysia to Fraser's Hill. Our itinerary is: Day 1 Johor Bahru, Day 2 Malacca, Day 3 KL, Day 4 and Xmas, The Smokehouse at Frasers Hill and Day 6 unknown before returning to Singapore. The forecast is for solid rain :-(

Random shots

2007-12-02T03:55:00.000-08:00

You have to admit, it isn't easy finding a theme to unite these three images, although the first two can be tenuously linked. The 'famous last words' on the left came from some arrogant knob prior to the fall of Singapore. The second is where that arrogant knob probably uttered those words (a WELL known colonial hotel in Singapore). And the third is by a Vietnamese poet who probably has trouble getting a girlfriend (but I do applaud the sentiment).

CCBB

2007-11-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the musical) has come to Singapore and we saw it at 'the Durian' to support a young relative of the photographer's. She was one of 8 local child actors who supported the London cast, which included Richard 'Someone-or-other' from Rocky Horror as 'The Child Catcher' (a tailor made role for a 'timewarper').

Lombok Triathlon

2007-11-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to Lombok for 10 years. It is the beautiful but poor relation of Bali amd I competed in the first Lombok Triathlon - billed as 'the toughest race in Asia'. Perhaps this was ill conceived marketing and perhaps 'most beautiful race in Asia' might have attracted a bigger field. The distances were the same as the Phuket Triathlon (1800 swim, 55 km bike and 12 km run), but the run and particularly the bike were hillier. I finished 2nd in the 45 - 49 old blokes category and won this unique trophy.

Happy Deepavali

2007-11-07T22:54:00.000-08:00

Much has happened since my last post - the'festival of lights' for one. In our 'condo' we've celebrated the end of Ramadan (Hari Raya Aidul Fitri), Halloween and now Deepavali in the last month (and the Xmas lights are up on Orchard Rd).

Another Riau island

2007-10-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

This is Batam in the Riau archipelago. Only 30 min from Singapore. We stayed at the Turi Beach resort which is undergoing renovations. I wouldn't recommend going until they are complete, but we still enjoyed the view towards Singapore and a glorious massage.

'Death Island'

2007-10-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend doing the tourist circuit. A highlight was lunch on Mt Faber followed by a cable-car ride to Sentosa (previously Pulau Belakang Mati - 'island of death behind' - referring to a malaria outbreak or possibly its pirate heritage) and a tour of Fort Siloso - a British fort unsuccessfully employed to defend the harbour behind Sentosa from invasion. It fell to the Japanese early in WWII because they first captured all the British airstrips in Malaysia and then could bomb it (and the rest of Singapore) at will. The guns were not used to sink japanese shipping trying to invade Singapore, rather to shell Singapore itself, because the Japanese had came the other way. Fort Siloso was then used as a POW camp. Just 60 years later it is a wax-works museum.

Hanoi - Perfumed Pagoda trip

2007-09-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

A short bus trip from Hanoi through rural Vietnam, followed by a boat ride (courtesy of an indefatigable peasant woman) is the Perfumed Pagoda - a working Buddhist temple in a huge limestone cave. The scale of the dark cave, the rhythmic chanting and the incense is hypnotic and reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie. For more and better photos see http://planetjannet.blogspot.com/

The last photo is the view from our room of the Win Hotel in Hanoi - highly recommended and only US$30 per night.

Hanoi - Harvest Moon Festival

2007-09-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

Hanoi is full of young people and on the night of the Harvest Moon Festival they all came out on their motor scooters and did loops of the lake. It was raining, but no one was deterred. Some wore masks, angel wings, devil horns or carried balloons ('click' the icon to play the video).

Hanoi -day 1

2007-09-30T03:56:00.000-07:00

I had my handphone pinched on my first day in Vietnam by this young 'Artful Dodger' (right). I wouldn't have known but a passerby saw it happen. This tourist trap is the entrance to the 'Turtle Temple' in Hoam Kiem Lake in the centre of Hanoi. Legend has it that a turtle returned the King's sword from the bottom of the lake (I think).

More from the Aw Boon bro's

2007-09-16T16:58:00.001-07:00

The only part of the Garden's that requires an entrance fee is the 'Ten Courts of Hell' depicting the fate of 'nare-do-wells' for such crimes as 'lack of filial piety (which seems to have been the most serious sin). Good taste prevents publication of those tableaus here, but you'll see the punishment for 'cheating' in the Eighth Court of Hell'. This was accompanied by figurines having their intestines pulled out! Not sure why Sumo's and Koala are also included in these Chinese gardens.

Tiger Balm Gardens

2007-09-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Many older visitors to Singapore remember 'Tiger Balm Gardens' aka 'Haw Par Villa', named after the Aw Boon brothers, Haw and Par who made a fortune from Tiger Balm in the 1930's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_Par_Villa). The brothers Aw Boon were not conventional men and made these grotesque cement figures for the garden of their mansion. Some of the tableaus impart a moral message on such vices as gambling, cheating on exams (see post above) and being lazy. Some of them have a hidden eroticism, possibly reflecting life at the mansion?

