Tee at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Arizona
I've been watching today on Sky Sports HD the Day 4 and the Semi Finals of the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Arizona.
What an incredible golf course! You would be hard pushed to watch such a better contrasting golf course in high definition.
Set in the Arizona desert, this lush green golf course sits crisply in the dramatic brown desert landscape and deep blue skies. There are building restrictions that mean there are no high rise buildings, in contrast to Dubai and the skyscrapers in the background.
The Semi Final matches between Ogilvy vs Cink and Casey vs Fisher are great to watch in HD. The big name players are out, such as Tiger Woods who went out in the 2nd round, but great to see that an Englishman will be in the final tomorrow.
It's amazing that the television coverage now has some awesome technology to analyse the golf shots. Early today in the Quarter Finals, they showed a 20 foot putt that was swinging left from the edge of the green.
Leonard's putt followed the dotted blue line exactly through the middle, which was apparently the best line. Just goes to show that the pro's really do know the best line when the ball lands in the cup.
Rediscovering FeedBurner now it’s with Google
I've finally got round to FeedBurner for this website, and since I last logged in for another site that I've built and negleted, FeedBurner is now owned by Google.
After some forwarding of the old account into a Google account, it was surprising to see that people were still subscribed to the email feed, and it was still being picked up by Bloglines and Google Feedfetcher. I think I need to do something about that site, as I've not posted for over a year.
However, it's this website I want to get sorted with FeedBurner. Unfortunately it's not been successful in being validated and pumping out some error message of the feed being too big. But there is quite a bit of commentary online with people using WordPress 2.7 and 2.7.1 who are getting this "Your feed filesize is larger than 512K."
Hopefully the technical support would be able to get this fixed, or respond to my posting on Google Groups. As I want to start syndicating this blog out properly. If you're from FeedBurner, please do me a favour and get in touch so we can fix this.
Train suicides, fatalities, trespass incident and breakdowns
Is the credit crunch causing a rise in fatalities and suicides on the railway lines? It seems to me that this week has been a bloody depressing week, if the train jumpers are jumping midweek, just before the end of the month and pay day.
It's been three evenings on the trot that the trains have been severely disrupted on my commute home. Tuesday was a broken down train at Balham, Wednesday was trespassers on the line which was updated to an incident in the Brockley area and tonight was a fatality in the Balcombe area.
I'm surprised I haven't seen any advertising for people to get advice whilst at the train station. You have gotta to have given it some thought, rather than it being a spur of the moment thing.
It must be a horid experience for the driver and passengers caught up in it. I've known people who have witnessed incidents and people being involved with the London Underground. And whilst the speed on which the tubes are travelling into platforms is pretty quick, it nothing compared to a train passing through a station that is not on the stopping route.
If we see warning signs on the motorway for 'don't drink and drive', 'don't text and drive' and 'don't drug and drive', why isn't there the 'don't jump and die' notices at train stations? Maybe people are that angry or upset, they have no consideration for the thousands of commuters it effects.
On leaving my station there was four coaches for the onward journeys as the train terminated at my station because of tonights fatality. But I also noticed a poster near the exit, and it said 'Consider your fellow passengers'.
So it's pretty clear that you shouldn't speak loudly on your mobile phone, play loud music on your MP3 player, or put your feet on the seats. Can we please add another request... Don't jump in front of trains or play on the tracks, please seek help!
Just wish I added that in the passenger survey form I was given this morning at the station and completed. But you never know who will read this post or even comment. I'm sure other commuters feel the same frustrations.
London flashmobbers mobbed at their own flashmob
Seems that the British Transport Police (BNP) are banning planned flashmob events at train stations where there is reason to believe it will cause safety and public order problems.
The other week they rumbled hundreds of flashmobbers at London's Liverpool Street train station. The event was organised on Facebook and was inspired by the television advert by T-Mobile, where hundreds formed on the concourse to dance. But that was fully organised with Network Rail's assistance.
You'd think that these spur of the moment events would be done in vast open spaces where they cause no harm, disruption or destruction. It's the very last thing I need in the morning or evening commute, to be held up because of a load if people who've harnessed the power of social networking sites and decended on the worst place for a mass gathering.
