百易通 / The Blind Man

阿盲公

百易通

半夜遊

過牆風

Western media are reporting on this politically-sensitive incident and on how both sides would deal with the potential diplomatic fallout.

「可靠的男人」/ What Woman Wants from a Man

Below are my comments posted at Space's Apr 27, 2012 blog article "怎樣找可靠的女人":

阿寬所謂「可靠的男人」,對女人來說,似乎是:

* 一碗經濟實惠但沒味的白粥

* 一堵硬實可靠但極悶的磚牆

* 一條站不起來但柔軟的絲襪

女仕勿忘: 男人是分享人生的伴侶,不是「靠得住」的個人拐杖。

Reference:

* Mind Necessity: 四月六日香港明報副刋阿寬的《極度大男人》

National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs: Ottawa Senators vs New York Rangers

I hadn't been following the NHL's 2011-12 season, but with the surprised entry of the Ottawa Senators into Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I too got caught up in the hype, esp when the Sens became the last Canadian team standing after the Vancouver Canucks' loss to the Los Angeles Kings .

Alas, this is not Canada's year and our home team lost 2-1 in Madison Square Garden, NY on April 26, 2012 in the last of seven games.

While fans were disappointed and there would be no more "Go Sens Go!!" for the rest of this hockey season, they nonetheless are happy with the Sens' performance, esp Team captain Daniel Alfredsson. Alfie, who was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and has been with the Sens since the 1995-96 NHL season, scored the last Canadian goal before being shut out of the Stanley Cup.

And the Canadian team that last won the Stanley Cup?

The Montreal Canadiens, in 1993 !!!

Photo Credit:

* Top: The Ottawa Sun April 25, 2012

* Bottom: Wikipedia / First Stanley Cup Champ: The Montreal Hockey Club, March 17, 1893

Related links:

* NHL 2011-12 Stanley Cup playoff games: http://www.nhl.com/ice/stanleycup.htm

* Wikipedia: List of Stanley Cup champions

Innocent Mind, Hurried Child and Marathons

When S was young, he glanced over the cover of a novel his Mom was reading and said "The man is drowning". That's before he could read and there was nothing explicit in the book cover that suggested the face with the eyes closed was drowned.

There is something abt a child's mind which "sees" things very differently from that of an adult. Perhaps as we grow old, we learn to see trends, familiarize with patterns, accept family and societal values, & conform to govt, institution, and authourity's ways of seeing things. We internalize acquired skills and experience into our sub-conscious thereby making life more efficient.

There is no need to think before putting one foot in front of another cuz we already learnt how to run when we were little (that's one of the challenges when I was a "learn to run" instructor with adults).

Unlike the student driver who needs to think abt putting the signal light on before turning, we pretty well auto-pilot in rush-hour traffic, zipping in and out passing lanes while the brain is processing hundreds of sensory signals and other non-related thoughts, such as what grocery we need for tonight's supper.

Efficiency is gained when our sub-conscious has established auto-piloted processes that filter info and thoughts based on past skills, experience and pre-conceived criteria. Just ask any old couple (married, straight, or otherwise) who not only tastes salt when the other cries, but also blanks out all the nagging from the better-half :O

Unfortunately, this efficiency that is so essential in everyday living also closes our minds to new ideas, new ways of doing things, and more importantly the upbringing of our children.

Just look at the tiger moms and dads who insist on destroying the innocent, carefree childhood of their cubs by forcing the latter to undertake endless violin and piano lessons, dancing and princess competitions, extra tutorials to gain 95+ school marks, and in one odd case, by forcing a child to run naked outside in freezing cold temperature.

So the next time your child stops and stares at something "ordinary", a rock, a butterfly, or a dead bird, put yourself in his/her innocent mind and recall how simple your life was back then. Share and enjoy with him/her the short but happy and care-free period of childhood. Instead of yelling "C'mon let's go, I don't have all day", remember this:

The first few metres of a hurried child does not guarantee his/her accomplishments in a life-long journey of marathons.
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Running Marathon: What is "Hitting the Wall" (aka bonking")?

