Hot Anorak

Hey you!

2006-08-28T19:49:00.000+01:00

All the cool kids are reading this blog now! Get with the times!

I Suppose I Should Post

2006-03-18T00:53:00.000Z

Hello there lovely friends! It's been a while since I posted. Much has happened that I haven't told you about, but get off my case ok, it's not like you ever call! Work is going good. My current contract ends next weekend. I thought that was it but I've been asked back for more. This is good because I like my job. As long as I keep supplying my boss with Cadbury's Creme Eggs I should have a job. She's like a junky with those things! I also got a free t-shirt this week! These are all reasons to smile. Here are some more. I have decided to go back to education and study Applied Theology at the Irish Bible Institute. I have been assured by reliable lovely friends that the place rocks one's socks. I'm sure it will do my little Jesus-lovin' heart good. I hope to get a better understanding of what I believe and why I believe it. I want the skills needed to be able to communicate my beliefs clearly and also to make a difference, for the better, in people's lives. I'm going to the open-day at the IBI on the 29th. Oh no! I am exposed! Must cover up with humour or the internet will not think I am cool!

Insomnia

2006-02-27T03:05:00.000Z

I have just discovered how to inhale and blow out at the same time. This pleases me immensely!

Ramble Ramble

2006-02-05T00:51:00.000Z

I have no idea where this post will go but it's been so long since I've posted that I just need to get back into it. Today in work I was serving a kid. Working in a video game shop there is nothing unusual about serving kids, I sell a lot of games to a lot of kids either directly or indirectly. Some kids come up to the counter with their mothers, fathers or other relatives. Some come up alone. Some are clearly spoilt demanding brats, some are cheeky, some are shy. There's always the the cute ones though, the polite ones, the ones I'd like to imagaine my kids might be like if I ever have kids. Today's nice kid came to the counter with his dad. There was something about the way they stood next to each other, the way they conferred with each other on the choices presented to them - what game to get, new or pre-owned - the way the father looked at his son while he thought hard about how best to spend his pocket money. They were together. I want that. I really want to be a dad some day. I think I always have. When I was a little boy up I looked at my dad with a kind of awe. He was strong, so strong! He could kick a football so high; up to the place where I imagined "sky" ended and "space" started. I stared smiling and waited for it to come down with a big bounce. I'd look down at his arms and see they were tanned and dirty from work, so different from my little pale soft arms. This guy was a giant and he was looking out for me. He'd pick me up. He'd protect me. He'd keep all of us safe. My very own strong giant. My dad. Now I'm taller than my dad. I'm a short guy so what does that say about my dad? I still look up to him though I am my own man now and can disagree with some of the things my dad does and the ways he acts. He's still a giant to me in many ways. His arms are still strong and tanned. I'll never match up to who I think my dad is, but maybe one day I'll be someone elses giant. I remember whenever I was a boy and had difficulty learning something I used to lie awake in bed at night and beat myself up about it with thoughts of what a rubbish father I'd be if I didn't learn how to do that thing. I used to imagine having to tell my son to go to his mother to have his shoe laces tied, to show him how to ride a bike, to help him with his homework. It just always seemed inevitable that some day I'd be a dad and that the only thing that I needed to work at was preparing for this so I'd be a good dad. I don't know if I'll ever be a father now. There's so much that I thought would have happened by now that has never come about. I know I want to be a father one day though. It's something I pray for and still dream of. I hope that boy enjoys his game.

Memory: Rose

2006-01-02T01:57:00.000Z

At the age of thirteen I found out about Rose. My mother had Rose when she was sixteen before my mother and father were an item. Rose was given up for adoption or "to the nuns" as my mother said.

Mam tracked Rose down and got back in touch with her. I came in to the kitchen and my mother and two older sisters were looking at photographs of Rose. I asked and was told who that was in the pictures. I believe my response upon finding out I had a half-sister I never knew about was "How did that happen then?". Had to play it cool.

Woik

2005-12-01T15:43:00.000Z

I’m settling into my new job. It’s actually not so bad! The till system and filing system was driving me crazy, especially with it being Christmas a lot of people have things on deposit. Straight sales are fine and simple but deposits involve a little extra jiggery-pokery with the till system. I think I’m getting the hang of it now. The people I work with are nice and the customers understand when the new guy doesn’t work so fast or messes up. A lot of the customers are mothers buying games for their kids and maybe I’m still young looking enough to appeal to their motherly instincts and wrangle a little extra patience out of them. The nervous smile is working so far. :) Tomorrow’s going to be crazy though. The Xbox 360 is being released. We’re opening at 8 but I’m not on until noon. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, but I’ll survive… I think.

Hot Anorak, Register Biscuit

2005-11-25T21:41:00.000Z

Ah time has passed by so quickly. Winter is certainly here again and there is a definite nip in the air, two of them if I'm lying on my back. Being what one would describe as "a perisher" - that is, one who really feels the cold, even when everyone else is quite cosy - I have had to adapt to this change in weather. Lounging around the house is now done in my Winter robe. Ah it seems like only yesterday I was lounging about in my Summer robe. I am at this very moment wearing "long Johns" (although that's not all). There I've done it, I've told The Internets what underwear I am wearing, I'm sure that's some sort of benchmark in blogging. These are my first pair of "long Johns" and may I just say, "long Johns" - seriously cosy, everyone should have a pair. Anyway, lounging time is soon to be cut into with that ghastly work thing as I have gotten a second job as a Register Biscuit at a video game shop to supplement my income (haha ha) from my job as Webmonkey. I shall, I think, enjoy having money to actually do things and it will be good to have a regular schedule again but I don't expect to enjoy the work, at best I hope I'll be able to slip into some kind of work-trance where my mind can step out to the pub while I push buttons. You never know though, I might very much enjoy the work. Anyway, me getting a job = good thing. So, yay!

The Karate Situation

2005-11-17T14:08:00.000Z

You may have noticed that I don't really post about my karate training anymore. For a blog that takes its name from "Hot anoraks do take / Shotokan karate-do" this is a bit unusual so allow me to explain: My knee is knackered. I'm not training again until I feel confident to put that much pressure on my knee. At the moment it still makes the most cringe-inducing grinding sound as the kneecap scrapes along the bone in my leg when I come up from a squat. Karate is something I love doing and it has already changed me for the better, especially with regards to my confidence. As much as I love karate though I would like continue to be able to walk without the aid of a cane or crutches and to run and jump. I'm therefore taking a break until I feel my knee can handle the training, it may well be able to handle it now but I honestly don't feel confident about that, I don't even like squatting with that knee anymore. I must make it clear though for anyone reading this that karate is not to blame for my injury. What happened was I trained foolishly on my own. When training at home on my own I kept practicing one move over and over again on only one side - the high roundhouse kick (jodan mawashigeri) using my right leg. This built up the muscles on one side of the knee of my supporting leg so much that they pulled my kneecap slightly to the side and it now grinds off my bone. Had I been training for this under my sensei (or even just training sensibly myself) he would have made sure I balanced out that training so I would not have gotten a muscular imbalance. I guess they really meant it when they said balance was important. Now I have to take a break and do some really boring physiotherapy exercises for a while, it might take months it might take years, hopefully months though.

It's Fun to Learn!

2005-11-17T13:59:00.000Z

I had my first guitar lesson last night. The lesson was a half hour one-to-one and it was really good. I learned a lot of stuff for my first lesson. The explanations were clear and the teacher's style was relaxed and fun. I came away with three songs to practice:

Mull of Kintyre
Achy Breaky Heart (!)
Amazing Grace

I know what I need to practice and what I need to avoid doing - I move my right hand around too much when strumming. Of course I'm still making loads of mistakes but I think I'm making progress too. Apparently I have a good sense of rhythm and that can't really be taught. Learning is fun!

That's Right, Baby!

2005-11-16T09:40:00.000Z

Idea stolen from Visual-Voice.net.

Church Vandalised Again

2005-11-14T02:17:00.000Z

Just a quick post. For the second week in a row now we've come into our church to discover glass on the floor and one of our windows broken. The police have been informed, hopefully this will stop. The glass broken this time was modern glass, as opposed to last week's old wavy glass. I guess it was modern glass because that widow was broken before and had to be replaced already. Because it was modern glass it didn't shatter as much and the hole made and the pieces of broken glass on the floor were bigger. My friend "J" and I arrived early and discovered it. We managed to get things tidied up before service started. "J" was away last week so he didn't know about the previous incident. I was telling him about it as we opened the gates and doors of the church. We were just discussing it when we spotted the glass on the floor, it took half a second to dawn on me that this was new glass. It just makes me both sad and angry at the same time, maybe a little more sad than angry. I don't understand why people would do this. I supposed the"best" scenario is that it was bored kids who couldn't resist the temptation of an empty building with big windows, knowing that nobody would come running out after them. Still makes me sad though.

Rawk!

