Get cycling in London - but get off our roads

Interesting leader in The Times last week, pointing out the rise in bike accidents on Britain's roads, but the need to get people cycling (so we don't all drown under the rising Thames or turn into piles of blubber). The solution? Lot's of cycle lanes. Lots of comments helpfully point out the error of this view, although the two white vans and minicab who tried to cut me up today have begun to get me thinking along those lines...

Read more at Velorotion.

GTD & MSIA

Bromdinium is not the most organized of people, nor the tidiest. And he's increasingly got a pile of things to do. Rather pointless things, but a pile nonetheless.

So, January 1 saw a couple of resolutions. No. 1 was to try and get organized. The web was full of David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' - even the Guardian was on it. So I stumped for the book, and even a .pdf guide to sorting out MS Outlook and started to make lists of things; all seemed very sensible.

Still, there was something weird about Allen's prose. Lots of muttering about 'mind like water', lifechanging, even odd things like 'if someone doesn't write their next action down, I cut them out of my life', or 'try giving everything up, and descending into the darkest part of your soul till you have nothing. I've done that a few years ago', as well as other weird stuff, not to mention the flash web site and costly seminars.

Looking at a couple of mailing lists, the term 'cult' came up now and then - but only, I thought as a joke.

But reading this post about MSIA (short for the zanily titled The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness).

This is rather old news, and not exactly gospel, but makes more sense of the weirdness in the book.

Wiggle vs. Altura

Did I mention that I had to send the Altura Reflex jacket back?

Can`t fault Wiggle, who even refunded my postage. Two thumbs up to the Portsmouth crew.

What went wrong?

1. drawstring broke after three weeks
2. top drawstring started to fray

Other points:

1. terrible cutting of the fabric
2. stitching started to go around the neck
3. dubious about reliability of zip
4. cut a bit baggy, esp. at the front
5. baffle at top of zip not effective - zip rubs.
6. picks up dirt - esp. oil - like a seabird near Exxon.
7. clammy seam tape.

Still, it was pretty cheap all things considered.

Rapha part deux

It seems that Bromdinium was wrong. On his way to Blockbusters (now there´s a store without a future if there ever was one in the age of Netfliks, Virgin media et al) to return the Wedding Crashers (don´t you love Wilson?), Triple Agent (go Rohmer) and Serenity (not Wheedon´s best) DVDs, he spotted a Brompton lashing along Lupus Street.



And someone had been to the Rapha sale at Velurolution it seemed. Black rapha club cap, green club jersey, sportswool arm warmers. All rather natty. Put my retina-searing flouro to shame. B and R do mix

Avenue Q

Rather than dodging the hoards coming out of the Noel Coward theatre on his way home, Bromdinium paid a visit to Avenue Q the other day. And he rather enjoyed it, despite being annoyed that he thought it was all being sung along to a tape, then discovering that the band were hiding behind the Brooklyn street-scene.

Ah, to be 23 again.