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Far too much of direct cycling interest in this muppets' forum... Many of the members have other interests beside cycling, and even some of their cycling interests don't get enough of a showing. For instance, we keep discovering that guys we've known on the forum for years have blogs that we're hearing about for the first time. It rounds people out to know more about them than that they're mad cyclists.
This is the place to mention your blog or page or event or whatever, in general, and when you update it with something you think might interest or amuse us. Let's hear from you!
Andre Jute
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i have a blog. There are hundreds of entries explaining my excuses for a book that I've been promising for several years to revise and publish as an ebook... Kissing the Blarney (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/)
http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/
Most recent entry: Y’all are cordially invited to lunch with André at Isaac’s, Cork, Eire (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3136)
http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3136
The previous entry was actually cycling humour: Cuddling up to the ancient enemy (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3130)
http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3130
Andre Jute
PS. I have pages for my hobbies (http://coolmainpress.com/andrejute.html) http://coolmainpress.com/andrejute.html on my publisher's site, including a bicycle page (http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLING.html) http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLING.html
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Here's my blog:
http://interdependentscience.blogspot.com/
My big dream is Buddhist Philosophy of Science. It doesn't seem quite to exist yet, outside of my imagination anyway. OK, and my blog. Philosophy of Science seems like a bit of a confused mess, and the confusion has serious impact on issues like climate change, genetically modified organisms, etc. So my proposal is that Buddhist Philosophy can provide some useful ways of thinking that can make us better able to deal with the issues.
When people put Science and Buddhism together, mostly it has to do with quantum mechanics and brain scanning. That's all fun enough but I am trying to cultivate an approach that is quite distinct and that might have some real impact. Yup, I dream big!
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Being a keen hill walker and long distance walker I thought I would do a LONG walk 2 years ago. It started in Le-Puy-en-Velay in the Haut-Loire South-West of Lyon in France. The walk is an ancient route taken by pilgrims ending in Santiago de Compostella in North-West Spain. I thought I would document it with stories and photographs along the way.
www.dustytrack.com
1600km long it took almost 70 days! Like touring but without the bike! Loved it - many actually cycle the route too.
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;)stuntpilot i have one of those certificates
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Oh, boy, I shall have to be very respectful of people with such muscular feet!
This thread has already exceeded my expectations, with so much yet to come. Thank you, gentlemen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Andre Jute
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Since you ask ....
http://theprodigaltumour.me
I've been a full time, professional bowel cancer survivor for the past 6 years or so. I first wrote about it in 2007 in a book entitled 'It's not over till the bag lady rings' after my cancer seemed to disappear. It was a short absence - it returned in 2010 and I started writing again. It's not all grim - there's plenty of dark humour to leaven the load.
At present I have readers from 30 countries - most have used 'bikes' in their search engines so arrived at a place they were not expecting to.
Needless to say, I am also a bicycle aficionado - my latest dealings with cancer have severely restricted my ability to cycle and so I've built an electric Raven Tour to get me back in the saddle.
Right now, my wife has just retired after a life time of teaching and celebrated by taking a sledge hammer to the kitchen. So in addition to the above I am now also a part-time kitchen renovator.
ians
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What a great topic idea, Andre! Tip o' my hat to you for posting it.
Like the Rogue's Gallery, this is such a great way to "flesh out" out our members, and a great reminder there are things other than bikes ( ??? There are?!? ??? Yes! Really! :D) to make our lives full and complete.
Thanks to each of you for sharing these little windows into your "other lives". Pleased to meetcha!
A distinct privilege to share this Forum-space with you all.
All the best,
Dan.
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Since you ask ....
Wow, Ians, that is a lot of powerful writing! I hope you and your whole team find your way through the treacherous waters and you keep finding all sorts of inspirations. The Martin guitar ought to work!
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Ians,
I have read from tip to toe your blog and find it hard to summarise in just a few words, however I can only but say you are truly a magnificent person whom has a been through the wars and been able to deal with some very bad times...
You both have been through so much, I love the electric bike, you are a true inspiration to us all. My wife has just come out of the other side of cancer and the ride has been very much up and down.
Dave.
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thanks for the kind words and support.
All the best to you and your wife Dave - and yes Jim, the Martin helps a lot.
ians
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Here is My Blog http://kiwipetescyclingsafari.blogspot.co.nz/ (http://kiwipetescyclingsafari.blogspot.co.nz/) Yes it's about Cycle Touring, But also about Cycle Building and Whitewater Kayaking.
