The third space

10 February 2010

Dan Hill’s City of Sound is probably the blog I’ve been reading most consistently and longest of all. He always writes interestingly, sensitively and with an alert intelligence on all manner of things, though mostly connected with ‘urbanisation’ in its broadest sense. In a recent post, he writes persuasively on how Apple’s iPad will find [...]

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This is the hoodie you’re looking for

10 February 2010

I bought myself a new merino hoodie from the ever-wonderful Chocolate Fish, their Te Mata 260gsm weight product in a lovely mocha brown. I like hoodies. The neckline is good, and the hood provides a nice bit of warmth when you want it without the faff of carrying a hat. Also, you can do [...]

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Ski kit that worked: “Pick me!”

8 February 2010

On a trip to Courchevel recently, I took three new bits of kit. First, the Mammut Laser hooded softshell jacket, a fantastic item that appears to be sadly hard to find now. Made of Schoeller WB-400 “with Nanosphere technology” [huh?] it is extremely hardwearing and water-resistant (quite fun to pour the dregs of a glass [...]

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Small mercies

12 January 2010

Sometimes life smiles unexpectedly. I went out this evening to cycle home from the office and found that I’d locked Pedro — except that I hadn’t looped the Abus chain around the stand, so in effect he’d been lean-locked all day. Idiocy. Especially as I took the time to think “shall I lock the [...]

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A personal London

8 January 2010

I think the London I live in is the London of my past. I live in my memory of a place, rather than the place itself. My London has wharves and docks in the east of the river, no Westfield, plans for something called the Fleet Line, buses you can jump in and out of [...]

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Fly-fishing in the High Tatras

29 December 2009

I was looking to see if there’s any fly-fishing in the remote part of Slovakia containing the High Tatras. This website tells me that It is forbidden in the trout water * only fishing with one fishing rod * use living fish like decoy * use another like artificial flies not more [...]

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Films to watch

28 December 2009

Just a note to the future self to keep an eye out for: – Clash of the Titans – swords and monsters, with Sam Worthington – A Prophet. Don’t even know what this is about, but the mag reviews say one of the greatest crime films ever. – Food, Inc. Documentary by Robert Kenner exposing US [...]

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Swiss minarets

30 November 2009

What an odd bunch the Swiss are. 59% have voted in favour of banning minarets. I can’t quite see why banning minarets is deemed the same as cracking down on “Islamisation” (whatever the hell that is) and it seems that the SVP’s agenda is one of more-or-less overt racism under the guise of preserving the [...]

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Fitness chronicles: A helpless dangler

29 November 2009

Fitness is tough. Especially if you want to be Mr. Apollo and do pull-ups (and kick sand in people’s faces, ha!). Wanting something a little different yesterday morning, this is what I did: 3-4 minutes walk then 5 mins jog (to Regents Park) 3 sets of: 12 inverted push-ups (feet on bench) [...]

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The Grand Canyon

7 November 2009

Yesterday, at liberty, I went to the Grand Canyon. With the Cadillac Escalade, the 4 hour drive there was reasonably easy and comfortable, with some decent stuff on the radio and the really excellent satnav (though basically it’s just Up a bit, Left a bit, Up a bit…Fire! on the map). The scenery changes were [...]

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