More fruit-salad for ANZAC Day

2007-09-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Interfaculty Swimming Carnival. Competition was not fierce in the Staff Category and I won a bronze medal for the 100 m freestyle (in 1:28), 4th in the 50 m free (in 37 s) and our Science relay team came first to win the Gold medal on the right. The silver medal in the centre is for participating in the inaugural 'Singapore 70.3' half ironman on 3 Sept (6hr and 39 min!).

There's lunch ..... and then there's eating disorder

2007-09-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

I'm currently obsessed with 'Bibimbap' - a Korean concoction of rice, egg, beef (or chicken) and salad greens (with kim chi on the side). My first experience of this staple was on Korean Airlines and now I look out for it everywhere. Thankfully, many food courts have a Korean stall. By comparison, this is what sells for a 'lunch pack' at the Cold Storage checkout. The ingredients indicate that lunch consists of 2.2g of coffee! And it only costs $7.08!! Yes, you would certainly get thin eating a tea-spoon of coffee at mealtimes. I think, however, I'll stick to bibimbap.

Coming out.

2007-08-20T06:50:00.001-07:00

We went to a Trivia Night at the Australian International School. Our table finished 'middle-of-the-pack', but won the best themed table thanks to the pink-champagne with which we plied the judges. The AIS has machine-gun wielding guards at the gates to stop gate-crashers.

Shopping malls - the new pleasure domes

2007-08-20T06:40:00.001-07:00

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree : Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea."

Majulah Singapura!

2007-08-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Singapore National Day (for last thursday). I started the day with a cycle around the island. The rally-stripes on my head are road grime thrown up by the rider in front (I was in the middle of a pack of riders - peleton in the vernacular)! We did 150 km - the furthest I've cycled since last December. The evening was spent hosting a National Day BBQ for like-minded patriots. This photo is to prove that I can make a fire (eventually).

Still not as painful as it looks

2007-08-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've been keeping up my cardiac-rehab exercises. I get very little chest discomfort now, so I think the sternum is nearly healed. Ice-cream helps......

Priorities

2007-08-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

My priority has been work and so I've been a bit lax keeping this blog up-to-date. I also haven't taken any good photo's lately. We've been here 3 weeks now and the photographer snapped me unpacking my most cherished possession, one of the many storms that sweep over kent Vale and (most remarkably) dawn!

...thus endeth the lesson

2007-07-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Study explains the physiologic benefits of diet and exercise (pinched from http://www.bio.com/newsfeatures/newsfeatures_research.jhtml?cid=31700015

7/19/07 -- One route to a long and healthy life may be establishing the right balance in insulin signaling in the body and brain, according to new research from Children's Hospital Boston. The study, published in the July 20 issue of Science, not only reinforces the value of exercising and eating in moderation, but also helps explain a paradox in longevity research.

Insulin sends a vital signal in the body, telling cells to use sugar from the blood. When cells become less sensitive to insulin, which often happens as we age and gain weight, the body makes more insulin to compensate. For a long time, researchers thought that "more insulin signaling was good," says Morris White, PhD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in Children's Division of Endocrinology, who led the new study. "But this insulin is also hammering the brain, and we now think that's probably a bad thing."
Recent studies in the worm C. elegans and in fruit flies have shown that reducing insulin signaling lengthens lifespan. But in mammals, reducing insulin signaling can lead to fatal diabetes. White suspected that the key to explaining this paradox -- and to maximizing both health and longevity -- is to reduce insulin signaling only in the brain.
To test this hypothesis, White's team measured longevity and other characteristics in three types of mice. One group had normal insulin signaling in their brains. The other two groups were genetically engineered to have reduced brain insulin signaling, having less of a protein called Irs2 that carries insulin's message inside cells.
As the mice aged and gained weight, their sensitivity to insulin decreased, and higher insulin levels began to bombard their brains. The mice with reduced brain insulin signaling lived 18 percent longer than the normal mice. They were more active in old age, retained youthful metabolic cycles (burning sugar by day and fat by night) and retained protective levels of anti-oxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, which protect against oxidative stress, or "biological rusting," in the brain and body.
In contrast, the mice with normal insulin signaling had become more sedentary, had lost the metabolic rhythms of youth and had reduced anti-oxidant enzymes, leaving them vulnerable to cellular damage. Such damage correlates with a host of age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and cancer, notes White. White believes his findings suggest a new approach to preventing diseases that shorten lifespan. "If we could hit cancer and cardiovascular disease by attenuating how much insulin that gets to the brain, or the amount of insulin signaling that happens deep within the brain," he says, "that's going to be much easier than trying to cut every cancer out."