Travel and Mountain Biking are my main interest's
Plus Living Life!
Pete..................... ..... ... ...
;)
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god yis are all very clever i can just about manage to post a few words if i'm lucky. ;D
say Ian give us a look at your martin always just out of my price range,
but i do have a lovely yamaha LL16 really nice.
glad you bet that cancer buddy .
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Lateral vision: the skeleton on the bicycle (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/)
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What I have gotten myself into these days:
http://www.1energysystems.com/MESA_press_release.pdf (http://www.1energysystems.com/MESA_press_release.pdf)
These is a big leap for me. My whole career has been in the semiconductor chip business, i.e. the very small. Now here I have working with plenty big stuff. OK, still it's electrical engineering, but wow do I have a lot to learn!
I am on the software team, developing the algorithms that will control the storage.
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That looks like a challang you hve foind yourself. A slightly different approach than the stored hydro used elswhere.
Cheers
andy
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Stored hydro is of course a key technology. We just aim to complement it. One advantage to putting storage out at a substation is that it can relieve stress on the transmission network. The whole deregulation thing complicates things too... somehow spot market prices go all over the place, despite the existence of stored hydro in the system.
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I suppose other advantages of the system is its capability of being local therefore reducing transmission losses of stored energy and also possibly? supplying backup power in instances of inturruption of the main supply. I personaly like the idea of winding up big rubberbands on wind turbines for stored power but maybe that is just me.....
Andy - signed up member of the Wylie Coyote School of engineering
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My Christmas message to the nation and the world and all cyclists is on my blog (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/) now. http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/ Also a piccie of West Cork peace and tranquillity you can download for the screen of your phone. Or Dan preferred the same message on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/andre.jute.5). http://www.facebook.com/andre.jute.5
Andre Jute
So much funnier than Her Majesty's Chrissie Broadcast. Shorter too!
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http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3315
Interesting article about cryptids on my blog by guest Bernard J. Schaffer, called "Blame Leonard Nimoy".
Andre Jute
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I've been chipping away at photographic pursuits for a while now, which has largely been responsible for my absence (for better or worse :) ) from these pages!
You can see my website here: http://www.fredadams-photography.com/ (http://www.fredadams-photography.com/)
If you like what you see, you can follow my facebook page here by hitting the like button at the top of the page! : https://www.facebook.com/FredAdamsPhotography?ref=hl (https://www.facebook.com/FredAdamsPhotography?ref=hl)
Cheers!
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It's been a real pleasure to follow your further development and growth as an Artist, Fred, even though you were at the highest levels earlier. Some people portray Reality in their photography...you transcend it.
All the best,
Dan.
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Superb, Fred!
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;D ;D ;D brilliant whit andre and i know fred will think so to. ;D
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Thanks Andre, most kind of you to say so and much appreciated. I see that you're a man of considerable literary credentials - I will investigate further.
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Thanks Andre, most kind of you to say so and much appreciated. I see that you're a man of considerable literary credentials - I will investigate further.
Easiest place to see current books available for electronic reading, and a few in paperback, is Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Andre%20Jute&search-alias=digital-text I'm afraid that most of my books that would be professionally of interest to you (on colour and design etc) are out of print, in the pipeline at CoolMain to be reissued, but it is a slow process.
Jags is right, I love your photographs for their wit.
Andre Jute
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New entry on my blog,
So what good are parking lots? (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3351) Amazing, two in a row of cycling interest... In theory it is the record of a writer's procrastinations in rewriting a book that has already gone through umpteen editions. Cycling is GOOD procrastination!
Andre Jute
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Recently started putting some videos onto Vimeo.
Upload limits are restricting me to one upload per week but will get them all on eventually.
https://vimeo.com/user9481487/videos
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Oh! This is wonderful, Rual!
I have seen a couple of these in the past, and was so very much hoping to see more and in one place. Good on you! To others: These are well worth the watch, very well done, and even nicer for coming from "one of us" (a Forum member) -- they make a nice touchstone to put past posts in context.
All the best,
Dan.
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enjoyed those spain is really nice . ;)
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Andre,
I do not have a blog. However, I have followed some of yours the past couple of days. After reading a reply you made on a post in this forum. I have been checking in here for a couple of months. I found your sites by searching the web. Very good reads, great humor, and the way you get to the root of a problem is very impressive.