I have promised a friend that I would post an article here abt "Hitting the Wall" (aka bonking). I now realize that there are lots of info out there and that I will need more than one article. Here is Part 1 of the series.

PART 1: What is "Hitting the Wall" (aka bonking")?

According to Wikipedia: "..... In endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy....."

The sight of a runner "hitting the wall" might seems "funny" to an outsider, but the situation can be medically dangerous to the athlete and may even lead to injury or death. Below is a YouTube video of two Ironman competitors who were suffering from a near shut-down of their bodies whether they wanted it or not.



Bonking will happen to men and women, young and old alike, if the conditions are ripe. The YouTube video below shows a young man "hitting the wall" during a 5 kilometres cross-country running event. So, it doesn't really matter whether you are doing an Ironman-distance triathlon or a 5 km event. When your glycogen runs out, your body will shut down. As shown in the video, the poor chap could no longer stand up and it was only by sheer determination that he crawled the last yards and collapsed in a heap at the finish line.



Even elite Ironman-class tri-athletes, such as Paula Newby Frazier (YouTube video below), could not escape hitting the wall when she had depleted all her glycogen. Her body forced her to come to a stand-still and there was little she could do. At one point she was seen lying on the ground, apparently dashing all hope of finishing the race. But you know what? True to her iron-will and competitive nature, she refused to accept a DNF (did not finish), got up and continued, knowing full well she would most likely lose her chance to win first place.



In Paula Newby Frazier's case, her experience as an elite triathlete probably enabled her do a quick self-assessment and make a decision that you and I would have regretted. Despite her support team's advice to quit, she got up and continued with the race. It is also possible she was experiencing a relatively "mild" bonk that was recoverable (for Paula Newby). Indeed, Wikipedia suggests that: ".... Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates...."

Stay tuned for ..... Part 2: How the body fuel itself (Glycogen vs Fat burning) during a marathon.

References:

* Wikipedia / Hitting the Wall

Human Resources Management: Leave Workplace Issues off Facebook

I just read an interesting article entitled "Leave Workplace Issues off Facebook" in the career section of the Apr 18, 2012 Ottawa Sun.

It is abt an employee who, while on maternity leave, posted a message on her colleague's Facebook and accused the latter of stealing her job and the employer of sexual harassment/discrimination, etc. She was fired and subsequently lost her appeal to the Ontario Employment Standard Tribunal.

Based on the conclusions of the Tribunal as reported by the Sun, two lessons can be learnt from this case:

1. An employee can still be fired if his/her conduct outside of her workplace and work hours (in this case on Facebook, during her "private" time while on maternal leave) is deemed inappropriate.

2. Freedom of speech has limits and consequences. The Tribunal sided with the employer's decision to terminate the woman's employment with just cause and concluded that the employee ".... attempted to bully other employees and was hostile and intimidating in her dealing with them .... and generally 'bad mouthed' her employer on a website ... etc"

I still recall reading on the news several weeks ago abt some companies requesting access to potential employees' personal Facebook accounts to presumably evaluate their characters. While you can refuse the request as a job applicant (and equally the company can refuse offering you a job), but once you are hired as a worker, your duty to your employer is now extended to go beyond your workplace and work hours.

Thus: If you have a beef, arrange a meeting with your employer and talk it out. Try leaving workplace issues off Facebook and other social networks, or be prepared to face the consequences.



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2012 波士頓馬拉松競賽: 加拿大輪椅選手破世界記錄 / Boston Marathon - Canadian Wheelchair Athlete Broke World Record

Joshua Cassidy of Canada

won the men's wheelchair marathon race in 1h18:25

the fastest time in history !!!!

OTTAWA — Ottawa-born Joshua Cassidy pushed himself into a whole new stratosphere Monday: the fastest wheelchair marathon athlete in the world.