2005-11-10T04:18:00.000Z

It's been a while but here I am again. Well life has gone on in the month since I last posted. I am a lazy git and should have blogged these events as they happened but now I shall attempt to throw them all here in this one post. At the moment I am suffering from the sorest throat in the EU. My voice has gone... sort of; I can speak if I have to but it really annoys me and I barely sound human. Some friends of mine from church, husband and wife "J" and "T" and their seven year old son "C" who had become my shadow around the church, moved back to England. This means our little fellowship is even smaller now. On Sunday there was only six people there including myself, the guy speaking and a child. We're a pretty close fellowship in Cahir and they will be missed. We had a nice meal in the church after service on their last Sunday there and said goodbye to them. Before they left though "T" gave me a guitar! For free! But that's not all! "T" also gave me a gig bag for the guitar, a plec (although it's a classical guitar so I don't use it), a tuner and some books to help me learn how to play! Church rules! So I have a new hobby - learning to play guitar. I'm getting callouses on my fingertips. At the moment I know three chords - A, D and E - and I'm trying to get their chord progression down before I move on and learn some more. It's weird, I was thinking of taking up this hobby and even mentioned it to some of my friends and was pricing guitars and then out of nowhere I get this guitar for free. So far I'm really enjoying the guitar. I know I already mentioned The Sore Throat of Doom but it really needs to be repeated. I went to the doctor yesterday and got a prescription for some antibiotics and pain killers. The antibiotics will probably do no good since the cause of the sore throat is most likely viral. The pain killers help but they are disgusting! I have to dissolve two big tablets in a glass of water, you could dissolve them in a bath and the mixture would still not be diluted enough to remove the horrible taste. The pain killers also make me drowsy but I'm not sure if I like that or not yet. On Sunday (the Sunday of the six people) we found little bits of glass on the floor of the church and noticed a new hole in one of our windows. Someone had thrown a stone through the old wavy glass. This has happened before but not during the time I have been a member of the church. So after the service I got Henry the vacuum cleaner out and tried to clean up the little pieces of thin glass and took the stone back outside. If it wasn't for Henry's cheery smile this incident would have gotten me down. Free guitar!

Goodness!

2005-10-10T23:42:00.000+01:00

Back from a lovely weekend at the praxis/tard household with the laughing and the smiling and the kite flying and the company of the beautiful friends I am feeling quite happy. I had a smashing time although I guess I can be a bit of an awkward guest sometimes - I can come across quite indecisive when my hosts ask me what I'd like to do. I really worry about putting people out and being an inconvenience. The reality is that I love my friends and just sitting and "doing nothing" kicks arse when I'm doing it with them. So, in summation, great weekend, lovely friends, happy John. I got some cool graffiti! This is in Templebar: Someone either going by the name "Art Attack"* or representing some group of the same name is fighting the oil painting system! Down with oil painting, up with crudely spray-painted writing! It's the future man. * My first Mimi style footnote! Do you remember Art Attack, the kids TV show? Looks like it's still going. I loved that show! The presenter used to make huge pictures out of lots of different things. I also found this written on a school in Maynooth! : I'd like to imagine that the school is a technical school where they teach metalwork and one of the kids just loves welding! I wasn't very good at making things when I was in my secondary school, a technical school. I was a crafty chap though and managed to get through my time there having never welded a thing. It was for the best, I nearly "shot" my friend Shane while using the lathe (the bar I was turning snapped and flew across the room missing his legs by inches). My final year project was all held together by nuts, bolts and super glue. WELD!

Donkeys!

2005-10-04T18:31:00.000+01:00

Donkeys Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

There are donkey's not far from my house! In an effort to get cycling regularly I thought I'd take a trip to see them (baby steps, baby steps). This was more to get me back on a bike and cycling than it was to get some exercise. I'm not used to cycling so I think it would have been much easier for me to run it. Once I get the hang of the bike I should be able to go for longer distances than I can run and it should get easier. I like donkeys, they're like little fluffy horses.

Favorite Shoes

2005-10-03T22:53:00.000+01:00

Favorite Shoes Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

These are my favorite shoes and possibly the best shoes ever. They are made by Clarks and among the things written on them are "Gore-Tex", "XCR" and "Active Air" so I think that's their name but I don't know their name. They are so comfy!. I didn't think tying laces was so bad until I got these - they're fastened with velcro instead and it's so much more handy and less bother. Best of all they are waterproof and breathable (Gore-Tex). I remember stepping off a footpath right into a puddle and feeling the cold I began to curse my luck only to find out that the water didn't get in. I love these shoes but I've had them for a while now and wear is beginning to show. I've looked for more shoes like them but can't find any.

Harvest Prayer

2005-10-02T14:45:00.000+01:00

Tonight there will be a Harvest Service at my church and there will be a collection for Tearfund. It will be my job to read out a speech about the collection and to lead in a prayer for it. I feel I don't put enough of myself into this blog so I've decided to put up the speech and prayer that I've written. Here it is:

The collection from tonight's harvest service will be donated to Tearfund, a Christian aid organisation, to help with the current crisis in Niger. Niger is a country situated in the Sahel region of Africa, a semi-arid region on the edge of the Sahara desert. Climate change and desertification are on the increase with rains failing and the desert spreading, consuming land which was once used to grow crops or graze cattle. The nomadic tribes of Niger depend on their animals; no grazing means those animals die. Last year Niger suffered a drought followed by an invasion of locusts destroying crops and grazing land. Niger is in crisis. 3.6 million people are in desperate. One fifth of all children in Niger die before the age of five. Work is being done to help these people. Tearfund's partners in Niger work to drill wells, create and run community grain banks to store grain and fixation points where the nomadic tribes can camp and survive the hard times, having access to food, shelter, healthcare and education. They are also working to plant churches and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, we know that nothing can succeed without Our Heavenly Father. So now we pray to ask Him to help. Heavenly Father, We lift up the people of Niger to You and ask You to help them. Please help Tearfund's partners respond to the crisis there effectively. We pray that those most in need will receive the aid the require and that the underlying causes of this crisis will be addressed so people will be better prepared for disasters like this in the future. Father, as we are gathered here in a harvest celebration we ask that You bless the harvest in Niger this month, please make it plentiful so the people have enough food. We pray for the church in Niger; that more people will come to know You and be saved through Jesus Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.

Well that's it. I tried to make sure I got my facts right by checking the Tearfund website and magazine. My church is tiny, there's often less than ten people there. Tonight there should be a crowd though so I'm nervous about reading this. I'll let you know how it went. Update: Yay! It went well. Although my "Amen" came out sounding a bit like "Eamonn". Still though I think it went really well and I had a good time at the Harvest Service.

Just a Gentle Reminder

2005-10-01T16:47:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed that my “Blogroll” and “Links” sections have changed. I used to use Blogrolling.com and had purchased a subscription so I could access their extra features. My subscription recently expired. I would have simply re-subscribed if it wasn’t for their reminders, which in the end amounted to pestering. My first reminder was emailed to me 90 days before my subscription was due to expire. The next reminder was 60 days before expiration, then 45, then 7, then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. They were beginning to bug me by this stage and caught me in a bad mood so I followed their instructions – “If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@blogrolling.com.” – and I sent them a little email:

“Hi There, With your constant pestering for me to renew my subscription over these past few days you have convinced me not to bother ever re-subscribing. Well done. John O'Donnell.”

As if this wasn’t bad enough I received another reminder the next day. So I’ve switched to using del.icio.us for my links. They don’t appear on the site anymore, you’ll have to click the link to see them but del.icio.us has many benefits. My links are tagged, searchable and you can see who else is linking to the same site and what other links they have, you can also search everyone’s tags. On top of this my blog now loads quicker because there’s no waiting for the Blogrolling.com scripts to load. The lesson here for websites providing subscriptions is that if you must use “gentle reminders” make sure they are actually gentle. Your users are capable of thinking for themselves and remembering things.

Kite Making is Easy!

2005-09-20T19:30:00.000+01:00

Do you have a tabloid sized newspaper, some Scotch tape, string, scissors and an appreciation of simple joys? Then I highly recommend you go here and follow the instructions. Descending deeper into kite madness I made one myself and it actually flies quite well and is very easy to launch. I’ve wanted to make a kite now for some time but I kept putting it off so I’d have the necessary materials to make a “good kite”, i.e. ripstop nylon, fiberglass or carbon fiber rods, etc. This is a good kite though, it was fun and very easy to make and launches easier and flies better than some kites I’ve payed money for. Try it out, it’s fun!