I'm surprised that they haven't turned to quality rather than quantity.
One of the best I've seen is the frozen Grand Central train station the States last year. This is where 200 people froze and stood still in mid action for 5 minutes.
Check out http://www.improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/ to see how they did it, the videos and photos of this amazing co-ordinated event.
So come on you flashmob people. Start getting creative.
Week 7 London Marathon training summary
Well there goes another week!
I am pleased to say that I have managed some physical exercise this week, including some running for the train midweek, but not worthy of adding to this documentation of my training. So the summary of time spent running last week was zero.
The stag do at the weekend actually burnt some calories with the hovercraft racing and quad biking, but I'm sure this netted out after the copious consumption of Corona beers on Saturday night. I don't think that the thought of a long run on Sunday with a hangover after a 2 hour drive home was high on the priorities.
As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, I am suffering from a dip in motivation. With no sponsorship money raised in a month, and the honeymoon period of running the short distances long gone, it seems that this marriage of marathon training is going to be long old slog for another 9 weeks.
With it being pancake day today, another calorific conundrum awaits me. Faced with a love of food, and a hunger to lose the weight, just how many pancakes can I treat myself to, that are sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice? It's torture!
But for every pancake I eat tonight, I promise to run that many miles tomorrow.
Watchmen (2009) Movie World Premiere Film Review
Being invited to the world premiere of the new movie Watchmen at the Odeon cinema, Leicester Square, London, will be an experience hard to forget on 23rd February 2009. The film is released on the 6th March 2009, so this was a real special treat.
These money can't buy tickets got me walking the red carpet in front of dozens of photographers and film cameramen with reporters eagerly awaiting to interview the stars.
Unfortunately, the crowds were formed of hundreds of fans and waiting to cheer, but my friend Marnix and I didn't get interviewed nor screamed at. Maybe our dashing looks and smart dress code will have to wait for the next red carpet event instead.
The experience passed by quicker than a flash bulb from the paparazzi, but it wasn't a wasted walk. This movie absolutely rocked!
The carpet was not red, but bright yellow with a huge smiley face at the entrance to the Odeon cinema.
Not many people would have walked the walk only moments before the likes of Director Zack Snyder and the Watchmen cast that included the stunning Malin Akerman (Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II), Carla Gugino (Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre), Matthew Goode (Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias), Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan / Jon Osterman), Jackie Earle Haley (Walter Kovacs / Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Edward Blake / The Comedian) and Patrick Wilson (Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl).
This highly acclaimed graphic novel was the best movie I've seen for ages. The special effects both visually and audibly were outstanding. It left you breathless countless times, anticipating the next impact of a lightening fast fight scene or action sequence.
Set in 1985 with a few flash backs to the past, these masked super heroes are now living amongst the common folk. When The Comedian is murdered in a gut wrenching scene that beats Matt Damon's Bourne Ultimatum 'book punch in the throat' fight sequence, the other super heroes come out of retirement to investigate the plot.
They uncover a deeper secret whilst President Nixon has to deal with the pressure between the USA vs. USSR and the threat of nuclear war.
It would be unfair to give away the full plot, the ending, etc. But this movie is a must watch. Apparently it was something like 2 hours 45 minutes long, and the time does fly by.
This 18 rated movie has more action than you can throw a stick at, and more than a few scenes to make you wince with the gruesome outcome for the baddies and the unexpected.
Whether you go to see this because you are a huge comic book fan, an action movie junkie, want to see that raunchy sex scene with Malin Akerman, or get turned on by a big blue glowing penis owned by Billy Crudup, then Watchmen has it all.
Thankfully Zack Snyder has remembered that some comedy in an action movie is appreciated. It's not all guns a blazing and fighting, but there are some really funny quotes.
Watchmen will be a guaranteed BluRay top seller when it comes out and is released. Whether this will be for Christmas 2009 or early 2010 on DVD and BluRay, Watchmen will be a huge blockbuster that I will own.
Nearly a month since the last London Marathon donation
It's been nearly a month since I received my last charity donation on Justgiving.com. Running my 3rd London Marathon and raising money for the NCT are both going to be a challenge it seems.