And Cassidy, who was introduced to wheelchair racing about a decade ago through the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, did it all by himself with a little fine-tuning from the National Research Council Canada’s wind tunnel.

A month after visiting the research venue near the Ottawa International Airport to refine his pushing technique and reduce his times, Cassidy, 27, won the men’s wheelchair race during the Boston Marathon Monday in world- and course-record times.

Cassidy, who is a double leg amputee as a result of being diagnosed with neuroblastoma (cancer in the spine and abdomen) shortly after his birth, blitzed the hot, fabled Boston course in one hour 18 minutes 25 seconds, which beat both records by two seconds and rocketed him to the top of his field.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Cassidy’s agent, David Burdus, said in a telephone interview. “He didn’t just win, but he demolished the field by himself. He powered his way to victory. He did it all by himself. It’s huge to do it without help. “He has worked so hard. He spent New Year’s Eve in the gym, he’s so determined. Everyone says he’s good and he just proved it. Now, he’s a world beater.”

Cassidy, the 2010 London Marathon champion and an employee of a fitness club in Guelph, seized the lead at about the four-kilometre mark, pulled away and won by more than three minutes. The old records were set by nine-time Boston champion Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa in 2004 at 1:18:27 for the 42.195-kilometre distance.

Cassidy, who has little sponsorship and must pay for most of his own travel, training and equipment, collected $15,000 U.S. for winning the men’s wheelchair title and a bonus of $10,000 for setting a world record.

“He got an early break (in the race) and got away, and that, combined with him having done analysis on his pushing position at the Ottawa wind tunnel in the last month, made him three per cent more efficient,” Burdus said.

Cassidy also unveiled a new style racing helmet, which likely proved aerodynamically beneficial. Instead of the traditional oval-shaped and ribbed bicycle helmet, Cassidy wore what appeared to be something like a football or motorcycle helmet with a large, attached sunglasses-style visor. The design markings on the helmet gave him the appearance of comic book character Judge Dredd. When Cassidy isn’t racing on the track (he’s Canada’s top athlete from 800 to 10,000 metres in the men’s T54 class and holds national records in the 1,500 and 5,000 metres), he’s a freelance illustrator.

“My head was blowing up, vision getting narrow … but just don’t think about it,” he told WBZ-TV at the finish line, where the temperature was 26C when he stopped.

At the mid-point of the race, Cassidy was timed in 37:37 and was 22 seconds ahead of the world-record pace. However, as he approached Heartbreak Hill at 32 kilometres, he was 17 seconds off the record pace. “Once I got to the top of Heartbreak, I knew I would win the race,” said Cassidy, who got his start in wheelchair racing with Bob Schrader and Amanda Fader of the Ottawa Lions. “So I went, battling on my own the rest of the way, to see if I could get the record.”

Australia’s Kurt H. Fearnley, who is considered the Marathon Man of wheelchair sports, having won the 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games marathon gold medals, was a distant second in 1:21:39. Japan’s Kota Hokinoue was third at 1:23:26. Diane Roy of Quebec City was third in the women’s wheelchair marathon division.

Sources:

* The Ottawa Citizen

* http://www.joshcassidy.com/athlete/

1912年4月15日鐵達尼號撞冰山沈沒: 無名海難兒童 / Sinking of Titanic by Iceberg Apr 15, 1912: The Unknown Child

鐵達尼號（英語：RMS Titanic）是一艘奧林匹克級郵輪，於1912年4月處女航時撞上冰山後沉沒。鐵達尼號是同級的3艘超級郵輪中的第2艘，與姐妹船奧林匹克號和不列顛號一度為白星航運公司（White Star Line）的乘客們提供快速且舒適的跨大西洋旅行。鐵達尼號由位於愛爾蘭島貝爾法斯特的哈蘭德與沃爾夫（Harland and Wolff）造船廠興建，是當時最大的客運輪船。在她的處女航中，鐵達尼號從英國南安普敦出發，途經法國瑟堡-奧克特維爾以及愛爾蘭昆士敦，計劃中的目的地為美國紐約。因為人為錯誤，於1912年4月14日船上時間夜裡11點40分，鐵達尼號撞上冰山；2小時40分鐘後，即4月15日凌晨2點20分，船裂成兩半後沉入大西洋。鐵達尼號海難為和平時期死傷人數最慘重的海難之一，同時也是最廣為人知的海上事故之一。