See more progress on: Make a kite

[Tagged: IrishBlogs, Kites]

The Whole "Kite Thing"

2005-09-08T04:03:00.000+01:00

Well I said I’d follow this up so I’m going to try. I’ve started flying kites. First it was the “Cutter”, one of those traditional single-line diamond shaped kites. I got that back in July. I guess I was feeling a combination of nostalgia and boredom. It was so relaxing and enjoyable to launch a kite and watched it fly and play about in the wind. A few days later I bought the “Fuji Sport”, which is a two-line delta shaped stunt kite and it basically does as the name suggests – loops, dives and other stunts. I’ll skip the rest of the kites from then until the Beamer II (which I’ll get to later), because this is when the obsession really started. Two-line kite flying got me hooked, there’s so much to it, such as the wind window and generating power and pull with the kite. I was getting more and more interested in kites and decided I’d get something bigger. I eventually decided to try out power kiting. After reading various reviews and recommendations I ordered a HQ Beamer II 2.5, which I had decided was a very good power kite for a beginner, excellent value for money and was good enough to last me and keep me entertained for years to come. The Beamer II came about two weeks ago. Unfortunately I promptly put my back out lifting a big (IT WAS MASSIVE!) floor sander up the stairs of my sister’s new house. The following week, after a few anti-inflammatory pills and heaps of tiger balm I was jumping about the place again and could no longer resist flying my new kite, especially since the wind seemed just right (I had taken the kite out previously to set it up and it flew for a bit but there was really no wind) and the field next to my home was now free of those mean cattle, staring at me and teasing me with their “we have a field, nyah-nyah!” eyes. I went to the field and laid out the kite, strapped on my kite killers, removed the ground stake and picked up the handles. I eased off the brakes and pulled on the power lines by tilting the handles towards me. The kite leapt into the air pulling so hard that I was given a bit of a sore reminder that my back was not quite healed just yet (I’ve since learned how to stand so the pull doesn’t go straight to my lower back). The wind must have picked up a little while I was setting up (although it still didn’t seem that windy) because I couldn’t believe the power in this thing! It pulled me all over the field but I started to get the hang of it and managed to do my first bit of scudding, which didn’t go very far at all (certainly nothing even approaching something like the video in the link) but I was going uphill in a cow field and it was only my first time. When I left the field I had a sore back and a case of the giggles. I’ve developed the habit of looking out the window to check for a good wind and I give the cattle the frownin’ of a lifetime when they take over the field. [Tagged: IrishBlogs, Kites]

Beautiful Beamer (II)

2005-09-04T01:14:00.000+01:00

Beautiful Beamer (II) Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

There it is, my beautiful new power kite. The kite is a HQ Beamer II 2.5. Oh yes, I neglected to tell the internet about my new found obsession with kites. "Obsession" is probably not too strong a word either. So I've been flying all manner of kites over the last couple of months and you were none the wiser! Sly old me! More on this later - I'm blogging with my phone right now. [Tagged: IrishBlogs, Kites]

Last Week

2005-08-08T18:04:00.000+01:00

I don't write in this thing enough. You really have no idea what I'm getting up to or how I'm doing, do you? Well I'm doing great! Now let me tell you what I've been getting up to. Last week, my church ran a club for the local kids. We set up one of the rooms in the club to look like a cave and another room was set aside for games and crafts. In the "cave" we put a projector and DVD player so the kids could all watch cartoons and it would be like a little cinema for them. I got to control the projector and DVD player and help out where I could. Part of this helping out involved my friend Peter dressing up as a Roman soldier (lots of tinfoil) and me dressing up as a Roman citizen (tablecloth), who Peter jokingly called "Jonnacus", for a roleplay. The kids thought it was very funny and I was surprised at how much the kids enjoyed the whole club. Friday was the last day and all the children were understandably giddy because we were throwing a little party for them with buns and sweets and hotdogs, etc. To our delight some of the parents even came in to see the church and have some tea. The nicest surprise of the day for me was a thank you letter written out by one of the little girls at the club. During the roleplays this particular little girl was in stitches giggling. She wrote this letter telling us how great the club was and how much she enjoyed it, with little pictures drawn in the margins. Here's one of the pictures: That's a toga (tablecloth) by the way; I haven't taken to cross-dressing. Last week was also the week I decided to take a break from karate for a while. My left kneecap is not lined up as it should be and when I flex my knee it grinds off the bone in my leg. I think this happened because I overtrained one particular technique at home - the high roundhouse kick. The overtrianing made the muscles on the outside of my knee too strong compared to the muscles on the inside, this pulled my kneecap over slightly. Now I need to do exercises to strengthen the muscle on the inside of my knee and to take it easy on that knee for a bit. I've known about the problem for a few weeks but on Monday it actually started to hurt me. Before Monday the problem really only manifested itself in a weird grinding noise when I came up from a squat. I texted my instructor John on Monday to let him know I'd be missing for a while. To my surprise he phoned back immediately to give me all sorts of advice. It turns out he has the same problem but he didn't catch it in time and it got much worse. So hopefully the exercises and the break will do me good, I may also get some sort of massage therapy done on the kneecap but that sounds a bit pricey. I'll see. So that's what's been happening with me. [Tagged: IrishBlogs]

When Kite Making Goes Wrong

2005-08-03T17:04:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs] Picture this my pretty friends: My lovely, cute three-year-old nephew Cathal seemed to love it when I let him fly one of my kites. So I, his loving Uncle John, thought it would be a wonderful "Hallmark moment" if we made a kite together. On Monday I went to the garden centre to pick up some split bamboo (split bamboo is light and flexible and excellent for cheapo, simple home made kites). No split bamboo there; no problem I thought, I'll just buy some bamboo and split it myself. And so I bought some bamboo and came home. Now the "Hallmark moment" was supposed to go something like this: Me: Would you like to make a kite, Cathal? Cathal [jumping up and down with glee and excitement]: Oh yeah! [Cut to kite completion] Me: Do you like your kite Cathal? Cathal: Yeah! I love it! I love you Uncle John! Me: *sniff* I have something in my eye... The End! Lovely, heart warming uncle-nephew activity. Now here's what actually happened: While paring down some of the bamboo I had split I learned a valuable lesson - to call shards of bamboo "razor sharp" is a serious understatement! What I thought was just any old splinter went deep into the side of my thumb and out flowed a simply ridiculous amount of blood. I'm no doctor but I assume that I hit some sort of blood vessel in there or something because it just flowed and flowed. All that blood scared little Cathal so bad that his little legs were shaking. I went and got some kitchen towell and had to go outside again for fear of dripping on the kitchen floor. Off I wandered up the back yard and on to the grass. Then.... "Hello ground! What are you doing up here next to my face.?" followed by my mother running over to me calling "John! John!". I'm not squeemish so I can only assume the sudden drop in blood pressure knocked me out, either that or I'm a big wimp. It felt nice lying on the grass so I thought I'd lay there for a bit and have a rest. To recap, instead of the planned uncle-nephew bonding activity, I bled profusely, traumatised my young nephew and collapsed face down on the grass. Lesson number two is - John does not live in Hallmark-land; John lives in John-land where this kind of stuff happens!

Knife-edge

2005-07-25T04:36:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs, Red Bull Air Race]

Knife-edge Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

German pilot Klaus Schrodt performs a "knife edge" in his Extra 330 XS aircraft as he flies low over the crowd gathered at the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary, Ireland at the Red Bull Air Race on Sunday. The picture's a little grainy, sorry, I tried to touch it up but my camera is shit. Klaus came in 4th on the day. The race was hampered by bad weather, postponing the race for about an hour and cutting it back to only one round. It would have been better if the weather was nicer and we got two rounds. Exciting and entertaining as it was happening but since the pilots all finished the circuit in well under 2 minutes it was over very fast. Having to wait around in the rain for less than 10 minutes of actual spectacle is a little bit disappointing. I was really looking forward to this and while the actual performances were excellent it was over before I new it. Maybe I missed it but wasn't there BASE jumping and parachute displays mentioned for this? I didn't see anything of the sort. The only thing approaching warm-up entertainment there was some drumming or dancing or some other boring thing up on the hill, which I didn't bother to investigate further. Surely they knew the rain was coming.

Spud-O-Doom

2005-07-03T00:39:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs] I have done myself an injury. The other day I was eating a new potato (none of your second hand spuds for me!) and enjoying some amusing banter with my younger brother Kevin. The banter at one stage got so amusing it nearly killed me! I began to laugh, forgetting of course to empty my mouth of spud I inadvertently inhaled a flowery bit of potato. Never fear dear reader, I am alive and (reasonably) well. Tupping liberty. I showed that flowery bit who's boss! Unfortunately all the coughing, hacking and sharp exhalations have damaged my poor throat and given me an infection. So I'm on some antibiotics. The silver lining here is that my voice has gone a key lower, this may or may not come in handy tomorrow (technically today, but I haven't gone to sleep yet so it doesn't feel like it) when I will be reading at church for the first time.

Oh no!

2005-06-26T23:38:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs] My close friends all know that I am a big fan of puns and stupid jokes. Nothing makes me smile and laugh like a shared pun or private joke. Today, The Pun King himself has died. He will be missed. Richard "Twice Nightly" Whiteley, 1943 - 2005. I will remember him for his unashamed delight in turning anything he could into a pun.

Crappy-wara

2005-05-29T00:14:00.000+01:00

crappy-wara Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

[Tagged: IrishBlogs, Shotokan, Karate] This is a makiwara. A makiwara is a punching pad used to strengthen punches, condition the fists and give the user a sense of the relationship between hip and fist when punching. Makiwara are usually mounted on posts stuck in the ground and tapered to give flexibility and to allow the user to "drive" their punch in. This is a cheap crappy makiwara, there's practically no flexible resistance in it and not much padding either. When I punch it it just collapses under the force so I'm practically just punching a block of wood screwed onto my wall. This is more dangerous than useful so I plan to make a proper makiwara. Something like this.