Drugs that regulate Irs2 signaling in the brain (but not elsewhere in the body) are one possible strategy, but no such drug has yet been found.

The easiest method, White says, is old-fashioned diet and exercise. Although obesity and sedentary lifestyles tune down the body's sensitivity to insulin, exercise tunes it back up. Furthermore, eating smaller meals keeps insulin low in the bloodstream, ensuring that less reaches the brain.

"This study gives a molecular explanation of why it's good to exercise and not eat too much," says White. "If we can put a sound scientific basis behind the idea that diet and exercise are good, maybe we'll convince some more people to do it."

The study also calls into question the long-term effects of insulin therapy for diabetes, White adds. "Too much insulin might be fine to keep glucose levels under control. But it's probably damaging your brain in the long run," he says. Better treatments for diabetes, he suggests, would concentrate on sensitizing the body's cells to low amounts of insulin.

Source: Children's Hospital Boston

View from the 12th floor

2007-07-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not as freaked out as last time I lived in a high-rise apartment. Out the other window is a view of the ocean, full of tankers and oil refineries - very surreal at night.

Not as painful as it looks......

2007-07-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken by Alan, a friend of mine during the weekend race (read his report at http://www.redmanrunners.com/GC%20Report.html ). I had to think twice before putting it up because I appear to be having a heart-attack. Surprisingly, I was enjoying this moment (because I enjoyed the whole race), which proves that looks can be deceiving. I did have a chest X-ray this week, however, because of a recent, rapid weight increase. The X-ray was normal, so my weight gain was not due to fluid build up around the heart, but due to returning health :-)

Second run since surgery

2007-07-01T16:43:00.001-07:00

This weekend past was the Gold Coast marathon which is arguable Australia's biggest road race and brings in a good number of Japanese runners. Indeed, a Japanese runner won it in (I think) 2:23.

I didn't run the marathon, but did manage the 10 km run - the same distance as last week and an almost identical time! I ran 0.16 s faster which is an accuracy of 1 in a 100 million (if I was trying to do the same time, of course)! The first half was very crowded which was good because I wasn't able to go out hard and blow up (my usual running strategy). Rather, I had a well paced run 'till half way and then came home strongly (well strongly for an old bloke).

First race since surgery

2007-06-24T17:08:00.001-07:00

This is the race number from my first race since heart-surgery 12 weeks ago. I thought the title was appropriate. It was a 10 km charity road race for 'sick kids' at the Brisbane Royal Children's Hospital. I entered on a whim and I'm glad I did. It started at a respectable 8:00 am from nearby Orleigh Park and I was unsure how fast I could go, particularly since I haven't run this far since February. In the end, I was quite pleased with my 51 min 38 sec and with my heart-rate which reached 175 towards the end (that's almost 3 beats per second!). I'm glad the patch in my septum held :-) I've even started doing a little cycling and light weight lifting.

And a few more images from Montville

2007-06-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Montville is absolutely packed on Sundays for all of these reasons and more.

Montville

2007-06-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

We went to 'The Dreaming', an indigenous cultural festival. It was freezing and we didn't camp (thankfully), but stayed nearby in a nearby mountain village - also freezing, but beautiful. My favorate act at 'The Dreaming' was a rock band called 'Blue King Brown', but this country and western singer (Troy Cassar Daley) was also pretty good.

More wildlife

2007-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

While I prefer the Gold Coast, Southbank and Logan campuses of Griffith University, the Nathan Campus is set in Toohey forest with some interesting inhabitants. Unfortunately, they've become scavengers of human detritus.

Cat politics

2007-06-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Our apartment block is actually a cat run. If you wake in the morning to find a mat has been wrestled or a mouse dismembered, then you have had a visitor. Here are two of the protagonists from units 2 and 5 respectively (the 3rd is probably off killing something).

Brisbane of old

2007-05-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

This must be ancient history because Brisbane is now in a rain-shadow. In 1974, however, the CBD was flooded by a passing cyclone. This photo was taken outside 'Festival Hall' where I saw 'Alice Cooper', 'Rod Steward', 'Elton John' (twice), 'Billy Joel', 'The Beach Boys', 'Foreigner', 'Barry Manilow' and probably a few others in the 70's and 80's. Festival Hall was pulled down a year or so ago.

Which band member is my brother?

2007-05-31T23:01:00.001-07:00

It was my sister-in-law's 50th birthday party at 'Tongue and Groove' in West End. Her husband (my brother) played for it in a band called the 'Descendents' (short for 'Irish Descendents'). A good time was had by all. The band played 70's and 80's stuff from my youth. I prefer contemporary music, but it was a nostalgic evening and thoroughly enjoyable.

Paniyiri

2007-05-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Parking in our street was a real problem this weekend with the annual Greek Festival 'Paniyiri' in nearby Musgrave Park. We ate far too many 'honey puffs'. The umbrella's were not required for rain, unfortunately. The venue was baking and has turned into a dust-bowl in the drought. To my surprise, Musgrave Park has its own wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musgrave_Park,_Brisbane

Out of the mouths of graffiti artitsts...