I think it's almost come to that point of fundraising that the begging email needs to be sent to the friends, and let the naming and shaming begin.
Friday this week will be pay day for most people, and it's the shortest month of the year. So people hopefully will be feeling generous and sponsor me, knowing that the money they donate will be going to a good cause.
Justgiving.com are now accepting PayPal, so there is no excuses for people, considering that most people using the internet have a PayPal account.
If you are reading this, and you've not made a donation, then click here.
Where can I buy a Bournemouth fridge magnet?
The stag weekend was a blast, and all the chaps came away with some more dirt to dish, as well as a nice hangover. But the morning after breakfast was one of quite a few laughs.
Apart from the nine of us feeling a bit worse for wear with less than 7 hours sleep, the restaurant was the venue for another priceless moment of comedy.
There was another group of guys having breakfast and got up to ask the waitress "where can I buy a fridge magnet?". This in itself was out of the blue, but he was deadly serious. A dead pan voice delivering this monotone one liner!
The waitress was confused. She was not English either. So imagine the laughter that was dying to be released when she responded, "You want to put what into my fridge?".
After repeated requests of him asking the directions to a shop that sells such souvenirs, the reataurant manager came over. He too was not English, and struggled with this ask for seaside tat.
It came to a point when the guy started asking if the manager knew what a fridge was! We couldn't believe it.
This guy's fridge must be a hommage to the destinations he gas been too. I can just imagine it. Magnets of seaside panoramics from Blackpool, Weston Supermare, Brighton, and soon to be Bournemouth, neatly arranged on the White door.
Some of our stag group went for some fresh air after breakfast and a stroll down to the beach. Unfortunately there wasn't any shops open for us to buy a fridge magnet, so we came back empty handed as well. Maybe next time. Not.
Hovercraft racing, Quads and Crossbows this Stag Weekend
The title of the post sums it up. It's very early on a Saturday morning and a 3 hour drive awaits me.
But the excitment of hovercraft racing, quad bikes and crossbow shooting is too much to wait until Sunday to tell you!
I'll be heading down to Dorset for a friends Stag Weekend, which includes these 3 hours of man time in the countryside, courtesy of Henley Hillbillies.
Gotta go and pack now. I'll let you know just how much fun I had when I get back.
Last night a Carbon Monoxide CO Detector & Alarm saved my life
Firstly, do you know what a carbon monoxide (CO) detector or alarm is? Secondly, do you own one?
Today I asked that very question to around ten people, and not one person owned one. That is absolutely alarming to find out. I bet everyone of them had a smoke detector or alarm fitted.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous and toxic compound that you cannot see, taste or smell. It is the silent killer that takes the lives of around 30 people a year in the UK. It gets into the bloodstream about 200 times faster than oxygen, starves the body of oxygen around the body, which means a deadly outcome if someone is not aware it.
It is formed by the incorrect combustion of burning fossil fuels, such as wood, gas, etc. A common cause of carbon monoxide poisoning is from gas boilers that haven't been correctly installed or not serviced regularly where there is a big build up and blockage.
The recommendation for buying a CO detector, is one that has an audiable alarm. These can be battery powered, wired and even wireless, but sound a high pitched noise when the concentration of carbon monoxide is at a dangerous level.
Last night our detector went off at 2.45am. It wasn't a fault on the alarm or the batteries running out. I'd jumped out of bed like you wouldn't believe. I immediately turned off the boiler, opened the back door, all windows downstairs. Having phoned the emergency gas hotline, turned off the gas outlet outside, and it was a waiting game for the gas man to turn up.
After a number of tests, he'd slapped a sticker on the boiler with a legal notice not to turn on until a CORGI registered engineer deemed it safe.
With the wife and 5 month old baby having been evacuated at 3am to the in-laws, and the cold house to myself, it was near impossible to get back to sleep. Hence the Twitter post earlier this morning.
If you research online the dangers of CO poisoning, it will bring it home that you need to go and invest in buying a detector if you have a gas boiler for example. They are around £20 and they can last around 5 years off the batteries. Some new houses are being built with these integrated into them.
Please comment and let me know your thoughts. Do you have one? If yes or no, let me know why.
Better to be safe, than sorry!
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