Inspiration

2005-05-20T04:20:00.000+01:00

South Park Self Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

[Tagged: IrishBlogs, Shotokan, Karate] My poor knees are very tired. My muscles are aching. The index and middle knuckes on both my fists are red and sore again and should soon callous. I feel like I felt when I took up Shotokan last year - waking up sore, but it's a good kind of sore. This kind of soreness is not an "uh-oh, there's something wrong there" pain but a pain that lets you know that what you're doing is working and is making changes to your body. This is a great feeling! When I first started most things were difficult and took quite a bit of effort to do, the things got easier as my body got stronger and fitter, the sensation that I was changing my body started to fade. I started to take it easy. I still enjoyed training at the dojo and worked up a good sweat there whenever I went but when I went home I sort of switched off and thought or did little karate. I was still managing well and meeting the requirements of my grade but I had grown content with just doing what was required. On Saturday, the 8th of May, I attened a training and grading seminar by Sensei Nobuaki Kanazawa, the eldest son of the great Kancho Hirokazu Kanazawa (who was the very first person to grade me). The training was excellent, Sensei Kanazawa has certainly inherrited his father's gift for teaching, as well as his friendly nature. I was awarded the grade of gokyu (5th kyu - purple belt). The seminar left me feeling tired but also re-energised and inspired to work harder. Training would be a lot harder now that the brown belt was in site. The seminar coincided with a change of training schedule at the dojo. My Sensei split my class up, giving the green and purple belts their own class. On top of the training being harder and more demanding in this new class, it's also a lot smaller with less than 10 students so we get more individual attention while still training in a group. I've also begun to develop a proper training schedule for myself at home where I concentrate on making myself stronger in the areas I know I'm weak, working mostly on flexibility and strength. It feels great to be working hard again at something I enjoy so much.

Secrets

2005-04-30T02:34:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs] Boing Boing led me to PostSecret, one of the most beautiful and touching things I've ever seen online. In a society where people are supposed to superficial, care-free and to love things and "fun" more than people; where loneliness and pain are taboo, this lets you see into peoples' souls and, if you want, to expose your own. There are still people underneath all those labels and masks.

A Simmering Rage

2005-04-14T05:14:00.000+01:00

Oh my friends all is not well! It is now gone four o' clock in the morning and I recline here in my bed quite uncomfortable in my own body. I cannot sleep. My chest feels tight and my blood pressure is up. There is a terrible rage simmering away in me. I am full of stress. I have brought this upon myself really, I knew this would happen. However I was overcome with uncharacteristic optimism regarding a certain subject that prompted me to try it again. What is the cause of my rage, my high blood pressure and general feeling of incompetence? Cook books! Oh how I absolutely hate them! No really, you don't understand - I hate them! I hate them so much my blood pressure went up just typing that last sentence. The thing about cook books is that they are instructional books that are completely rubbish at giving instructions. You see I can't cook, it is a skill that I lack. Don't get me wrong - I can feed myself, but I can't cook a real meal, something you would invite friends around for. A few years ago I thought it might be nice if I acquired this skill that I lacked. I bought a cook book. The title of the book had "Easy Cooking" somewhere in it so I figured this was the place to start. I trundled home with my book full of ideas of all the wonderful things I would cook. Lalala lala, oh how happy and innocent I was! And then I opened the book. Oh horror! Oh woe, oh misery, oh no! This book appears to have skipped the bit on how to actually cook the food! Pinch? Cup? Dollop? Knob?! Have you not heard of the metric system?! Oh but that's not the half of it friends! As I have already mentioned cook books are supposed to be instructional books, so lets take a look at one of the instructions in this book. This is an instruction (as well as I can recall it) from a recipe for some beef dish (I'm not going to check back because I don't even want to touch or look at that book right now): "Cook the beef in a large saucepan...". Wait, wait, stop! "Cook the beef"? How? Do you, o book, have a temperature you would like to suggest? Is there oil of some kind involved? I'm trying to learn how to cook some food and the instruction it gives me is "cook". To illustrate my point better lets take this method of instruction and bring it to another setting - driving instruction: Drive Book A short play by John O'Donnell. CHARACTERS: John - A young, wide-eyed, innocent man eager to acquire the near mystical skill of driving. William - The driving instructor. A bastard from hell! Act One - Scene One Our two characters sit in a car, John in the driving seat looking nervously excited, William in the passenger seat looking smug and know-it-all-ish. William: Right John, are you ready for your first lesson? John: Sure am William. Oh golly gosh this is so exciting! William: Isn't it just, John. Isn't it just. Now I know you're nervous but trust me and I'll have you driving in no time. Right here we go! John: Oh whizzo! William: Right now John, the first thing I want you to do is drive up to the top of this hill here. John: ... What? William: Just drive to the top of this hill. John: But how do I drive, William? William: Just follow my steps. First, you drive to the top of the hill... John: But how? William: Drive to the top of the hill first. John: I don't know how, William. William: It's simple John. You just drive to the top of this hill and we'll take it from there. John: ... William: Just to the top of the hill now. There's a good lad. John: ... William smiles. John: I say Bill, this car is a bit old isn't it? William: Yes John, it's quite outdated now. There's no passenger-side airbag for instance. Indeed the dashboard is quite hard on this side. I can't imagine the damage that would occur if my face were to smash into it during a crash. John: Or if someone were to grab you by the back of the head and repeatedly smash your face into it. William: Yes if someone were to... John what are you doing?! John: Die you evil bastard! John grasps William, using both hands, by his head and tosser's ponytail and repeatedly smashes his face into the dashboard. William: Ah - *thump* - ah - *thump* - mmph - *thump* - guh! - *thump* *thump* *thump* *thump* *thump* *splatter* *thump* *thump* *splatter* *thump*... The End Thank you! Now do you see how frustrating these books are? After seeing some people cook with such ease on the telly I was filled with dreams of cooking wonderful, beautiful, delicious meals. I would invite friends round for dinner and I would cook. They would all complement me on my marvelous meals and what a wonderful host I am and oh how we'd laugh and enjoy ourselves! Ha ha ha! (This being a daydream I had neglected the fact that I am currently broke and living at my parents' house with no social life what so ever.) But no! The cook book says different! And now it is past five and my dreams have been trampled over. I have shelved the book once more in anger and it will remain until the next time I forget the cold harsh reality of cook books and their evil ways.

Nana Korogi, Ya Oki

2005-04-13T20:34:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: Shotokan] There's a Japanese martial arts saying (originating from judo I think) "Nana korogi, ya oki", which means "Seven times down, eight times up". Now I'm aware how sad those martial arts guys are who constantly quote Japanese sayings and walk around all puffy like wannabe samurai. This is rubish and it really annoys me sometimes. You have a hobby, you do not need to be, nor pretend to be, Japanese to be anyway good at it. There are a lot cultural influences in the art of Shotokan karate sure, but lets not get carried away. All this wannabe samurai rubbish is akin to stamp collectors pretending to be Pony Express riders. Nevertheless, traditional martial arts have many benefits other than self-defense and fitness; they can lead to a whole different way to looking at and living life. Also, a good saying is a good saying in any language. The whole "seven times down, eight times up" thing relates to spirit and the desire to keep persevering, to never give up, to pick yourself back up again and again. In martial arts you sometimes literally have to pick yourself up again after your failures, and I should think that's especially true of judo. Forget about the humiliation, forget about feeling sorry for yourself, just get up and try again. You have two arms and two legs and a body just like the other guy, if he can do it so can you. I didn't get the job mentioned previously but I will pick myself up and try again.

Usenet On A Very Special Day

2005-04-09T00:40:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: IrishBlogs] I thought it might be fun to see what Usenet posts were made on the day I was born. It's a nice (and free) alternative to all those "Newspaper the day you were born" commemorative thingies. Thanks to Google Groups this is possible. Usenet on the 25th of June 1982. Yes, yes I may well use that "Unemployment" joke.