2007-05-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

This grafitti refers to the Tasmanian mine accident last Anzac day when a miner was killed and two others were trapped a kilometer underground for a few weeks. The word 'union' is now a pejorative term in Australia, but the swing is coming back the other way.

We also have a bridge

2007-05-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Griffith University has a bridge to match the new one to University of Queensland. Unfortunately it crosses a busy motorway rather than the scenic Brisbane River.

Week 6

2007-05-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

This is the photo of my chest at week 6. I still didn't feel 100% well at this point, but saw the surgeon who said I'd be feeling a lot better after 8 weeks.

Convalescing in Sydney

2007-05-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Darlinghurst in Sydney is a great place to recover from heart surgery. Everything is a short walk and everything is interesting (particularly the maddies).

Dumpster diving in Sydney

2007-04-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

I came across this photo from a recent trip to Sydney. A homeless guy was fishing in a charity bin in Darlinghurst. A group of street-people came past just after I snapped this photo and told the diver off for 'queue jumping'.

Dry as a pommie's towel

2007-04-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

These are just a few photos from my 'hood of Highgate Hill. You can see we need a bit of rain! 'Neo's Pizzas' is an icon. The 'best pizza in Australia' award was made by themselves to themselves, but for its lack of authenticity it has still proved to be an effective marketing tool.

Day 18

2007-04-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Pretty neat eh? I wouldn't recommend heart-surgery as a recreational past-time, but the surgeons are skilled and it has become almost routine. Imagine what it will be like 20 years from now? When the hair grows back, I think this scar will be largely invisible. Twenty years from now, I doubt they will have to cut you. There has been one complication, however. I've spent the last few days having fluid drained from around my heart - 2 litres of it! I understand that this is not an uncommon problem. Fingers-crossed for an unremarkable recovery. I'm allowed to drive in another 2 weeks and should be fully healed in another two and a half months (end of June).

Day zero

2007-03-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'll be admitted to hospital today. Looking forward to being whole and holeless soon. This photo of the Greenslopes Hospital lobby makes it look like the Sheraton. It is a comforting thought that the staff see hundreds of patients like me and for them this is completely routine.

Before....

2007-03-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

I'm having open-heart surgery next Friday to close the hole in my heart. I was due to do the Moolooaba Triathlon tomorrow, but with the uncertainty over the timing of this op, I pulled out. I'm still registered for the inaugural Singapore 70.3 (ie half-ironman triathlon) in September which might be a little ambitious. Still it is a goal for recovery. Wish me luck! The photos are a 'before-shot' and my home - bottom apartment (you can imagine me inside, post recovery watching the entire series of 'The West Wing'.

Recent expeditions and exhibitions

2007-03-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

These are more photo's from in and around my spiritual home (one of many), Byron Bay including the moom over Main Arm, some bizarre tourist attraction on the high-way back to Brisbane and scenes from the Sheraton (s.h. 2).

Here and There

2007-02-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

I've had a former student of mine over from Bali to assist with installing some equipment. Wayan has 'geen fingers' when it comes to chemistry. He is methodical and thorough which is the secret to good science. We first met on an AusAID project in Bandung, Indonesia and I was very pleased when he chose to come and study with me in Australia.

Happy St David's Day!

2007-02-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Happy St David's day and first day of Autumn and Happy Birthday to my daughter! I learned yesterday that I have an 'Atrial Septal Defect' which I presume I've had since birth. It is big enough to require closing (I am reliably informed). I've had no trouble exercising, but it may lead to heart trouble in my 50's or 60's. I understand that it is a fairly routine, albeit significant procedure. Hopefully I can get it done soon.

Singapore!!!!! I'm so excited!

2007-02-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

I've just learned that I have a 12 month position in Singapore from July! Have already entered the 'Singapore 70.3' (new name for half-ironman triathlon) in September.

Luxury on the Gold Coast

2007-02-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

We had a few birthdays in February and so had a family weekend on the Gold Coast. My brother (centre) looks very much like a dearly departed uncle in this photo! Perhaps he was channelling (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channelling_(mediumistic)?

Ahhh Sydney!

2007-02-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Back in Sydney - one of the world's great cities.

Byron Bay

2007-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

Byron bay is probably my favourite spot in Australia because of the beaches, the Cape, german backpackers, drug-wasted baby boomers, gazillionaires, joggers, buskers, 40 y.o. surfers, sea-turtles and cyclists without helmets. The girl tickling my brother's shadow is actually sitting at the next table.

'Good will to all men'

2006-12-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

Seasons' Greetings and may no one be hanged in 2007.