After hearing of your "drink servant" in Africa I just had to know more about you. Also would be interest into turning my wife into one of those, if not too dangerous.
I also found a sort of hate site (on you) in which the guy only posted a self made FAQ session where he asked and answered all the questions! That's one guy who would make Frank's (revelo) stupid people list for sure.
Frank has a website (blog?)(I don't know the diff.) He is highly opinionated and a very entertaining writer. The tour where he had met so many stupid people that he thought he was going stupid (vs. crazy) is a must read.
I also enjoy Il Padrone site and JimK's post. Dan needs a site about his tours, I love his post.
Tom
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Hi Tom!
Welcome to the Thorn Cycling Forums! Dan needs a site about his tours, I love his post.
Thanks for your kind words, Tom; much appreciated. A site is on the way and hopefully will be up before too long. I just need to make my days a little longer!
Best,
Dan. (...who wishes the days were 36 hours long)
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Andre,
After hearing of your "drink servant" in Africa I just had to know more about you. Also would be interest into turning my wife into one of those, if not too dangerous.
It may not be too dangerous for her, but have you considered that Lucretia Borgia is known to have stirred a mean martini?
A hate site, eh? Ah, well, a professional intellectual, by definition a critic of the status quo and its smug hangers-on, isn't much chop until he has a few of those.
If you haven't found it already, there's a bio page, more than even I want to know about me, on my publisher's site at http://coolmainpress.com/andrejute.html including a small bicycle site. When I'm not here, I'm usually found at ROBUST, a discussion group without rules at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/46791
Happy to offer entertainment, Tom.
Andre Jute
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I've been out on the west coast for about a week, so haven't been riding. Walking plenty, though! Here was my Friday route:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/170107868 (http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/170107868)
Two bike shops and one book shop! Yesterday was one bike shop and two book shops!
Seattle is quite hilly - not quite San Francisco, but close. And not too cold, however wet. Definitely a serious biking town. Along the ship canal there is a bike path that carries surely a dozen bikes a minute most hours and quite a few more during commute hours. I have yet to see a Rohloff hub other than mine back in New York, but here I'll see one most every day. Ortlieb is everywhere! A huge range of bikes... lots of internal gear hubs. I did buy a 22 tooth sprocket here for the 8 speed hub on my Workcycles Super-Transport. That should make the range more reasonable. I'm pretty sure it's a 19 tooth sprocket on there now. I have yet to see it, beneath the chaincase! I have seen a few Workcycles bikes on the road here, but not many.
I have notice some really intense headlights on bikes here. Out on Bainbridge Island I saw a Specialized bike set up by the manufacturer for commuting. I think it is mostly for the European market - there were braze-ons for a frame lock, even though the bike shop (on Bainbridge) didn't carry the locks. Eleven-speed Alfine hub and a Gates belt. EBB to tension the belt. But it came with a Supernova dynamo hub and a Supernova headlight. I think that's the headlight I have been noticing around town. I thought those were mostly for trail riding! It is blindingly bright. I didn't think such lights were even legal on the road in Germany.
I asked the guy at the shop how low the gears were on that bike, would it work on the hills. He said it's not as low as a mountain bike. I asked about lowering the range & he said there's a torque limit on the Alfine as well as on the Rohloff. He know that Rohloff had lowered their range. Mentioned a fellow on the island who'd put a Rohloff on a Moulton! It's a biking town!
Now somehow I have to cram these books into my bag for the flight home! Bicycling Bliss by Portia Masterson and Cycling to Xian by Michael Buckley are the biking titles in the stack.
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This time of the year I'm "Gearing up for the Greatest Race on Earth", using my blog Kissing the Blarney (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/) http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/ as the initial nerve centre to invite my friends to join me at "the Greatest Race on Earth". This is about really tough competitors, and a really tough race.
Reserve the fortnight following Saturday 2 March. Even spectating virtually at the Iditarod, you won't have energy left for anything except a gentle restorative ride on your bike.
Andre Jute
PS If you arrive here long after the referenced article has fallen off the front page, here's a direct link (http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3389), worth following for the photo even if you missed the race. (Commiserations in advance!)
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New video now online : https://vimeo.com/59185458
Harry Potter fan's may recognise the Glenfinnan railway viaduct.
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New video now online : https://vimeo.com/59185458
Harry Potter fan's may recognise the Glenfinnan railway viaduct.
wow that road could do with a bit of tarmac. ;)
beautiful country your better half is an excellent cyclist.