Spirit

2005-04-05T23:55:00.000+01:00

[Tagged: Shotokan] My left forearm looks like I gave myself a bad spray-on tan from the fading bruises. At least one lump has still yet to go down. Complete with the bruises are red marks where the hardest impacts were made and you can still see the imprint of the crease/hem of my training partner's karate uniform on one of them. These marks are from a training session at the dojo on Friday where I was partnered up with a black belt of some experience; he had come "full circle" and most of the black threads on his belt had worn away from use and the white material underneath was showing. In karate, training partners should push each other; you can take it easy at home. I hate it when I'm sparring with someone and they dance around and throw lame, slow punches and kicks, sometimes even smiling as if to say "We're still friends right? Don't get mad." What are you afraid of? Give me something to block or avoid! If you hit me then good for you, you were better than me. We're not training together to help each other take it easy. I want to improve and to improve I must be pushed. This is why, despite the bruising and the sweat pouring off me, I loved Friday's session. The bruises on my arms are from blocking; we were training in pre-arranged sparring drills and my partner was aiming for my head or abdomen. On top of my partner pushing me by giving me something to block and not going easy on me it was my job, I felt, to push him too. I made sure I stayed low in my stance and attacked as fast and hard as I could. I gave him something to block. I could not beat this guy, he was bigger, stronger and far more experienced in this game and had arms that felt as though they were made of rock (hence the bruising), but it was my job to do the best I could. I was determined to give a good account of myself, to show spirit. When I blocked, his arm didn't just oblige and sweep politely aside. I had to really block. If I wanted that arm to move I had to move it, even if it was made of rock. At the end of the session we bowed, as everyone does, and he offered his hand for me to shake, which I did. Afterwards, while we were chatting, he told me I was "quite strong" and mentioned that I should do well at my next grading. I'm not in this to earn anyone's approval or praise but I must say I was quite chuffed. I had given a good account of myself and done the best I could. On Monday, I traveled to Dublin for a job interview, my first job interview for a long time. As I sat in the chair across from my potential boss during the interview I was only concerned with giving a good account of myself, of showing him that I was capable and confident I could do the job. I felt that If I didn't get a job because I wasn't the best qualified applicant then fair enough, I can't blame myself for that. However if I didn't get the job because I was too nervous to speak honestly about what I could do and didn't show confidence in my own abilities, if I didn't show spirit, then I had failed. At the end of the interview I felt I had given a good account of myself and done the best I could. I'll know the outcome by the end of the week. Update - 08/04/2005: Didn't get it.

Twins

2005-04-02T20:14:00.001+01:00

Twins Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

It might be blurry and shot with a terrible camera but I still love this photo because it shows how different my twin niece and nephew are. Presented with a camera Luke will shy away and pretend to be busy, Emily brigtens up and smiles. Their personalities are so completely different. My family's always had a mix of introverts and extroverts. I landed on the same side of that fence as Luke.

The Horror!

2005-03-30T21:32:00.000+01:00

In the vein of Dan Brown (great link for beard lovers there!) I shall start this post with a "Facts" section. However, unlike Dan Brown, my facts shall all actually be facts. Facts

I am broke and have moved back to my family home after packing up what was left of my soul, dignity and sanity and walking away from my last full-time job.
There is a delay on digital satellite TV broadcasts of our Irish analogue terrestrial channels.
There is a TV in the dining room that receives the analogue transmissions.
There is a TV in the sitting room that receives the digital transmissions.
My bedroom is about equal distance from both of these rooms.
My mother loves the soaps.
My sister loves the soaps.
I have no love for the soaps.
My sister is back from college.

You can probably guess the situation here by using your advanced monkey brains. My mother, for reasons beyond me, turns on and turns up (quite loud) the TV in the dining room to watch the soaps. My sister turns on and turns up (again, quite loud) the TV in the sitting room. I try to read/write/work in my room. Don't ask me why my mother doesn't turn off the dining room TV and go watch the soaps in the sitting room with my sister. She does eventually go to watch the soaps in the sitting room but never turns off the dining room TV. So I sit in my room, bombarded from both sides by soap actors' voices, with that delay in transmissions adding a maddening echo. "Martin!" ... "Martin!" ... "What?" ... "What?" and so on, and so on, until I wish I had no ears (marvel at my Eastenders scriptwriting skillz!). The soap schedule looks like this on a Monday: 18:30 - Home and Away 19:00 - Emerdale 19:30 - Coronation Street 20:00 - Eastenders On a Tuesday: 18:30 - Home and Away 19:00 - Emerdale 19:30 - Eastenders On a Wednesday: 18:30 - Home and Away 19:00 - Emerdale 19:30 - Coronation Street On a Thursday: 18:30 - Home and Away 19:00 - Emerdale 19:30 - Eastenders On a Friday: 18:30 - Home and Away 19:00 - Emerdale 19:30 - Coronation Street 20:00 - Eastenders HELL!!! I have developed a frightened-rabbit look of despair. Now before anyone suggests I actually get up off my arse and turn off one of the TVs when it's not in use, I do. Oh I try and try but the voices, they keep coming back. Those horrible, miserable echoes. Oh save me!

In Other News

2005-03-17T23:44:00.000Z

Cross
Originally uploaded by Hot Anorak.

I'm a Christian now. So there!

Yes, I know

2005-03-17T23:21:00.000Z

To the 0.005 people that read this blog I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I have been going about the depressing task of job hunting with a touch more effort lately. The only thing more depressing than trying harder to find a job is trying harder to find a job and still not making any progress. This would all be a lot easier of course if I knew what sort of job I was supposed to be looking for. I had tried to get away from computers but there doesn't seem to be anything else I can do. Most jobs that don't require my qualifications in computing don't pay enough for me to be able to move. On top of this of course, I have no idea what I want to do. If I wasn't such a huge manly man I'd cry to be honest... oh wait...

Dear Warner Brothers

2005-03-17T22:45:00.000Z

Please! Don't mess this one up! For those that have not already done so, read this: V. for Vendetta.

Old Lady

2005-02-16T17:36:00.000Z

I took this photograph with my phone at the bus station in Clonmel. If this isn't proof that there are marauding gangs of old women terrorising Clonmel I don't know what is! This is clearly one of their "tags"! I suppose they can't be blamed though. They are a product of our society, there is clearly nothing for the elderly to do in Clonmel. What we need is another football pitch. Tagged: irishblogs clonmel graffiti

Look What I Got!

2005-02-11T01:47:00.000Z

I have no idea what to do with this "old skool" speed limit sign now that I have it. It has it's good points though: it is both huge AND reflective! If I ever turn thirty I can stick this to my jacket, announcing my age. Presumably I'll be much bigger by then. That's one idea anyway, I'm sure I'll come up with some other uses. Tagged: irishblogs

Gmail Updated: Enough Invites Yet?

2005-02-04T14:33:00.000Z

Google has updated Gmail's interface by adding a little invite form on the left column. Along with this they appear to have thrown in lots of more invites. Like I hadn't enough already. I have 50 now. Yes 50! The problem here is the only people I know enough to trust with my personal email address and who know what GMail is and would be interested in an account have already got one. It's useless trying to explain GMail to someone not nerdy enough to care. It appears from the gmail tag area on Technorati that I'm not the only one to have gotten 50 invites. If everyone else on the beta has gotten as much invites as me why not just make GMail public? Sure it might still be in beta testing but do people really care? I'm already using my account the same way I would use any other email account, the beta part really doesn't make any difference to the way I use it.

Useless Little 'B'!

2005-01-27T19:15:00.000Z

In the bottom right corner of my Firefox browser is a little blue square with a white uppercase 'B' inside. This is the icon for the Bloglines Toolkit. The main reason I installed this extension to Firefox is so it would inform me when my subscribed blogs are updated, that's it's job and that's why I put it there. Does it work? Hell no! Not once has it worked! I'm not saying I'm unhappy with it's performance - that it is slow or unreliable. I'm saying that it doesn't work (in that aspect at least, it does other things besides informing me of updates but these are just little extras, worthless if the main feature I installed it for doesn't work at all). I've also tried installing Blogline's standalone notifier. That doesn't work either. Has technology forsaken me lately? Nothing seems to be working as it should. There was a time when stuff would just work for me, without even trying. Programs would compile, software would do exactly what I wanted not because of any special skills or intelligence but by pure fluke it seemed - computers and me just "got along", we appear to have fallen out now though. Update: It's alive! Today (29-01-2005) it just started working, without an intervention from me.

Interesting

2005-01-27T14:12:00.000Z

Boing Boing lead me here. Expecting to just see some funny pictures of guys with twirly mustaches and canes beating the crap out of each other I was actually surprised at what I saw. I'm not saying it doesn't still look funny but there's definately something there that caught my eye. Look at the stances. The use of a hikite to draw back an oponents attacking limb while countering. Ashi barrai. Ushirogeri. According to the site: "Edward William Barton-Wright was born in India in 1860 and educated in Germany and France. While working as a mining engineer in Japan during the 1890s he trained in jujutsu and judo, and upon moving to London in 1899, he opened a self-defense academy at which he and his mostly Japanese instructors taught a system of self-defense that he called "Bartitsu."" Is is possible that, while he was in Japan he took a trip to Okinawa and picked up a few things from karate? Or is it possible that the style of jujutsu he learned is quite similar to karate. As Dr. Elmar Schmeiser said in his book Channan: Heart of the Heians: "After all, these kata were developed before the modern arts now called "jujitsu", "karate" and "kobudo" were split into separate practices with separate lineages of instructors and independant curricula". This indicates a common ancestry between the arts. As much as some martial arts fanboys would hate to believe it, our arts have a lot more in common than they think.

The Kit

2005-01-26T02:57:00.000Z

I'm bored. Here's what I use to blog when I'm not using the laptop. This post, including the photo, was composed on my phone. The posts are then sent from the phone by email. I have email addresses set up with Blogger and Flickr (for when I want to post a photo) to post to my blog.

The phone is a Motorola V300, nothing great but I can carry it in my pocket with my keys without feeling guilty about mistreating some expensive equipment. Photo resolution on the highest setting is 640 * 480 pixels and typing on a phone keypad is a pain sometimes but it's a handy setup.