Penta-ironman

2006-12-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

These are images from 'Ironman Western Australia 06' including me and Warnie, the group of us who travelled over from Brisbane (happy to have finished) and me pointing at the dead-calm sea in Geographe Bay which (unlike last year) was also dead-calm on race morning. I was the slowest of our group finishing in 13 hr 52 min and 1 sec! Although 13 min slower than last year (and in much better race conditions!), I was happy with my time. My swim was better, bike about the same and run a bit slower reflecting a little less time for training this year. Ironman number 6???? We will see.

Blue-arsed fly

2006-10-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

I've been busy at work and training for Ironman Western Australia in December. I've also had trouble uploading photo's to this site so this is a bit of a test. Here are some photo's of my gandparents place in Brisbane from the '60's. Thanks to Mark for these.

Name that musical.

2006-08-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

My son is a T-bird.

Photo's from Texas and Seoul

2006-08-14T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a jumble of images from my trip to San Antonio via Seoul including street scenes from San Antonio, Austin and Seoul, a sketch from a student in the chemistry department at the University of Texas, San Antonio and a biker-bar where the UTSA chemists drink on a Friday night. I loved both Texas and Seoul, although I was disturbed by the sight of these VERY young pets for sale on a busy street in Seoul.

How are y'all going?

2006-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

It has been another long period since my last post. I came home from Singapore and soon after departed for texas, via Korea. I loved both Korea (particularly Seoul) and San Antonio, Texas. This was was second visit to Korea and my first to the USA. My first impressions of the latter were (1) wow - these are BIG people and this country is going to have a health crisis around the corner and (2) - related to the first - they drive BIG cars everywhere! I've never met an American I didn't like, and that still holds after 3 weeks in Texas. The natives were very hospitable and I enjoyed bbq's almost every night and boisterous, boozy lunches in front of the World Cup soccer. Despite the socialising, it was still the most productive work trip I have undertaken. I'll try and post some photo's soon.

.....and a few more

2006-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

These are photo's from my last few days in Singapore - around the University, in Chinatown and from an enjoyable dusk cycle at East Coast Park out along the Bedok pier. Can you tell that I put on 2 kg during this visit?

Photo's from Singapore

2006-06-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've had some good runs with friends around McRitchie reservoir this week. It is an undulating 11 km and I've been getting around in just under an hour. Other than that, the weekend was spent as a tourist.

Bintan Triathlon

2006-05-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

Bintan at sunset........

This is one of the best organised, most scenic races I have done. Bintan is an Indonesian Island 1 hour's ferry ride from Singapore. Tribob.com organised 3 races and I did the 'olympic distance' of a 1500 swim in a clear, warm South China Sea followed by a 40 km bike ride in a torrential thunder storm and a hot, hilly run around a gold course.

I'm not in particularly good shape at present and was looking to do a mediocre 2:35, but the brutal (albeit scenic) run course extended this to 2:54. I also tried, for the first time, putting my cycling shoes on while cycling! I managed one shoe and then gave up, hopped off and put on the other shoe in the more conventional way. Nevertheless, one of my favourite races and I finished 32nd of the 92 40 - 49 y.o. males. I hope I will have the opportunity to do this one again in future.

You can see that the triathlon photo's were taken by a professional, as were the photo's of Bintan after the race. I'll let them speak for themselves.

Post marathon post

2006-05-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the best thing about racing is NOT racing (the runner's paradox). I enjoy nothing better than resting after a hard training session, or particularly an Ironman or Marathon. So Friday night, J and I went to a bar in the city called 'Fat Louie's' to watch J's cousin M play in a punk (?) band. It was a good venue and good, hard-core sound. I was old enough to be every other patron's father, but I didn't mind and neither did the (clearly) underage drinkers around me.

Saturday we went to Glenn Innis (central NSW) and froze in the -3C Autumnal nights. It was beautiful to see the leaves changing (a foreign sight to Queenslanders) and on Saturday night we went with a friend to see "Brokeback Mountain" - a marvellous, well made film and rural New South Wales is the perfect setting in which to see it, particularly when it's -3C!

Crossing back into Queensland we visited a large family at Ballendine - a small, wine growing area that borders Girraween National park. Ballendine is cold, beautiful and boasts an impressive pyrimid (I'm not sure why).

Has it really been THAT long since my last post?

2006-05-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been busy at work and haven't written in awhile. We had to move lab (refurbishments :-( ) and I installed a new piece of equipment which required the assistance of 'Hector the Erector' who specialise in moving large heavy things. None of the (apparently) former 'Hells Angels' who turned up to move my equipment was called 'Hector', but whoever they were, they did a good job and my 1.5 ton high-pressure chemical reactor is in the lab and almost ready to use

Sunday 30 April was the Brisbane Marathon. I hope to have some better photo's for you soon, but at present, I only have this miniscule map of the route. The two loop run started at Southbank, went over the 'Goodwill Bridge', along the river to the Regatta Hotel, back and around the Botanic Gardens, over the Goodwill Bridge again and out along the river to West End, back to Southbank and then all of that all over again. I have been told that the best way to run any distance is at an even pace and I determined to do this on Sunday. I decided my pace would be 5:30 min per km which would give me a 'pb' time of 3hr 52 min. I managed to stick at this pace for 24 km, before it became 6 min per km and then 7 min per km and I finished in a 'pa' (personal average) time of 4 hr 20 min. - oh well - next time. I didn't follow a training programme leading up to this race and was consequently a bit 'under-done'.