Sidney Leslie Goodwin (9 September 1910 – 15 April 1912) was a 19-month-old English boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His unidentified body was recovered after the sinking by the Mackay-Bennett, and for decades referred to as the unknown child; the body was identified as that of Goodwin in 2007. He is the only member of his family whose body has been recovered and subsequently identified.

References:
* Wikipedia / 鐵達尼號
* Wikipedia / The Unknown Child

波士頓馬拉松賽: 更嚴格的篩選標準 / Boston Marathon: More Stringent Qualifying Time

波士頓馬拉松 資格標準 (2013年到期)
年齡/Age	男/Male	女/Female
18–34歲	3小時 5分鐘	3 小時 35分鐘
35–39歲	3小時 10分鐘	3 小時 40分鐘
40–44歲	3小時 15分鐘	3 小時 45分鐘
45–49歲	3小時 25分鐘	3 小時 55分鐘
50–54歲	3小時 30分鐘	4 小時 0分鐘
55–59歲	3小時 40分鐘	4 小時 10分鐘
60–64歲	3小時 55分鐘	4 小時 25分鐘
65–69歲	4小時 10分鐘	4 小時 40分鐘
70–74歲	4小時 25分鐘	4 小時 55分鐘
75–79歲	4小時 40分鐘	5 小時 10分鐘
80歲以上	4小時 55分鐘	5 小時 25分鐘

2013 Boston Marathon
For the 2013 Boston Marathon, in addition to the new “rolling admission” process for registration which will be in effect for the 2012 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. will adjust the qualifying times by lowering them by five minutes from the times which have been in effect in recent past years. The adjusted qualifying times will go into effect on September 24, 2011. Unlike previous years, an additional 59 seconds will NOT be accepted for each age group time standard. Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon will begin on Monday, September 10, 2012.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon)

波士頓馬拉松賽: 獨角獸,心碎坡的起源 / Boston Marathon: Origins of Unicorn & Heartbreak Hill

Origin of Boston Marathon's Unicorn

According to the Boston Athletic Association: ".... While it is popular belief that in 1887 the BAA founders chose the Unicorn as the organization’s symbol due to its place in mythology (Chinese and other mythologies regard the figure as an ideal and something to be pursued but which can never be caught), it is more likely that the Unicorn was borrowed from the coat of arms from one of the BAA's first families. Still, the now iconic Unicorn stands for striving for excellence.... even it can never be achieved...."

(Source: BAA Website/FAQ http://www.baa.org/faq.aspx?keyword=unicorn)

According to ultra runner Ryan Anderson's blog: "..... Chosen by the founding members of the BAA in 1887 -- ten years prior to the inaugural Boston Marathon -- the Unicorn is believed to have been chosen as the organization's symbol due to its place in mythology. In Chinese and other mythologies, the Unicorn represents an ideal: something to pursue, but which can never be caught. In pursuit of the Unicorn, however, athletic competitors can approach excellence (but never fully achieve it). It is this pursuit to push oneself to his or her own limit and to the best of one's ability which is at the core of athletics. And for this reason, as the marathon matured, that the BAA also decided that the Unicorn would be the appropriate symbol for the marathon ..... "

(Source: http://ryan-in-boise.blogspot.ca/2011/04/boston-marathon-unicorn-symbol.html)

Heartbreak Hill

According to Wikipedia: "..... The nickname "Heartbreak Hill" originated with an incident in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win — in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, "breaking Kelley's heart....."

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon)