New look for this website I'm giving a new look for this website. Sadly this site got hacked recently and if you're using some browsers, it's probably saying it's a phishing site. And there was a plan that went out the window! Seriously,...
TOS #58: Anti-bac gel is good, hic! You learn new things every day. No really. Now the benefits of anti-bacteral gels have been touted for quite some time, given the spread of the H1N1 virus. But what we didn't know is that they apparently...
I hadn’t realised it was that popular, so I hadn’t planned to do a new spreadsheet this year, but since someone has asked, I have done it.
So if you like to have a 2008 version of the Rugby Six Nations spreadsheet, you can find it here.
Well, here I am in Bardonecchia, a beautiful ski resort set in the Italian Alps some 60 miles west of Torino (Turin) and whose claim to fame was holding the snowboarding championships of the Olympics in 2006. Ironic, therefore, that I’m here to learn to ski, but hey, we’ll see.
Setting off on Sunday, getting to Bardonecchia was a true planes, trains and automobiles affair (as my colleague, Clive, described it), not to add a coach journey too. Heading up early on the DLR and then the Tube to Victoria station for a coach to Luton Airport, a flight to Torino Airport, and a car from Torino to Bardonecchia. Good for the five companies to benefit from my need to get there.
Landing into Torino Airport was interesting. It was covered by dense fog, so much so that a Formula 1 style safety car, albeit a 4×4 rather than a flashy Mercedes, led us down the taxiway with its flashing lights and a big LED sign saying "FOLLOW ME". (Intriguingly, as we were flying over Torino, most of the city was basking in bright sunshine, including a packed stadium we could see with what I assume was a Serie A match going on.) Can’t say Italians don’t have style. But the fog also proved to be challenging for me once I was on the road.
Unfamiliar with the road signs, let alone being able to see them, I took a few wrong turns, but eventually found myself heading in the right direction. And what a beautiful drive it was, through the tunnels of the autostrade (motorway) that lead straight up to Bardonecchia, with the mountains, castles and churches lining the route along the way.
The location of where we’re staying, Villagio Campo Smith, is set right next to the ski slopes and it is one of the most amazing locations you could live in (well, aside from the plethora of tourists and skiers heading up the slopes). It’s not quite the best place I’ve stayed at: Lauterbrunnen in Switzeland is my all time favourite, where I woke up with a waterfall outside my window – but certainly Bardonecchia isn’t so bad ether.
Not that I’m totally cut off from the world, I have cable TV in my room, although all I have in English are Eurosport and CNN, so for the last 2 days, it’s given me some chances to watch some Australian Open Tennis and Africa Cup Of Nations football matches (including Salomon Kalou’s fantastic goal for the Ivory Coast), and see the business reports as I write this of a global meltdown of stock markets. Sad, but maybe I might have to hold back on some future trips…
But down to what I’m here to do: learn to ski. I’m here alone for 3 days before Kevin and Alison arrive on Wednesday, which gives me the chance to learn some skills before we hit the slopes later in the week.
I’ve now had 4 hours of skiing lessons only and I’ve impressed myself. I was always confident that I could learn pretty quickly (with aikido, dancing and ice skating three things I do quite well that involve balance, and a lack of fear from falling) and on day one, I managed to do all right on the tuition slopes. So well, that today, having only done 2.5 hours of novice lessons, my instructor took me up the mountain onto the real slopes and I managed to ski down well most of the way.
Ok, I need more time to get really good and not fall over all the time, and I am slightly nervous about picking up an injury (my knees ache a little, which from my aikido experience knowledge is not a good sign). But I hope by the end of the week that I would at least to be able to get down the piste I did today without falling over. However, I aim not to be overconfident, yet at least give it a good go. Still I’m feeling pretty satisfied with my achievements over just four hours on the snow.
Well, tomorrow is a day of rest from skiing, and off to Torino for some sightseeing and then to pick up my ski buddies at the airport. In the meantime, wish you were here!
Apple yesterday launched its new laptop, the MacBook Air. The thinnest, lightest laptop they say. And isn’t it beautiful? Graced in brushed aluminium, it certainly deserves the ultra-portable tag.
Personally, I’ve not touched one yet, but I did read the coverage of the laptop on various sites over the past day. Are Apple afficionados gushing? Well, lots of people love the look, particularly as Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, pulled out the laptop from an envelope in his keynote speech at Macworld in San Francisco. And from the photos, I love it.
Functionally though, I’m not sure about the MacBook Air. To help with the thought process, consider you needed to pop down to the shops to pick up your groceries. Would you take the Porsche 911 to go down to the shops, or say the family hatchback? Like the 911, the MacBook Air certainly is very sexy, but in terms of practicality, you’re not going to be able to put much shopping in the car, if you know what I mean.
Without an ethernet port (only wireless), a DVD drive (can be bought as an optional extra), having a slower processor than it’s cheaper sibling, the MacBook, and costing more than the MacBook too, it’s a big price to pay for portability. Sure, it has some funky new software like being to use the DVD drive of another computer wirelessly, but that still means you need another computer, which I think, kind of defeats the purpose of getting it. Unless you just want to look flash in that business meeting next week.
So personally, I have some mixed views on it. I love its looks, but don’t think it’s practical. But Apple has a way of shifting conventions, and whilst this is Apple’s first attempt at an ultra-portable, future models are bound to be better. And the industry will try to follow too. Therefore, it’s bound to be a success.
But really, I can’t see too many people buying it, unless they have £1200 to spare. Then you will get some nice looks going your way anyway.
Links:
Apple
There are 3 plurals for the word octopus, as stated in the Oxford English Dictionary, which even the 8 legged mollusc might get confused with.
The first is the natural English pluralisation, octopuses. Simple.
The second, octopi, originates from the mistaken presumption that it’s a Latin word, and every public schoolboy who did elementary Latin will know that words ending with -us is pluralised to -i. However, it isn’t a Latin word, rather the Latin word for octopus is octopes, pl. octopedes.
In fact, it’s an ancient Greek word, from octo- meaning eight, and -pous meaning legs. Pluralise it in Greek and you get octopodes, the third accepted pluralisation of octopus in English.
But ultimately, most dictionaries will only offer octopuses as the only correct plural, indeed, according to Wikipedia, Fowler’s Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses," and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic.
Fine, call me a pedant. But better than being wrong!
Ah, we hear about all the rivalry and competitiveness between different colleges and universities. But credit to Yale in 2005 for their inventiveness, as Wikipedia’s entry reports.
Michael Kai and David Aulicino, two Yale students from the Class of 2005, created and coordinated the plan. Disguised as the "Harvard Pep Squad," they and twenty classmates handed white and crimson placards to fans – mostly Harvard alumni, with a few faculty, students, and others – in the central area of the Harvard side of the stadium. The group told the crowd that by lifting the placards they would spell "GO HARVARD." The placards were actually arranged to spell "WE SUCK."
I’d go round to the nearby football club down the road to pull that stunt, but sadly, I doubt there’d be enough spectators.