Monday 1 May was the Labour Day holiday and I marched with my comrades in the NTEU (National Tertiary Education Union in purple below) from the City to the RNA Show grounds. This is the first time I can remember marching in the May Day rally, although I probably did in my self-righteous youth. There were 35,000 of us in the Brisbane rally which brought out the press and I did an interview with Brisbane radio staion 4BC which was heard by one of my work colleagues.

Arriving at the Show Ground, I was surprised to be met by the Holy Trinity (Kim, Pete and Anna - not shown) who shook hands with the more sycophantic of us (including myself). The Deputy Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, ran in the Half Marathon on Sunday and fired the starter's gun for the Brisbane Marathon. I was pleased to be in the march, although I couldn't quite bring myself to join in the obligatory chanting. Come the revolution, I'll be well back from the barricades making lunch and washing up.

Niece's birthday weekend

2006-04-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

I had a very enjoyable weekend celebrating my niece's birthday at Marina Mirage, Gold Coast. Breakfast was beyond the dreams of gluttony. Pictured are my sister-in-law, brother, son and mother (and some bloke in a pink shirt - SO last season).

Running around the Brisbane River

2006-04-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

Although I haven't been training as compulsively as usual, I have been running around the Brisbane River once or twice a week. Last weekend I joined a group of friends at 5:30 AM at Sounthbank (picture) and we ran along the river to New Farm and back. I estimate that I ran about 29 km and felt pretty good throughout - bode's well for the Brisbane Marathon on 30 April.

I have been training.....

2006-04-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

I have been training, but not intensively and have felt a little unmotivated lately. One reason is that the weather has turned cool (well cool for Brisbane) and the thought of a cold pool is very off-putting. I'm thinking of wearing a wetsuit at swimming training this winter. My triathlon coach says that he'd prefer us to come to swimming in a wetsuit, rather than not come at all.

What does this mean?

2006-04-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

So what does this tattoo mean? I had it done in Chinatown in Singapore in 2001. I know what I asked for, but I'd like to hear what a chinese speaker interprets it to mean. My polite colleagues at the National University of Singapore used to ask me why I chose THAT symbol!

Mooloolaba Triathlon

2006-03-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

Despite the big surf caused by Cyclone Larry, the Mooloolaba triathlon was held on Sunday, although the 1500 m swim was moved from the ocean to the river (thank God!). An open water swim was held the day before, but after the first few groups of swimmers were trashed by the big waves (picture!), the event was stopped. I certainly wasn't looking forward to an ocean swim so the change of venue was welcome news and I has happy with my 32 min swim time (it would have been MUCH longer in pounding surf!).
The swim was followed by a 40 km cycle and again I was happy with my 1hr 13min time on a mostly flat, fast course and I caught up a few of the better swimmers in my 45 - 49 age group. I caught a few more on the undulating 10 km run, although my 49 min time was a bit slow for me which I'm attributing to post-marathon tiredness. My overall time was 2:43 placing me 46 out of the 76 old buggers in my age-group and 32 min behind the fastest of the old buggers. This is a somewhat mediocre time and placing for me, but I was happy with a solid effort and I have a few more Olympic Distance races coming up (Byron and Bintan) in which to go faster.

Ego and super-ego

2006-03-23T02:20:00.000-08:00

This COULD be me if I had hair (and why are his eyes 10 times larger than his mouth?). I've been delaying this post waiting on pictures from the Griffith University Aquathon held last Friday, but they haven't arrived so this unidentified anamie character will have to do in place of another picture of me in lycra.

The aquathon started at our Mt Gravatt Campus and involved running for about 3 km through Toohey Forest, swimming 13 lengths of a 25 m swimming pool and then sprinting 800 to the finish. I was the first (and only) over 40 male to finish for which I won a sports store voucher and other goodies. I was not, however, the first over 40 athlete to finish, being comprehensively flogged by the first 'masters' woman (salutary for my ego).

My athletic career was nearly interrupted by a spill from my bike on Saturday. I did my first group ride for awhile with 'Spike'' and was at the front of the 'peleton' heading down a hill when I hit some debris on the road and started to wobble. The instinct to stay upright is strong, however, and I managed to stay in control, although not before the group scattered fearing I would bring other riders down. Overall, I was pleased with my fitness on this ride despite a lack of cycling lately. We rode 95 km to Redcliffe and back and I managed to keep up. I'm doing the Mooloolaba Triathlon on Sunday (cyclones permitting) and it will be interesting to see if I've fully recovered from the marathon.

A balanced trioddity

2006-03-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

My legs are still trashed after the 6ft track marathon and so I'm more open to spending my evenings in ways not involving compulsive exercise. I went to an excellent science lecture at the 'Judith Wright Centre' on Monday night entitled 'Our History is in our Genes' by Prof John Mattick (http://jsm-research.imb.uq.edu.au/jsmgroup/). He is a knowledgable, fluent and entertaining speaker and I learnt the interesting fact that, conservatively, '1 in 20 Australians don't have the father they think they do'! While enjoying a beer after this lecture, I noticed an advertisement for a classical Indian music performance the following night. I am a bit of a fan of classical Indian music (and bollywood, for that matter), although I have never been to a live performance. The recital was given by Ustad Amajad Ali Khan playing the sarod accompanied by Rashid Mustafa (tabla) and Ashit Ghatak (sarod). It was incredible! The highlight of the show was a 'duel' between sarod and tabla in which the tabla player would watch the fingers of the sarod player and play the same tune - not as an echo, but simultaneously, no matter how complex the combination of notes. His fingers moved in a blur like the wings of a dragon-fly!

A good (tiring!) weekend

2006-03-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

This is the finish of the '6 foot track marahon' with 400 m to go! The 6ft track marathon is a beautiful 45 km run from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves along fire-trails with at least three long, steep climbs. The official cut-off is 7 hrs and I finished in 7:00:29! This is my second attempt at this race and I still have the challenge of getting under this time - maybe next year! In fact, my 'nett time' (measured with a timing chip) was 6:59:39 but it is the 'gun' time that counts. Below is a picture of the '7 hr sweeper'. He ran past me with 10 km to go, but then slowed down and I went past him with about 6.5 km to go. At that point I felt I was easily going to finish within the 7 hr, but I hadn't counted on a very steep descent to the finish line on tired legs and the sweeper went past me again with about 400 m to go! Nevertheless, a good run followed by an enjoyable dinner of pizza and good beer, a very sound sleep and a lazy breakfast on Norton Street the following morning. Many thanks to Jez for his good company and a lift to the start and to Jez and B for their hospitality over a beautiful Sydney weekend.

Gumdale Classic

2006-03-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

In a departure from my run training for the '6ft Track Marathon' next weekend, I participated in the third 'Gumdale Classic' duathalon. This is a VERY informal event organised by Troy Fidler, mainly for those athletes participating in Ironman Australia in 4 weeks time. Gumdale is a suburb south-east of Brisbane and the 'Gumdale Classic' is 6 loops of a 15 km bike course followed by a 17.5 ish km run on the same hilly route. Eighteen of us cycled one (supposedly) slow loop of the bike course before a rolling start and it was on! There was one nasty, short hill and a few rolling hills so that by the end of 6 loops up and down these hills, my legs were properly trashed and I was the 4th last rider. Nevermind, I thought, I've been doing a lot of running lately, I'll catch a few people on the run. One athlete passed me in the bike to run transition and the remaining two behind me (picture) went storming past by the half-way point in the run. So I finished stone-motherless last of those that finished (a few didn't do the run) in a time of 5 hr 10 min. The first male set a new course record of 3:56 and the first female a new course record of 4:19.

Can't swim to save myself!

2006-02-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

In fact, this isn't quite true. In 2002 I was swimming from the Indonesian Island of Batam to a small island approximately 1500m away. It was dusk and I was caught in a current. My coach Bob and another athlete, Rita, were paddling a back-up canadian canoe beside me when it overturned and all 3 of us were in the water being swept away. We had the choice of swimming for the island or staying with the up-turned canoe. We decided to swim and, after sometime without making any noticeable progress against the the current, I started to feel that I wasn't going to make it - an awful feeling!

To cut a long story short, I did make it some some rocks and a passing boat collected all three of us. I've been nervous of currents ever since and aware that I am not a particularly strong swimming. This lack of confidence was helped on the weekend by an open-water swim clinic conducted by triathlon coach Troy Fidler (pictures). I was one of the slowest swimmers in the group but very much enjoyed the departure form a pool-based swim session. Below are Troy's tips for open water swimming in a triathlon:

➢ Always warm up with minimum of 400-500m swim.
➢ Survey and test conditions during warm up – look for rips, currents, sweeps, wind direction etc.
➢ Warm up on course if possible and find ‘larger’ sites behind turning buoys.
➢ Seed yourself appropriately at the start line.
➢ Aim for shortest route.
➢ Run ‘wide-legged’ to knee height.
➢ Dolphin to waist height.
➢ Draft but look for buoys (swim head-up every few strokes).
➢ Breathe to non-chop side.
➢ Wait for waves on the way in to shore.
➢ Swim until hand touches bottom, then dolphin until running height.
➢ Run hard to transition/finish.