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Next video instalment now online :
https://vimeo.com/60025842
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Altogether brilliant! Especially liked the sunshine -- and no traffic! We spent several days in the Highlands & Islands in 2008, and followed the great Glen to Inverness. Afterwards, I hiked the WHW from Glasgow to Ft William--lovely countryside, but god, it was wet! Maybe our problem was going in June -- seemed like a good idea at the time... Thought of cycling through that beautiful countryside, but jeez, it was wet. Maybe I should revisit it all, going in May this time. Have a long historical connection which commands it, my mother's family name being Burns. They told me in Ft William that if you can't see the mountains. it's raining; and if you can see the mountains, it's going to rain.
J.
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;D ;D good post john tell me about rain and i'll tell you about rain ;D
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I'm currently racing at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, toughest race in the world, fewer finishers in all its forty years than have been up Mount Everest. Bookmark the page below the moment you arrive:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditarod-a-novel-of-The-Greatest-Race-on-Earth/193084334057961
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I'm currently racing at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska...
Note to 'Merkins in the Lower 48...this is a bit like Fantasy football, baseball, and basketball leagues -- but far more exciting and with the potential for true life-or-death outcomes, given the severe conditions.
Once you become engaged, you won't want to miss a moment.
I heartily endorse Andre's call to join him in the fun!
Best,
Dan. (...who can almost hear the huskies' "Awoooo!" and the racer's cries of "Mush!")
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Andre, this is serious bizness--first ostriches, now the Iditarod. I mean, Plimpton pitching in the bigs for a few innings in an exhibition, or sparring vs The Old Mongoose (who I expect was pretty gentle, 'cos he saw the humour in it all) is one thing--but the Iditarod?! Good on ya, mate!
J.
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Just put my latest video online.
This time its not a cycling video, but a trip I did in May 2009, where I travelled across Scotland by inflatable kayak and walked the sections in between where there was no suitable navigable water.
Part one https://vimeo.com/61301376
Part two next week hopefully.
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Your videos have just been fabulous, Ru', and you've been very generous to share them with us. Thanks much for doing so!
'Can't wait for each new installment, and find myself revisiting older ones time and again.
All the best,
Dan.
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Andre, this is serious bizness--first ostriches, now the Iditarod. I mean, Plimpton pitching in the bigs for a few innings in an exhibition, or sparring vs The Old Mongoose (who I expect was pretty gentle, 'cos he saw the humour in it all) is one thing--but the Iditarod?! Good on ya, mate!
J.
I shared a London publisher with Plimpton. I'll come back to this...
Back in the 80's, doing research for my novel IDITAROD a novel of The Greatest Race on Earth UK/Ireland edition (http://www.amazon.co.uk/IDITAROD-novel-Greatest-Earth-ebook/dp/B004GKMQE8/) or US edition (http://www.amazon.com/IDITAROD-novel-Greatest-Earth-ebook/dp/B004GKMQE8/) or all formats/markets except paperback (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58499), the oil pipeline roustabouts acclimatizing me reckoned that, having survived three light plane crashes on the same day, I was turning into a real Alaskan, so they sent me out to do a half-Iditarod, 600 miles running behind a sled dog team. After this Mrs Rudd, appointed by the government to be my official host, said she would be happy to arrange for me to be put up to the Iditarod committee as an entrant. (The rules are that a "known musher" must put you forward; the organizers are terrified some starry-eyed naif will kill himself on their trail and get them closed down, like motor racing was closed down for good in Switzerland.) But when my publishers heard of this plan, the manure hit the spreader big time. (I should explain that they hated the idea of the book anyway. They saw me as a writer of "big book" bestsellers, and this one, in their eyes, was "a little niche adventure with zero sales potential". Today it is one of my most beloved books...) One of my editors said, "Yah, you'll come back like Plimpton after he was just lightly tapped in the head, and his brains were never in order afterwards. How will you write if your fingers fall off from frostbite?" That was the argument that persuaded my wife I shouldn't do it. In any event -- I should probably not admit this -- I hate being uncomfortable, and my life is very important to me, and I'm not brave at all unless I'm paid lots of money for a show of courage, so I was only floating the idea to see if anyone would sponsor me to the extent of a Bentley Turbo I wanted, and instead I got a deal for more than enough money but the contract stated I was not to do anything dangerous without written permission, or first giving the publisher's money back...