I'd normally clean up posts from my phone but I'll leave this one alone so you can see any mistakes made from posting by phone.

God Knows What's Up WIth Technorati

2005-01-20T15:54:00.000Z

Don't ask me, I'm stumped. I expected that when I included the irishblogs tag in my previos post about the tag that it would show up on the IrishBlogs area on Technorati but it hasn't yet. What's even stranger is that my two previous, and unrelated posts (with not even a mention of IrishBlogs) have. DaBerries has shown that there's no problem with Blogger blogs by successfully using the "irishblogs" tag to contribute a post to the IrishBlogs area. The whole thing seems very stragtforward:

Include the following code somewhere in your post: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/irishblogs" rel="tag">irishblogs</a>
Ping Technorati to let them know your blog's been updated.

All of these were done in my last attempt but not only did it not work where it should have worked, but it actually worked where it shouldn't have worked... if you get my meaning. A mystery... or a bug - probably a bug. Now to see if this one makes it. I'm off to do step 2.

Tagging Irish Blogs

2005-01-20T05:34:00.000Z

It looks like it started here (although the plural irishblogs seems to have been settled on now) but the loosely coupled Irish group blog is taking shape with Bernie Goldbach also adopting the tag. If nobody minds I'll give it a shot. I'm very interested in seeing how this will develop and what exactly it will develop into. At the same time Im still getting my head around what can be done with these tags found in Flickr and Technorati, who are apparently friends. One things for sure though, theyre very handy and I dont even know half of their uses yet. So what exactly will this loosely coupled Irish group blog be then? What will it turn out like. Theres a fairly diverse group of bloggers in Ireland, some of whom have no connections other than the fact that they are Irish bloggers. There are a wide range of subjects and personalities here too. For instance, Bernie's a clever guy, posting interesting information about the latest technological developments and web-trends, whereas Yours Truly posts blurry pictures of flowers and complains about his passport photos. Also I notice the "irishblogs" tag is so far only used in Irish blog entries posting about the Irish blogosphere (including this one, if it makes it). Is this only because the network is just taking form? Will this group only talk about itself, or will we end up with a wide variety of Irish happenings and interests, ranging from small-talk on the weather to festivals and national issues? Not all of IrishBlogs contributors' blog entries are tagged "irishblogs". This leads me to assume that the network is there purely to link up discussions about the Irish blogging community. It will be interesting to see how this network progresses and changes and the effect it has on Irish bloggers and their blogs.

Snowdrops

2005-01-16T20:29:00.000Z

The first wild snowdrops are out. This is a picture I took today in my garden. It was taken with my phone so sorry about the quality. Snowdrops are the first flowers of Spring. It feels good to know that Spring is beginning again and life is coming back to the country.

Mr. Happy!

2005-01-13T23:45:00.000Z

I was going to write this up anyway but I already told this story to my friend neuro in an email and she thought it was funny. So here's that part of the email: "Weird thing happened today: When I was getting my passport photos done I thought I'd smile in these ones. In all the other passport style photos I had done I was always trying not to smile and just look expressionless. The photos always ended up with me looking grumpy, well "fuming with barely suppressed rage" would probably be a better description. So today I thought I'd smile, a nice little smile. The photos this time ended up with me looking expressionless. Not grumpy this time, just expressionless. That's what I look like when I think I'm smiling! Fucking Hell! In that picture of me I have on my blog I thought I was smiling too. I need to smile more." And here's the photo: No oil painting I know but it's a passport photo and I'm not supposed to look good. Would you believe I actually thought my face was smiling in that picture? Now I'm beginning to understand why I have a hard time breaking the ice with people. You should see the photos where I wasn't trying to smile! I must learn to smile.

Shaking Out the Cobwebs

2005-01-12T20:40:00.000Z

I went back to the dojo tonight. My first session this year. I'd have gone last week but, because of a chest infection I caught over the holidays, my doctor advised against it. Instead I was prescribed some pills and told to take it easy. Well last night I took the last of those little pills and today I was back at the dojo again. I've been doing Shotokan for a year now, since the 7th of January 2004. I've made a lot of progress but, what's great is that I'm still only a beginner and there is so much more to do. I like that; I've had a lot of fun doing karate. For a first session back after illness and rest it was easier than I thought it would be. I was convinced I'd gasping and wheezing with my poor lungs still getting over the infection. To my surprise I was grand. It wasn't easy but I survived. As a session it was very enjoyable because of the drills we did. There was an emphasis on elbows, knees and round punches in our partner drills, which I feel are techniques often neglected (although not in my dojo) in favour of doing stuff that is allowed for competitive sparring and more suited to "competition karate". None of your point-scoring here sir, this stuff is HARDKOER!11 Competitions for me are a fun way to train but that's all they are. They are another part of training, where I get to practice speed, distancing, timing and reflexes. There's an emphasis on "scoring" on the other guy before he can "score" on you. A lot of techniques are neglected because they are too dangerous to be allowed in competition or because they rely more on power than speed. For instance, there are no round punches allowed in competition sparring. In self-defence I'd be quite happy to let someone punch me in the forehead a split second before I bury my knee in their groin or kick out their knee but in a competition situation, the puncher would have scored because he hit first and I could be disqualified for using an illegal move. A lot of people end up thinking that competition sparring is karate in action when really it's more often closer to two guys bouncing up and down while playing a close-range game of tag. Because of the lack of round punches in competition sparring one of the most common criticisms you'll hear about Shotokan is that it's "too linear". We got round punches, trust me. It's important to realize that competition sparring is just another training exercise. One of the things I love about Shotokan is that there's just so much in it but you can make it your own and use what you like. It's good to be back! *wheeeeeze!!*

Well I'll Be...!

2005-01-12T01:11:00.000Z

It has come to my attention that there may be some beautiful people out there still looking for GMail invites. Hmm, I thought the buzz had died down. I must have just taken my ear away from the ground. So if anyone nice and friendly reads this and would like a GMail account just post a comment. I have 6 left and they've been waiting for ages! If I like you I'll send you an invite. Chances are I will like you since this blog has a tiny (teeny tiny) readership of swell folks.

And Finally...

2005-01-11T20:57:00.000Z

Now for the lighthearted good (wonderful really) news. It just wouldn't be right to mention this in a post containing the names of various evils so little Lena gets a post all of her own. Today, the 11th of January 2005, Sue, my sister-in-law Michelle's sister (Does that make Sue my sister-in-law too? It does doesn't it?) gave birth to a little bundle of joy, by which I mean a child. We haven't seen the baby yet, you can blame the weather for that, or at least I can. They have decided to call the baby Lena, I'm not sure if that's how you spell Lena or even if that's what they are actually going to call her. One thing's for sure though - Mina would be the perfect middle name! Geddit? Geddit? Oh Richard would be proud of me! We are joined in celebration today by Albania, who celebrate Republic Day, Nepal, who celebrate Unity Day, Japan, who celebrate Kagami Biraki and Christians, who celebrate the baptism of Jesus. It's also Mary J. Blige's birthday today but she might just be too bloody miserable to celebrate anything. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to shake my fist at the wind.

Fired for Blogging

2005-01-11T20:33:00.000Z

Interesting read I discovered through Lemming's blog. Apparently this chap, Joe Gordon was fired for having an opinion and expressing it satirically. I must admit I've never read The Woolamaloo Gazette before but it does seem to be a normal, satirical blog on whatever takes the authors fancy. As Joe Gordon said, he posted in his own free time and on his own website, which claims no official links to Waterstones at all. Freedom of speech anyone? Waterstones has gone down considerably in my estimation. I had previously considered it quite a pleasant bookstore to worm about in. It looks like I shall have to find another lovely bookstore. Above all I can't believe the stupidity of Waterstones who, according to Joe once "had banners along the lines of what did Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot have in common? They feared the power of the written word. Celebrate Freedom of expression with us." What did Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Waterstones have in common? On top of all this, Waterstones also appear to have lost a bloody good employee. Stupid Waterstones! Stupid! Stupid!

Distract Me Dammit!

2005-01-10T15:41:00.000Z

I am stressed. A problem has presented itself today at the site I "look after". A problem that I was warned could happen by the hosting company last week. A problem that I could do nothing about but notify my superiors, which of course I did by means of text message (they had already been emailed by the hosting company). A problem that has been occurring since I started at this job over a year ago. A problem that is staring me right in the face today. And all I can do is send another bloody text message. Mother of God! The stress this little job carries! My hands are tied. This was only supposed to be a little job, and back then the money was sufficient for the work I had to put in. What makes it worse is that the two guys I work for are some of the nicest people you could meet. I want to get angry. Someone sing or dance or something to take my mind off this. I swear, one of these days I'll run up a mountain and refuse to come down!