He had another one, not included here; 'don't wear goggles'! He says they are more trouble than they are worth and you see the marker buoys better without them. I tried this but didn't see the marker buoys at all (I had my eyes closed most of the way!).

....time passes

2006-02-22T15:24:00.000-08:00

I had intended to post daily, but I think I will just have to be realistic and post when I can. Training for the 6ft track marathon has been going reasonably well thanks to a fellow 'Trioddity' who has been dragging me out to Mt Coottha for hill repeats up the 'Chapel Hill' trail (2 km up hill!). All hills and no races makes David a dull boy, however, and so I did a shorter triathlon on the weekend and had a ball. It was Race 3 of the Bribie Island Triathlon series (see http://www.theruninn.com.au/bribie.php). Bribie Island is an hour north of Brisbane connected by a bridge (photo) and these races are relatively small, inexpensive, cheerful and enjoyably short! The distances for Race 3 were 1000m swim, 28 k bike and 8 k run. I did the swim in 20:28 which is perhaps slightly slow given that the tide was running with us. Nevertheless, I'm not complaining! I spend 2:28 in transition 1 (fast for me) and then started the 4 x 7 km loop flat bike course finding myself doing battle with two other riders for the entire 28 km. None of us seemed able to break away from the other two for long and studiously avoided gloating when we would eventually grind past one of the other two, only then to slow down and be passed a few minutes later. I did the bike in 45:23 averaging about 34 kph (good for me) and spent 1:48 putting on my running shoes and hat before bolting out onto the 2 x 4km run course. Running is my best leg and I did catch a few guys in my 'oo' age group (45 - 49 male). Some of my fastest run times have been in shorter triathlons and today was pretty good - 8 km in 37:26 (about 4:40 per km). I have (I think) done faster than this, but distances in triathlons are notoriously 'rubbery' so comparisons are difficult. Overall I did the race in 1:47:55. I'm not sure where I came in my age-group (about the middle, I suspect).

Unfortunately, a short triathlon is not really ideal training for the '6ft track marathon' and so after a lazy breakfast and midday sleep, I went out to Mt Coottha in the evening for two loops of the 9.5 km road circuit. Almost two and a half hours later I felt I HAD done enough training (for today, at least).

Who is the oddist Trioddity?

2006-02-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

These are the 'Trioddities' - all refugees from the Tribob triathlon team in Singapore (see www.tribob.com) now living in Brisbane. Personally, I think I am the oddest 'Trioddity' (as does my girlfriend who has met all three of us) and I am not sure the others would dispute this.

Tuesday's training consisted of a 30 min 'windtrainer' session (or 'spin-class') on stationary bikes at a gym in the city this morning and a running interval session with 'In Training' on a measured 1 km at West End in the evening. Both were good sessions, but the evening was particularly pleasing. It consisted of a 2 km warm up followed by 6 x 1 km at 5km pace with a 3 min recovery between each. I was starting each effort with a faster group of runners which pulled me along until I got dropped. I managed the 6 efforts between 4:10 and 4:19 which is pretty good for me. My tendency is to start hard and finish the session with very slow times.

bike: 30 min windtrainer

run: 8 km intervals

weight: 78.5 kg

Monday's Training

2006-02-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

Run: 12 km
Swim: 2.1 km
Weight: 79.5 kg

After an enjoyable weekend in Sydney, it was time to do some training. I have entered the six-foot track marathon (http://www.coolrunning.com.au/sixfoot/) a 45 km trail run in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on 12 March. It is a very hilly run with a 7 hr cut-off (which I didn't make in my one previous attempt). I think I did enough run training last time, but not enough running (and walking) up hills. So today I ran along the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, over the Story Bridge and up and down Ivory Street 10 times. Ivory Street is probably about a 15% grade and maybe 150 m long. A longer hill would be better training for this race, but my legs felt that this was tough enough.

Lunch-time I joined my triathlon squad 'Spike' (http://www.spiketri.com.au/web/default.aspx) for a long-overdue swim. I haven't swum for a few weeks and it showed. You quickly lose swim fitness, faster, I think, than bike or run.

Introduction

2006-02-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

This is my third attempt at starting a 'Blog' (I'm not very computer literate), originally devised as a vehicle to flame my good friend diva-working-mum (http://diva-working-mum.blogspot.com/). Her blogs are so shallow on occassion I fume for hours! I then realised, 'I can be as shallow as her' and decided to publish my training diary on the web. I am one of three 'Trioddities' (or odd triathletes) who recently moved from Singapore to Brisbane and, like many triathletes, I write down the pain I go through each day in the name of my past-time (or obsession, really). So be prepared for boring descriptions of how far I swim, bike and run!

The photo above was taken in 1963 on Mermaid beach, Gold Coast. I am the 3 y.o. red-head in the middle surrounded by three half siblings, two parents, a baby brother and an embryonic brother.