Still not too late. Jim Lanier, in 10th position at the halfway mark, is 73. I wonder what my cardiologist will say if I suddenly up and say I'm entering the Iditarod.
Join me at the Iditarod from the comfort and safety of your armchair (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58499) by going to this page and bookmarking it: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58499
Andre Jute
Commercially courageous
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Still not too late. Jim Lanier, in 10th position at the halfway mark, is 73. I wonder what my cardiologist will say if I suddenly up and say I'm entering the Iditarod.
Or, Andre, you could do the Iditabike, which has been run since 1987, as described here: http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/iditabike.htm
...And is still being run:
http://www.iditabike.com/
http://halfpastdone.com/2013/02/20/a-brief-history-of-iditabike/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwGAia9NW_s
I see nothing to preclude you entering with the Kranich and its electrified front hub, and giving the rest of the field a run for their money. You've already got the Schwalbe Big Apples fitted and well run-in. I'm guessing a win here could be parlayed into more than a Bentley Turbo and pocket change; I'm betting on you and against the cardiologists -- Never count a good man out!
All the best,
Dan. (...who has faith and knows what he wants Andre to write about next)
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Dan, you're a card. I laughed when I saw your post. I can beat those guys in the video who did five miles in three hours. It's in the fourth hour that they'll get me back. LOL. -- Andre Jute
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Andre,!
I guess I will join you on the site. Sounds like fun. Even though you (or my ignorance) gave me a scare and has turned me into a lifetime drink server.
I told my wife that Lucretia Borgia was her man's drink server and I could see no reason for her not to be mine. She looked at me for a few moments and left the room. Returning in a bit with my favorite drink (Margaretta). I took a few swallows expecting a tirade to ensue, however, she calmly told me that I should google Lucretia Borgia and left the room.
My goodness, she must have been the first female serial killer! Of husbands no less! With poison!
Needless to say: I am now (and it looks like forever) the drink server in my house.
Tom :'(
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I told my wife that Lucretia Borgia was her man's drink server and I could see no reason for her not to be mine.
Oops. I was not, repeat not, holding up Lucretia to any wives as an exemplar! Holy Moses, you'll have me brought before the magistrates for incitement. She was a serial husband-poisoner!
Mmm. Well, anyway not the wives of cyclists. I'll have to review the cases of some other people I know.
Your wife will approve of the Iditarod. I guarantee it. It is not only one of the most dangerous sports in the world, but women compete on absolutely level terms with men, and have won. A woman is currently, at about the halfway mark, running third. That's Aliy Zirkle. Another, who also has a second place to her credit, DeeDee Jonrowe, is seventh. Also watch out for Jessie Royer, a strong finisher, possibly a champion in the making. See you at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditarod-a-novel-of-The-Greatest-Race-on-Earth/193084334057961 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditarod-a-novel-of-The-Greatest-Race-on-Earth/193084334057961)
Andre Jute
Alaska, where men are men, and women win the Iditarod
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That thousand yard stare belongs to Cowboy Smith, a sled dog musher. Joe May, 1980 Iditarod Champion, explains that railroad-strength headlamp:
"Flintstone stuff: Before serious marking of race trail evolved, the present standard of 10 or 12 lath per mile was closer to 1 lath per 10 or 12 miles..or in places, not at all. Pre-80's Koyuk to Topkak, for markers, was mostly bare as a baby's bottom. Moses Point, in the dark, in a ground blizzard, had the aura of moonscape...no markers, no trail, only wind, snow, and ice. In those conditions, potent headlamps were crucial. In the pre-LED era lighting was an innovators passion. This Rube Goldberg rig was powered by 4 lithium D, 3V batteries fed through a fat wire. The 12 volt power pack generated nearly enough heat to light cigarettes or cook dog food. It shot a bolt of blue light a quarter mile..and burned bulbs by the box. A comment once voiced at Farewell Station was; “did anybody else see that train coming up Post River last night”... J.M."
I have news for you, Joe. Lighting is still "an innovator's passion" in bicycles.
Joe's page is over here, http://www.facebook.com/joe.may.963 (http://www.facebook.com/joe.may.963)
There are more reminiscences by Joe here
http://coolmainpress.com/iditarodjoemay.html (http://coolmainpress.com/iditarodjoemay.html)
and my page for following the Iditarod, immensely exciting right now, is here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditarod-a-novel-of-The-Greatest-Race-on-Earth/193084334057961 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditarod-a-novel-of-The-Greatest-Race-on-Earth/193084334057961)
Come join me.
