Windows7 vs Ubuntu: Round 1

Many times over the last 5 years have I tried to switch to Linux with all optimism I could muster. Yet time after time I found myself migrating back to Windows for various reasons. Most of them were in relation to apps I needed or lack of functionality like support for wifi. And yet here I am again writing this using Firefox on Ubuntu. I am still dual booting but here are my early impressions.

Installation

A really close call but I am giving it to Ubuntu. It wnnts to play nicely on the same hard drive and makes it really easy to do so. It also installs faster with less questions.

WiFi Detection

It might seem strange to put this second but think about the first thing you want to do after the install. Get online! Right up in the top menu bar on Ubuntu is hte signal strength and two short clicks away I was entering a password and I was done. No driver problems no problems with authenticaiton types no problems period. Ubuntu wins.

Round 1 Winner: Ubuntu

The Clavicle Fixation with Graft

 1. the originl break

2. the midnight bleed occured about 8 hours after the operation and resulted in 3 dressing changes

   

3. the wound

4. had a drain in my hip that didn’t hurt at all

5.finally back home

The Road To Recovery

On the 14th of June I took a tubmle off a balcony and snapped my collar bone in half and broke 5 ribs. Two of them in two different places. I spent 5 days in hospital before checking out to go home becuase I couldn’t stand being in there anymore. Since then I have been addicted to morpheine, gone through withdrawals, put on 3.5kgs and seen my fitness plummet. My ribs still hurt and my shoulder has no feeling in it. Apart from that I am on the road to recovery. I have had two 5km runs so far:

1. 30:33

2. 29:30

Starting back from zero base is tough. My kness are sore again so I know I have a lot of work in front of me to lose some weight and get back up to running 10km again. So am I commited to documenting my journey and experimenting with some new training techniques. I haven’t blogged for some time now so it should be fun to be able to look back and see how long it takes me to reach my goal: 10km in 45min

Priorities

A Hundred Years From Now It Will Not Matter What My Bank Account Was, The Sort Of House I Lived In, Or The Kind Of Car I Drove…But The World May Be Different Because I Was Important In The Life Of A Child.

It makes me think a lot that statment. In 100 years the world will be populated by entirely new people. Did that argument at work really matter? Is my job really all that important? Does my house have to be perfectly clean every day? Or should I maybe spend some time on the things that really matter.

Canberra Marathon Training

I am committed to training for the Canberra Marathon but not actually completing it. At the moment I am stuck at about 15km before the old knee problems kick in. Last year however I was running half marathons in training with no knee pain at all. It is very frustrating. I look on the bright side though. I can still run 10km and feel good. …but i really want that marathon!

Hard Core Running at 62

I recently received an email from Dad. It was the best email I have had all year. And before you ask. No I still cant run faster than him!!

“I did a 5k fun run on Sunday and tore my plantar facia? muscle (the one that holds your arches up and connects to the bottom of your heel bone). Can’t even bloody walk now. I was going ok, had been sort of cruising most of the way – didn’t want to push too much on my first “serious” hit out  – but only 100 yards from the finish my heel went off like a gun. Had to run on my toes like a ballet dancer to finish. I went alright though. Was 1st in my age group and overall came 67th out of 1204. Time was still pretty slow though – 21.43.

The physio said I might not run for a while but I can jump on my mountain bike and do as much as I like – so off I go.”

A Beast of a 5km Run

In my second run in my new Beast shoes I ran my fastest 5km in ages. Here’s the low down.
Distance: 5km

Time: 22.14

Splits: 4:43, 4:41, 4:32, 4:28, 3:57

GARMIN 305 Review

First up I will get right to the recommendation. If you are even thinking about buying this device then save some brain power, jump on ebay and just get one. I guarantee you will love it.

Size: Its large and covers your whole wrist. You could wear it as a watch but people will give strange looks. On the up side you would never get lost. But utlimately you will just run the battery down.

Comfort: Its actually pretty good. You dont notice the size and weight at all. One tip I can give you though is to find an old wrist sweat band and cut it up. I foudn on long runs that the sweet made the watch move around too much and hit the front of my hand. Now that I wear it over a cut out piece of my old Nike wristt sweat band it feels much more comfortable.

Made For: Moderate to serious runners and multisprtists wanting full GPS funcitonality and computer integration.

Battery Life: Very good. Last for ages. Sometimes I only charge it once a week.

Display: Not colour but big enough and bright to easily read when you are running.

Customisation: You can decide which fields ( and there are lots of them)  you want on what screen. Its awesome!

Accuracy: Brilliant! I run with a group of people who all have them. The only problem we have found is that we get different distances readings. On a 21k run for example my watch was different by about 200m. Not much but annoying. We think however that my firmware and settings might just a bit different. But then which watch is more accurate. Lots to talk about on the long runs!

Made For: Moderate to serious runners and multisportists wanting full GPS functionality and computer integration.

Bundled Software: Garmin Training Centre. A bit simplistic but it does the job. They are trying to get you to sign up to motionbased. Check some of my runs out for an idea on how it works.

Conclusion: I can’t train without it.  I have lots of cool gadgets and toys. This is my favourite. End Game!

Brooks Beast vs ASICS 1110

I have been searching for a new pair of shoes and found that the Brooks Beast model might be a better shoe for me than my ASICS. Only problem is that it doesnt come in a “D” width. At least not in this country. So I go online to order them from overseas and get told they are not allowed to ship to Australia. That just made me mad as hell. They dont sell them here and they wont let anyone who does sell them send them here. I could rant about the stupidy of that for ages but not today.

Today I am sending out a thankyou to Brooks Australia who are actually brought a pair of them into Australia just for me. Now thats service! But now to the review.

Cushioning: ASIC’s wins. The Brooks are OK but straight away you can feel that they are not as well cushioned as ASICS Gel. Even though the ASICS are a much cheaper shoe.

Stabilty: Brooks wins hands down. I have had pretty much no knee pain since switching to the Beasts.

Durability: Only time will tell. My biggest beef with shoes is how they also tear on the inside heel. I will be keeping a close eye on the Beast.

Overall: The ASICS are a great shoe and highly recommended. For me though I think the Brooks will end up being my preferred shoe. What matters most I guess is that you pick the right shoe for you. Unfortunatley if you are like me you might have to spend many years trying to find them.

Best Horror Author – Graham Masterton

There are really only two kinds of books I read these days;

1. Autobiographies

2. Horror

And when it comes to horror there are none better than Graham Masterton. He makes Stephen King novels look like they were made for kindergaten classes. Here is a list of all the books I have and have sold. If you have any I dont have let me know, I am happy to swap or send you the ones I have for free if you are interested in real horror!

Title Sold
The Pariah Yes
Burial Yes
Tengu No
Spirit No
Rook&Tooth&Claw Yes
The Devouring Yes
The Sleepless Yes
Night Warriors No
Mirror No
Death Trance No
Death Dream No