5 October …
I am right in the middle of Spinzilla …
Spinzilla started the night after the radio event. So last week went something like this:
Wednesday … wasted day as reported last week.
Thursday and Friday … chore catch-up and made sure everything was ready for saturday.
Saturday … radio event from 0830 to 1730 (report elsewhere).
Sunday … prepped Matilda for our spinning marathon and made sure easy meals were ready. Had rain and snow.
Monday … spin.
Tuesday … spin.
Today … post the blog, then back to spinning.
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Last friday evening we watched Great Performances (the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Concert) on PBS. The program was all French music and didn’t last nearly long enough.
One thing which caught my attention, as have other televised European concerts in the past, was the size of the audience.
Thousands …
In the US those numbers are possible only for rock or other pop concerts, and most of the “sold out” is due to scalpers.
Oh well …
My impressionable years were in the 40s when the music available was swing and classics. How fortunate I was.
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The Headwaters event this year was held in hell … after hell had frozen over. I don’t recall being that cold and shivering for that long, at least not in the last twenty or thirty years. I had layered, but not enough. My hands were sooooo cold it was difficult to write the communication notes. I plan to get some of those warmers you put in your pocket just in case next year gives the same.
And watching the runners in shorts and no sleeves … brrr.
The caterers served lasagna which was very tasty (with forks but no knives … fortunately, George carries a pocket knife), a fresh fresh green mixed salad, and COLD drinks. It was 34° when we left home and 28° at the event base with a wind coming off the lake. Next year I take a thermos of HOT something and add my black bear pelt coat to the layers (along with the pocket hand warmers) … unless the thermometer registers degrees vastly warmer.
As for the communications, all went well. We had enough operators although one told us at the last minute he had to leave at 1000. A ham from Quail Valley filled in.
We had a total of 156 runners in 3 venues … 10k, 30k, and the Ultra Marathon of 50k (about 30 miles … a marathon is 26.219 miles) all over dirt trails more fit for goats and deer. Nary a foot of pavement.
The only physical disaster was one runner who was wearing brand new shoes. Her feet looked like raw steak by the time she got back. Hardy souls …
At the end of the event they were minus one runner, but because of our communication records we could tell the event directors where he was within 2-3 miles. And we got a call sunday night because the sponsors didn’t have times for another runner. Radio communication logs showed that runner #102 didn’t show up for the event so there was nothing to report or about which to fret. Many points (and thanks) to amateur radio records
… my only comment in re our radio commitments is … Well, that’s done for this year.
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Overall, weather has been beautiful.
The cherry tree, the crabapple, the red maple, the catalpa, the birches are all dressed for Autumn. Eye candy …
There were soft winds and the evergreens shared seeds in abundance. New forests to come …
Then (as reported earlier) on sunday we had the first snow of the season.
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I recently heard a report about rage incidents on airplanes and was reminded of a study done at McGill University back in the 70s. A “paradise” was provided for four male and four female rats/mice. They reproduced at rat rate (lots and lots of offspring) and in less than two years the milieu went from paradise to chaos.
One evaluation comment was “… this behavior is shared by both mice and humans, can we escape [this] fate?”
This seems like an explanation in re increased anxiety, depression, and violence in the world today. How long before human reproduction overcrowds available space on this planet to the point where it meets the same fate? I know one woman whose descendants number over 200 in just four generations.
If you’re interested, a synopsis of the study can be found at
http://io9.gizmodo.com/how-rats-turned-their-private-paradise-into-a-terrifyin-1687584457
In a similar study the conclusion was ” In humans, overcrowding appears to result in a decline in task performance and deterioration in social behaviour. … Studies of humans have suggested that social behaviour is adversely affected by higher population density. Altruistic behaviour tends to decline as crowding increases. Latane and Darley (1968) carried out a series of studies that demonstrate this. “.
Questions ???
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Remember me talking about the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California trying to unite? Well …
… and it is still shaking down there.
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Observation … when George was in college on the GI bill, we got $75 a month living allowance. It is now $1,000 a month.
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Ahead are three more days spent spinning and a day tabulating the result. Then Spinzilla will be done for this year. John will arrive next tuesday.
Onward …
Remember …
The best things in life are not things.
L’shana Tova … Happy New Year to ALL my friends wishing them a year full of health, light, and love.
‘Til next week …