Andre Jute
(http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/253030_4638747535317_696075218_n.jpg)
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"There are strange things done in the Midnight Sun..."
Talk of your cold! Through the parka's fold
It stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze,
'Til sometimes you couldn't see.
It wasn't much fun, but the only one
To whimper was Sam McGee.
Time for a poem on the Iditarod, Andre? (Or has someone already done one?)
J.
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"There are strange things done in the Midnight Sun..."
Talk of your cold! Through the parka's fold
It stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze,
'Til sometimes you couldn't see.
It wasn't much fun, but the only one
To whimper was Sam McGee.
Time for a poem on the Iditarod, Andre? (Or has someone already done one?)
J.
Booklength prose poem to Alaska, exciting story too:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brhVvsIXTq4/T1eTSDvn2bI/AAAAAAAACm0/dUJzlAAIfdk/s200/book+cover.JPG) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/IDITAROD-novel-Greatest-Earth-ebook/dp/B004GKMQE8)
"If you are not in Alaska this week you would do yourself a favor by picking up a copy of André Jute's Iditarod: A Novel of the Greatest Race on Earth. (http://www.amazon.com/IDITAROD-novel-Greatest-Earth-ebook/dp/B004GKMQE8/) This book is one of those rare occurrences where I read the book, thought about for a couple days and then read it again. The first time I read it, I read it for the story – I was just dying to see what happened. The second time I read it was for the sheer beauty and intensity of the writing." — Kathleen Valentine, novelist
You can read Kathleen's full review on her beautiful Parlez-Moi Blog (http://parlezmoiblog.blogspot.ie/2013/03/repost-marchez-andre-jutes-iditarod.html) or at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/IDITAROD-novel-Greatest-Earth-ebook/dp/B004GKMQE8/).
Andre Jute
Been there, done that, got the stainless pins in my bones...
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Heading for 3 weeks in Oz on Saturday, so this will be cool! Will look forward to it.
J.
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Enjoy. It is not true that Australia home to 19 of the 20 most venomous animals on earth. Only 18 out of 20 are Austrailian. -- Andre Jute
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Heading for 3 weeks in Oz on Saturday, so this will be cool! Will look forward to it.
J.
Ha - heading for 3 weeks in Oz on friday (Perth - to visit family). Just downloaded Andre's book on to my kindle. Look forward to reading about the cold as I sit looking out over the Indian Ocean.
ian
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Ha - heading for 3 weeks in Oz on friday (Perth - to visit family). Just downloaded Andre's book on to my kindle. Look forward to reading about the cold as I sit looking out over the Indian Ocean.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O2EgK0IzrEg/TkcDiP3jvKI/AAAAAAAAArY/cgF4iQAT1Fw/s1600/andre_jute_singapore_800x560_72dpi.jpg)
This is my publicity photograph. That hairstyle wasn't made by a hairdresser or Photoshop, it was carved by sweat. The photo was taken on the day in Singapore when IDITAROD a novel of The Greatest Race on Earth was germinated. In the interview at http://cookiesbookclub.blogspot.ie/2011/08/iditarod-novel-of-greatest-race-on.html (http://cookiesbookclub.blogspot.ie/2011/08/iditarod-novel-of-greatest-race-on.html) I explain how by the exact reverse of your thought process, I came to write an "ice book". The relevant bit starts "On Boxing Day...."
Andre Jute
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Hi All!
Aside from bicycle-related stuff...
Currently, I am engaged in scanning and cataloging some vintage Keystone View Company stereoscopic slides belonging to a friend. He unearthed them while administering his late father's estate, and shared them with me. In what was surely a moment of stark insanity, I offered to scan and post them to a website so they could be enjoyed more widely than if he simply disposed of them at a local charity store or sold them on eBay as planned.
What at first looked like a fairly simple task became more complex when it turned out all the cardboard slides were vertically warped from sitting in their case in a humid environment. It has taken over three months of effort, but I have managed to modify my scanner and processing software to correct the resulting "astigmatism" and am at last getting some good results. The slides are also moldy, so each one requires post-scanning cleanup and restoration. It requires about 20 minutes' work per card or more than 66 hours' for the lot now I've got the needed steps down to a known routine.
Most of the slides date from around World War I and include the stereo photos on the front and a typed description on the back, all on dark cardboard with low contrast. Copyright shouldn't be an issue; the Keystone Viewing Company (with offices in Portland, OR, among other places) was dissolved in 1972, with 30 tons of company records and negatives donated to the University of California, Riverside. The name continues onward only as a manufacturer of eye-training equipment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_View_Company
There is some real historic content in these slides and descriptions, and the views are fascinating. I can't imagine the technical challenges of capturing such clear shots in wartime and on active battlefields; the quality is outstanding. My goal is to post the photos to a website for public viewing, but that is a ways away and depends on scanning the remainder of the slides, which number over 200. At the moment, it looks nearly impossible with my other tasks, but I'm continuing to persevere.
I've posted a sample restored scan below.
Best,
Dan. (...who wishes somebody would give him a good shake before he volunteers for such projects)
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Wow, now that's history, Dan. The last time I saw that cannon, very likely called Big Bertha, with a throw of some 70 kilometers, was the copy used in the Guns of Navarone. Very likely the designers copied it from these slides you've selected... Bertha von Krupp und Bohlen, for whom the big gun was named, and her husband, who built it, make appearances in my novel THE ZAHAROFF COMMISSION. In one of the James Bond movies there was also such a big gun, but I think it was created through several filters, probably by way of the Guns of Navarone.
Andre Jute
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Bertha von Krupp und Bohlen, for whom the big gun was named, and her husband, who built it, make appearances in my novel THE ZAHAROFF COMMISSION.
Railway-mounted big howitzers were under development by both sides ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_gun ), and early in WWI, the artillery-short French moved coastal defense guns inland on rail cars, making railway guns. I think this is one of those, possibly a 370-400mm example, as the base looks about right, though I can't see the barrel.
"Big Bertha" was applied popularly to a number of Krupp's Gamma-Geräts (Gamma-devices) -- huge guns capable of enormous range. One of their later rail designs was the Langer (longer) Max, a railcar-mounted battleship gun, capable of bombarding Paris with 94kg shells. The shells exited the bore so quickly as to tear away a bit of the lining each time; each subsequent round had to be sized larger to prevent cocking in the bore. After firing 65 rounds, the barrel was sent back to Kruppwerks and rebored to a larger caliber before being reissued with a new set of sequentially-sized shells. The forces involved were incredible, given the state of metallurgy in the early 1900s.
If the Zaharoff Commission is as vivid and gripping as your other novels, the Krupps and intrigue will live again today for each new reader!
All the best,
Dan.
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On these guns --
Just finished reading, en route to the Gold Coast, Wade Davis' extraordinary book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. Early in the book, interspersed with his story of the first efforts by Europeans to travel to Everest (late in the 19th & early in the 20th century), and the imagining/mythologizing of the mountain which followed, are terrifying accounts of the "Great War", and especially of the destructive force of these guns. The book is as much social history as a tale of mountaineering, and Davis' account of the industrialized slaughter of that war is sobering in the extreme, as we approach the centenary of the start of the war. Not a quick read, but a brilliant piece of work.
The book has some fine period photographs (from the British expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924), but I'd have liked to have seen more. You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.
J.
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You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.
Very much so, John; thanks for the reference!
Despite my general distaste for war, I seem to have read quite a lot about it! A recent, lengthy, and very good read was Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War (Rhodes/Hammond translation). The latter brought the whole of events to life for me and showed all the causal factors, intrigue, and drama that are unfortunately timeless and universal parts of any war in any time. The disputes and actors and time may change, but the human factors remain.
When I was a child, a granduncle (actually husband to my mother's cousin, but "Uncle Louie" to me) had fought in WWI and had been mustard-gassed. He told tales of trench warfare, the development of early tanks, use of rail-mounted guns, and the increasing efficiency of war. This last was among the things that haunted him most; the very industrialized slaughter of war to which you refer.
I'll follow up on the Davis book, John!
Best,
Dan. (...who always enjoys a good read)
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Thanks, Dan. Aye, we have to make sure we know about all this stuff. My dad's people come from the village of Battle, on the Sussex coast just west of Hastings. Battle was the site of The Famous Unpleasantness of 1066. So, it appears that there have been soldiers in my family for at least a thousand years. For the most part, they seem to have been the poor sods who swung the axes and pulled the bows, rather than men on horseback.