Film Review: White Noise

2005-01-09T04:58:00.000Z

Don't bother with this film. Trust me it is one of the most terribly boring and just plain stupid films I've seen... Ever! I really wanted Michael Keaton to save this White Noise, as I think he's a great actor but not even he could redeem the terrible editing and dumb script. As for being scary, this film is a big let down. The "scary" bits are so clichéd they can be seen a mile off. Things go quiet (or all static in the case of this film) and then suddenly there'll be a flash of a face or something and a loud noise. This is about as artful as going "BOO!" while whispering in a friend's ear and not nearly as fun. Apparently the director (whose name I won't even bother to look up) didn't consider that several scenes of a man sifting through tape after tape of white noise might actually get boring. The movie is mostly dreary cinematography coupled with the hiss of static. Don't get me started on the story. There are so many holes in this plot I wonder did anyone bother to even watch this before unleashing its idiocy on unsuspecting cinema audiences. This film's idea of a plot twist is writing back in some nameless character we saw in one scene early on. The guy was little more than an extra! To sum up - I almost lost the will to keep breathing through this steaming pile of shit!

Please Do Something!

2004-12-30T18:18:00.000Z

List of Tsunami Relief charities. List of Irish Tsunami Relief Charities. Please do something!

A White Christmas

2004-12-28T18:12:00.000Z

On Christmas day in Clonmel we looked out the window to see snow falling. What usually happens in this place is that the snow falls but the ground is too wet or the snow doesn't fall heavy enough for the snow to build up, meaning all we usually end up with is a little slush. On that day though the ground was cold and perfectly dry, but more importantly the snow fell heavy and just kept on coming the more we looked out the window at it. I could hear my sister calling her children in because she didn't want them to get wet. Didn't she realise what was happening? It's really snowing! Not just the sleet or slush we usually get! I went to my room, put on my hat, scarf, gloves and jacket and went quietly to go get my younger brother Kevin, who I frequently use as a partner in crime. I can be quite childish sometimes but this is something I am actually quite proud of, sometimes people need to just play! I convinced Kevin to remove himself from his PS2 and join me. I figured I'd need at least one follower to start a movement. If I just ran out I'd probably be on my own looking like I'm having some kind of nervous breakdown. So with Kevin in tow and geared up I ran through the clucking mothers assembled in the kitchen and jumped out the door into the snow. A snowball fight was most definitely in order! I knew Kevin's competitiveness with me, his older brother, whom he had long ago began to tower over in height (yet was still unable to beat in arm-wrestling I might add) would make for a good fight and plenty of fun. Soon the plan was working, we were followed by our nephews and niece, then the mothers, complete with cameras of course. We had snow fights, the kids made snow angels and we all helped to make the ugliest snowman. The poor guy, we had to put him out of his misery, the torso was used as a giant snowball. OK, I admit it - the torso was used by me as a giant snowball! It didn't snow the day before that. Nor did it snow the day after. Cathal, my youngest nephew, had never seen snow before but found himself in a snowball fight and making snow angels on Christmas day. When he came to visit again the day after he was still talking about the snow. His mother says he woke up talking about it. When he came in from the snow on Christmas Day his cheeks were rosy red spheres joined in the middle by his huge smile. I love it when a plan comes together!

Merry Christmas, My Friend

2004-12-22T17:13:00.001Z

Merry Christmas, My Friend Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone, In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone. I had come down the chimney, with presents to give and to see just who in this home did live As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see, no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree. No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land. With medals and badges, awards of all kind, a sobering thought soon came to my mind. For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen. This was the home of a U.S. Marine. I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more, so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door. And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone, Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home. He seemed so gentle, his face so serene, Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine. Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read? Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed? His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan. I soon understood, this was more than a man. For I realized the families that I saw that night, owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight. Soon around the Nation, the children would play, And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day. They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year, because of Marines like this one lying here. I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone, on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home. Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye. I dropped to my knees and I started to cry. He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice, "Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more. My life is my God, my country, my Corps." With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep, I couldn't control it, I continued to weep. I watched him for hours, so silent and still. I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill. So I took off my jacket, the one made of red, and covered this Marine from his toes to his head. Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold, with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold. And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride, and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside. I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night, this guardian of honor so willing to fight. But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure, said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure." One look at my watch and I knew he was right, Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight. by James M. Schmidt. More information here.

Happy Christmas!

2004-12-18T21:09:00.000Z

Happy Christmas to whosoever should come across this. I've enjoyed buying gifts for my loved ones. I've also been buying some treats for myself. I can't help it really, once I start buying stuff for other people it puts me in the mood to spend more of my money. I thought I'd treat myselt to a lovely Giko Tournament karategi (the white one, mine actually fits and I know how to tie my belt). I was given a green-belt by a friend (thanks Jane, it looks rather spiffy if I do say so myself!). Also "Big Orange" (finally!) is in the post - after re-reading Mark Groenewold's review I couldn't resist any longer. Here's wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year!

Kase Sensei, 1929 - 2004

2004-11-27T22:19:00.000Z

Sensei Taiji Kase, head of Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha passed away last Thursday the 25th of November, his 75th Birthday. This is a great loss to the Shotokan world. My thoughts and sympathies go to his family, friends and students.

Banzai!

2004-11-23T16:17:00.000Z

I had plenty of excuses thought up not to take my grading examination on Saturday in front of Kanazawa Sensei. Everything from the possible signs of a cold coming on to the fact that I had missed a lot of training thanks to that job I just quit. Despite all my nerves and doubts though something kept me going. I paid my fee, trained and lined up with the other karateka grading. Somehow I managed to use my nerves to give me the energy and courage I needed. Before I knew it, it was all over and I was waiting for Kanazawa Sensei to hand me my grading book and tell me how I did. I was a temporary 7th Kyu thanks to my grade-and-a-half result from my last grading. It would have been a success then if I got a temporary 6th Kyu. I was delighted when Kanazawa Sensei said "6th Kyu", he even said my kata was good! I was grinning from ear to ear! Later I got Kanazawa Sensei to sign my copy of Moving Zen by C.W. Nicol (the 'C' stands for Clive as I found out) and passed on greetings to him from a friend.

I Quit!

2004-11-12T23:40:00.000Z

Yep, I quit! Not Shotokan, of course not! The very idea! I've quite my job and returned to my home town. I got tired of the mindless, unchallenging, repetitive work. I didn't like the job from the beginning but I kept telling myself I'd settle into it. "Just give it until Christmas and see how you feel then." I realised though that the only way I'd ever stop hating this job would be if I just stopped caring, if it broke my spirit and I stopped minding that I was wasting my life. Sure I could give it another few months but after the job had numbed my spirit those months would turn into years and so much of my life would have passed by before I had known. So... I'm really trying not to sound like some new-age hippy here but... I listened to my spirit, got up, quit and walked out of that place there and then with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I went back to the place I was staying in, got my karategi and went to train at the local college club, a session I would have missed if I hadn't quit that day. Damn that felt good!

Grading Syllabus

2004-10-30T21:13:00.000+01:00

Here's my grading syllabus for 6th Kyu (green-belt). I've written comments beside the areas I feel need the most work: Overall comments: Deeper stances, maintain stance, pull back hikite more. Kihon

Oizuki chudan stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi.
Gyakuzuki chudan stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi.
Age-uke, gyakuzuki combination stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi.
Soto-ude-uke, gyakuzuki combination stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi.
Uchi-ude-uke, gyakuzuki combination stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi.
Shuto-uke stepping five times across the floor in kokutsudachi, then five times back without turning. - Don't stretch out blocking arm so much (keep elbow bent).
Maegeri stepping five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi. - Leaning back when kicking, stop it!
Yokogeri keage five times across the floor in kibadachi. - Point knee at target first, it's only a snap kick so don't pivot on supporting leg, do not turn hips to get extra height.
Yokogeri kekomi five times across the floor in kibadachi.
Mawashigeri five times across the floor in zenkutsudachi - Pull back toes.

Kumite Sanbon Kumite (to be done on both sides): Attack: Oizuki jodan, oizuki chudan, maegeri chudan, in zenkutsudachi. Defense #1: Age-uke, soto-ude-uke, gedan-barai, gyakuzuki chudan, stepping back across the floor in zenkutsudachi. Defense #2: Age-uke, uchi-ude-uke, gyaku-gedan-barai, kizamizuki jodan, gyakuzuki chudan, stepping back across the floor in zenkutsudachi. Practice, practice, practice! You know the sequence but get flustered easily when actually defending against someone. Kata Heian Sandan - Practice empi-uke and uraken-uchi. Check with Sensei where nukite hand goes during turn.

Work is a Four Letter Word

2004-10-21T09:37:00.000+01:00

I know it's been a while since I posted so I'll just give an update. I've managed to keep on my Shotokan training. Sensei gave me the name of a shodan who teaches at the college just down the road from where I work. I can train there but I won't be covered by the college in case of injury since I'm not a student, which is fine. That takes care of training for 2 days of the week, the rest is up to me. Since I go home (my real home) at the weekends I thought I'd try to arrange a private class with Sensei for this Sunday. With luck I'll be able to grade again with Kanazawa Sensei when he comes to visit this Winter. I'm all trained up at my new job and working away now (well not right now obviously). I spend the day like a battery hen, sitting in my cubicle working and awaiting the next allotted break I have. When break starts a clock begins a countdown on my PC and I have to be back by the time that's finished. I've decided I really don't like computers or working with them anymore. They used to be so much fun. I'm going to try to get out of this industry and decide what exactly it is I want to do with my life. I am not a battery hen!