Davis is an altogether brilliant guy. He currently heads up the cultural survival project (not sure of the exact title) of The Smithsonian. His photography is well worth a look, and any of his writing. The Wayfinders, a celebration of indigenous knowledge, is a good introduction to his work.
J.
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On these guns --
Just finished reading, en route to the Gold Coast, Wade Davis' extraordinary book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. Early in the book, interspersed with his story of the first efforts by Europeans to travel to Everest (late in the 19th & early in the 20th century), and the imagining/mythologizing of the mountain which followed, are terrifying accounts of the "Great War", and especially of the destructive force of these guns. The book is as much social history as a tale of mountaineering, and Davis' account of the industrialized slaughter of that war is sobering in the extreme, as we approach the centenary of the start of the war. Not a quick read, but a brilliant piece of work.
The book has some fine period photographs (from the British expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924), but I'd have liked to have seen more. You may find it interesting to do a comparison at some point in your project, Dan.
J.
John, I'm always looking for high quality snippets (and larger pieces) of esoteric knowledge for my blog. May I post this, only slightly edited, and with the bit about Davis in your other post added. The text will remain your copyright, and I'll give the forum a plug too. Enjoy your holiday. -- Andre Jute
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Another video now online at Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/62467580)
Part two of my inflatable kayak trip across Scotland.
Some superb scenery of the central highlands around Loch Treig and Loch Ossian, during a period of fine settled weather at the end of May 2009.
Part three still to come.
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on Wade Davis' stuff -- thanks, Andre, by all means please do so. (I expect WD would be pleased to know of your interest.) I've heard Davis speak, and seen his photography. He's a compelling storyteller in both media. He grew up in a small town in the interior of BC -- still has a place there, in the Stikine Valley.
His account of Everest pays tribute to the men--it's a guys' story--who tried to climb it, showing them to be heroic even though their attitudes to much of the world & its people were often ungenerous, even racist. Helluva story, and not once did it make me want to climb that mountain, even though I love the high places of the world that I've been privileged to visit.
J.
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Great vid, Ru! Fabulous countryside, calm waters, sunshine yet again and no-one else around! No bugs either, in May, I'd guess.
I knew a guy, years back, who had an inflatable kayak (a Folbot, was it?) and he trucked all around the world with it, paddling to & in all sorts of improbable places.
The inflatables look as if they'd be badly blown around in a high wind--a kayak's great advantage over a canoe is its low profile on a windy day--but you seem to have avoided that, as well as ensuring your usual sunshine.
The lochs must be quite cold in May, no?--wouldn't want to pitch in mid-loch in mid-May. Er, in the interests of seeing more of your videos, this viewer wd be more comfortable knowing you're paddling a wee bit closer to shore...
Looking forward to #3,
J.
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Thanks, John. http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/archives/3632
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egads the projects I distract myself with when the work really piles up:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12917894 (http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12917894)
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Recently started putting some videos onto Vimeo.
Upload limits are restricting me to one upload per week but will get them all on eventually.
https://vimeo.com/user9481487/videos
rual just shared your video on facebook hope you dont mind.
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An appropriate card for a cyclist. Note the sun shining from the card onto my halo. reflecting back onto the card across the cockpit of the bike. I wonder if motorists are blinded by my halo. The photo on the card is by "silverjohn", one word, no caps.
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Andre,
I believe silverjohn is really Iryna/Ievgen Sosnytska/Sosnytskyi, a Polish purveyor of royalty-free stock photos through Getty Images' iStock Photo, StockFreeImages, and other similar sites. These are royalty-free for evaluation and comping, attribution and image link-back and are nearly all watermarked. Watermark-free and high-resolution editions are available for purchase and commercial use under various specific license agreements that vary with the distributing agent.
Silverjohn images are always high in quality, sometimes exquisite, and often appear in online ads or on greeting and promotional cards.
For portfolio examples, see: http://www.stockfreeimages.com/r1/Silverjohn.html ...and... http://www.fotolia.com/p/200451866
This image is very close to the one on the card you shared, and one of several very similar ones in the silverjohn portfolio: http://www.fotolia.com/id/60194546
Lovely shot and card and terrific bicycle content, Andre.
All the best,
Dan.
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Thanks for the excellent and useful information, Dan; copied to Mick. I thought it might be something like that, which is why I shot the card not square on but at angle from which it would be impossible for thieves to get a useful composition... First class photos in your links.