Offline

2004-10-05T21:53:00.000+01:00

I'm offline. At the moment I have no web access where I live. I'm writing this using my phone. Ironic really when you consider the work I'm doing. Worse though, much worse is the fact that I have to find a new dojo and the sense of separation I feel from my family.

Moving

2004-09-30T17:25:00.000+01:00

I got the job in Waterford. Yesterday I went looking for a place to stay down there and found a room in a house sharing with three other guys. The house looks really great and it's a bargain compared to the other places I've seen in Waterford. In other news - I've had accupuncture. It was my first time. The purpose of the session was to see if they could do anything about a stiff ankle I have (it's slightly inflamed). Three pins and one hour later and my ankle was a lot looser. I couldn't believe it and spent the rest of the day getting up and walking around. It's not quite as flexible as the other ankle but it's way better than it was. I'm going back for another session on Saturday-week.

Essential Shotokan on DVD

2004-09-23T13:49:00.000+01:00

I've just received word that Sensei Edmund Otis' essential Shotokan series of videos will be available on DVD from mid to late October. This is good news for me - I haven't ordered them yet because I don't have a VHS player and the CD-ROMs seem to be no longer available. I'm pretty excited about getting my hands on these since reading Mark Groenewold reviews of the videos on Karate The Japanese Way. Essential-Shotokan.com Mark Groenewold's reviews.

Karate Might be in the 2012 Olympics

2004-09-23T01:57:00.000+01:00

MSNBC News Story It would seem karate is in with a chance of becoming an Olympic sport in 2012. I've thought this over and I think in the end it will be good for karate, not just as a sport but for traditional karate as a martial art. Oh sure there'll be plenty of medal-hunters taking up karate, people who see karate as nothing more than a sport, but the traditional karate clubs and sensei will still be there. I don't consider karate to be a sport. Let me rephrase that; I don't consider karate to be just a sport. I enjoy the sporting aspects of competition kata and kumite, mostly kumite though. However, tournaments and trophies are not the reason I do karate. Not by a long shot! This is going to sound really corny but I train in karate as a martial art, the only time I plan on actually fully using karate is in a self-defense situation, to injure or kill my enemy. Sparring in tournaments is just for fun, I pull my punches and kicks, I stop when yame is called and I bow to my opponent. Just for fun, if I win a trophy or medal well then that's nice but I'm there for the fun of it and to spar with new opponents, perhaps to learn something new. Olympic karate, if it ever comes about, will bring more attention to karate. If enough instructors stay true to traditional karate then this can be a good thing.

SMACK!

2004-09-22T03:46:00.000+01:00

Tom Kurz you legend! I've been using a workout I designed from Stretching Scientifically for only just a short while now but by using that workout and going back to basics to look at where my kicks were going wrong my kicks have already improved noticeably. Last week in the dojo we were doing target practice. It came time to practice jodan mawashi geri (round kicks to the head area). My partner held up his hand, palm facing to the side, at the height of his head. My partner was a good bit taller than me so I really wasn't expecting anything great. Surprisingly my first kick did actually land on target but it was weak and only barley tipped my partners hand. I tried to fix the lack of power by moving closer but that caused me to miss the hand completely. Then it happened. It all clicked. I knew the distance I had to be at and I knew what I had to do to get my kick up there. I kicked. Smack! I actually hit it right. I tried again, with more power. SMACK! I couldn't believe it, my kick was high and strong (well for me anyway). I kept kicking away with a big smile on my face, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK! Sensei has my book at the moment, I hope he uses it to improve the clubs stretching workout.

Pop Quiz (continued)

2004-09-18T16:21:00.000+01:00

Just finished my second ever grading. I was a bit surprised when I was asked to do Heian Nidan as well as Heian Shodan, but I did it anyway. I cursed myself for the little mistakes I (and my Sensei) spotted but there were no major mistakes. I was rewarded with a grade-and-a-half for my efforts. Which was nice. This means I skipped yellow-tip (8th kyu) and went on to a "temporary" yellow-belt (7th kyu). So my next grading I can go for green belt, if I pass that (one full grading) I'll get a "temporary" green belt, if I don't do so good (but not bad enough to fail) I'll get another half-grade making me yellow, basically telling me I need to train harder to move on. but I don't want that. Ideally I'd like to get another grade-and-a-half so I can get my green belt. I'm glad I don't have to put yellow strips of insulating tape on my white-belt. That always looked a bit silly to me.

Tough Kid

2004-09-14T23:50:00.000+01:00

This morning my little two-year-old nephew had to go to hospital to have an operation on one of his ears. I was a bit worried for him to be honest, at the very least I thought he'd be in pain and distress for the day. He was fine. when we picked him and my sister (his mother) up from the hospital he was in great spirits talking about his new balloon. I was told he was in and out in no time and only cried when he came round from the anesthetic because his mother wasn't there, which was soon remedied. Overall I think the whole ordeal had me more scared than him.

Managing Life

2004-09-14T01:17:00.000+01:00

This list was given to me a few years ago by my doctor. I was a bit stressed out because of college. This is taken word-for-word from a piece of paper my doctor gave me, I haven't a clue where he got it from:

Work no more than 10 hours per day
Have at least one and a half days free from normal work weekly
Allow at least half an hour for each meal
Eat slowly and chew well
Cultivate the habbit of listening to relaxing music
Practice relaxation twice daily for 10 minutes
Actively cultivate the habbit of walking, talking and moving slowly
Smile and respond cheefully when meeting people
Plan one " Away from it all holiday each year "
Take regular out of door excercise
Examine and have a balanced eating pattern
Seek advice if emotional or sexal relationships are upsetting
If unhappy in work look for alternatives
Cultivate a creative hobby ( gardening do it yourself etc)
Concentrate on the present and avoid dwelling on the past or future
Set attainable goals in life
Work and act methodically. Finish one task before starting another
Express feelings openly
Do not set impossible dealings or goals
Do not rely on drugs or other people to cope with life

(sic) I'm writing these here as a reminder to myself. I've been a bit stressed lately.

Shakespeare's Earliest Editions Online

2004-09-13T03:21:00.000+01:00

The British Library have photographed the earliest printed versions of Shakespeare's plays and put them online here. It's quite interesting to see the differences in editions. It's also quite nice to think that thanks to the internet we can all now view these rare documents from the comfort of our homes whereas before only a lucky few could ever see them.

Pop Quiz... Hotshot!

2004-09-11T20:46:00.000+01:00

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I missed training again on Friday. My uh... digestive system wasn't up to it. I went to Waterford today to see about prostituting my technical abilities to a large IT company, which shall remain nameless. I don't want the job, the work will not further my knowledge or be particularly enjoying but I need the money to be quite honest. The part-time (and I mean part-time) job I have at the moment is great - I love the work, it looks great on a CV, I'm learning more all the time, I have a lot of creative input and I couldn't ask for nicer employers - the one problem is that it is very part-time and I need more money. Hopefully if I do get this "tech-whore" job I'll be able to keep my current job in some capacity. While I was in Waterford I got a phonecall from an unfamiliar number. When I answered I was a bit surprised to hear Sensei's voice on the other end apologising for not telling me sooner but offering me a grading today at 3. Bit of a surprise all right. Unfortunately I didn't make it back to Clonmel until around 4 so I couldn't make the grading today. Fortunately Sensei offered to take some time out during next week to grade me since he did kind of spring it on me and since it has been quite a while since my last (first) grading (I didn't mind that though). If I do grade next week I won't be grading under Kanazawa-Sensei (who's not only a living legend but, from personal experience, also a thoroughly nice chap) when he comes to visit in November. I should however be able to train at his seminar and maybe get him to sign my copy of "Moving Zen". So next week I face my second ever grading. The prospect of being evaluated, coming up to scratch and being pushed further from now on has cheered me up some.

Onward! To Increased Flexibility! \o.

2004-09-09T04:52:00.000+01:00

This came in the post on Monday. So far it looks very well written and researched. Unfortunately I'm still getting over the flu so I have had to ease of on any kind of workout lately, nevermind creating a new one. The plan is to read the book and design a stretching workout for myself based on the excercises inside to improve my kicking ability for karate. The author, Thomaz Kurz, has even provided a number of sample workouts for various sports (including "kickboxing" which I suppose covers most kicking martial arts). Who knows, in a few months this could be me (ok maybe without the half-naked redhead... and the muscles... and the tan... I'm going to sleep now).

First Things First

2004-09-03T21:25:00.000+01:00

An explaination: I do not consider myself to be either "hot" or an "anorak". The name was chosen from "Hot anoraks do take, Shotokan karate-do." The first line is an anagram of the second. Shotokan karate-do is one of my interests. This isn't just a karate blog but I will post about my karate training and karate in general. There will also be other posts with nothing at all to do with karate. This is the first post, hopefully the first of many.