the gtveloce.com-munity of interests

Alfas, art, images, books, bicycles and sustainable communities? Go on.

2008-06-23T03:43:00.012Z

First up, why is this site called 'gtveloce.com'?

Short answer: GT as in Grand Touring, and V as in Veloce, or speed
How do I say that? GT-Vel-oh-chay will do, thanks.

So this is about cars?

Nope, it's about a style, the kind of style that says that design matters, but that we should all get along together and share what we have - not waste it. Thus (for example) those who prefer to drive cars share their space with pedestrians, public transport and cyclists - without whinging about it. And if they must buy and drive cars at least make them small and stylish!

So this is not about cars?

It's also about sustainability, without getting silly about it
And yes, it also is about 'small, shapely, efficient and effective yet feisty cars'. Preferably Italian 4 cylinders but the more efficient and feisty the better
It's also about Sydney, where I grew up (more on my take on Sydney's recent history here)
And it's about photography, in an all-about-me kinda way
And bikes and bike racing
And cataloging the dopes who dope
And even plain old aeronautics
Not to mention my Opinion.

But it's more than that, surely? Yep! It's about what I know, what I like and what I want to share.

Long Answer: I do enjoy driving, but I hate our maddening cultural obsession with cars. I much prefer bicycles, but if I must have a car it should be Italian, and an Alfa Romeo
But my story doesn't start there. It starts with what flew over my house to land at Sydney Airport when I was a kid: aeroplanes. Sure, I still love 'planes but they are a tad wasteful in energy terms. They do a good job at long haul travel, but for short trips the human legs, the bike, trams, buses or - at a pinch - the car, win out
Did I say car? The first car that caught my eye, as it were, was a Datsun 120Y coupe... weird, I know. (In my defence it was probably 1974 or so, and I was still a kid. And we are talking B210 series, which sounds tougher than 'Sunny'.) But it wasn't so silly, really. It had a sensible 1200cc motor and a swoopy, sporty body (kind of). Yes, it wasn't the 'normal' stuff of dreams but I wasn't like most kids: I was into aeroplanes, cameras and bicycles, not cars; so I knew no better. And then at the age of about 19 I finally decided to get a driving licence - and began researching my affordable car options. Now a guy behind the desk at the Ansett flying boat base (yes, the first Sydney International air terminal) told me to steer clear of cars of any type as they would empty my wallet, and of course he was right
But they (cars, I mean) were interesting mechanical things with practical advantages over bicycles, especially in terms of carrying more cameras over longer distances, more securely. Trust me, a Pentax SLR and a few lenses in a bag on your back changes a bike's centre of gravity rather to the worse... so I decided, I'll get a car. Just to get my cameras around safely
Which brings me to the Mini, a real one, not a pseudo-BMW one. It was small, like the 120Y, but much better looking. I wanted one, I thought. However I didn't get a Mini, did I? Instead I encountered a fellow pilot (OK, I was only a learner or 'student pilot' with 20 hours total airtime, but it sounded good at the time) with an Alfa Romeo GT junior. It was 1300cc, I think, or maybe it had upscaled to a 1600... whatever. It went and sounded like nothing else I'd ever encountered, and looked like it had fallen from the sky in a blaze of light (this is a good thing)
So I forgot the Mini idea and started looking at Alfas! But first of all I needed a licence. And guess what, my driving instructor knew my flying instructor, and my flying instructor had managed to roll a VW Beetle on an access road at Bankstown Airport. Fantastic. This driving stuff is getting interesting and a touch sportif; exciting like bicycle racing - but with a motor. And so armed with unexpected interest I learned to drive... in a 120Y sedan
But saved up to buy an Alfa. Alas, although my father was enthusiastic about cars, and took me around the yards to check out what was available, the Alfas were pricey, had dropped doors and rust. As my dad kindly pointed out, repeatedly. He was keen on me getting a Beetle, but I had seen an Alfasud and decided 'if I can't have that, I'll have the next best thing - a VW Golf'. A bit pricier than the Beetle, but 1600cc, a hatch for the bike and sporty. And you know what, although I set off on a 'Golfing adventure' (I ended up with 2 plus a friend with a 3rd) I actually had already stumbled over the first car I really, really wanted: The Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV. As in "GT Veloce". And eventually, years later, I bought one. And still have it. And the domain name to boot.

Now do you understand why this is GTVeloce.com? But hey, to paraphrase Lance Armstrong, it's not about the car.

So there you go. And it's not easy justifying the eclectic nature of this collection of blogs, either. (Hmmm, I gather you are still reading, expecting more.) OK, here goes:

I blog because I am. I got into writing, art (pencil, ink and paint and digital) and mythology at a very young age. I think everyone is into self-education and art as kids - we all want to paint and draw, and we all want to know stuff, especially creepy old archaeological stuff (or is that just me?). I just never lost that urge. I just changed it a little as I grew up, earned money and bought cameras and computers
But it was hard work walking or bus-ing around, so I got into bikes as transport. I remain addicted to bikes and bike racing, and to getting around my neck of the woods with the least impact on my environment as I can muster
Oh, all of this wandering led to an interest in urban history, too. Here's a list of Sydney's race tracks, for cars, bikes and horses. And there's a story there on Sydney's Alexandra canal, too, would you believe, and trams and whatnot
And I had to earn a living, so I got into sustainable business
However it was increasingly difficult lugging my cameras around on the bike, so I also got into cars. Not just any old cars, they had to be small, nimble, economic, stylish and... Italian? Well, I've varied from that theme a little in that I've shared my garage with Japanese (Swift Gtis) and Korean as well as other non-Italian makes of automobile. But I remain committed to small footprint cars, even if they may be verging on the impractical at times. (Admission: I've never owned a fat Aussie 6 cylinder car, nor wanted to.)
Sustainable communities? Well I don't like big, soul-less shopping malls. Never have. Sure the first ones were impressive in a big, collective airline terminal sort of way, but it soon dawned on me that the characterful villages within our cities - the communities within our communities - were being destroyed by malls. Simply, malls are built on cheap land, and cheap land is either rural or far from infrastructure, like railways. In that way we disengage from traditional shopping centres and corner stores; and we become committed to using cars to get to these new far-distant locations. We lose our local shops and services and get centralised "bargain" shops and big, cold, concrete meeting places instead. Great for lowering costs per unit sold, bad for our lives
Bad for our lives? The car-domination is great for personal freedom, but has led to communities cut in two by busy roads too wide to cross. Roads that kids can't safely play on. Roads we don't want to walk alongside or ride our bikes on. We have piled on the pounds because we don't exercise and live fearful, isolated lives because our suburban streets are now almost empty of pedestrian traffic
I could go on, but the essence of it all is restoring a balance to our communities... by all means capturing the economic value in centralised, higher-volume production and consumption whilst simulataneously reducing the waste and over-consumption; and setting about rebuilding some of the 'people-friendly' village community that we have lost. Before oil prices force us to do it anyway!
Oh yeah, I also do some online stuff to keep the Fortianistas, AKA The Class of 75, in touch.

Welcome to GTVeloce.com

2008-03-19T02:45:00.007Z

Incredible, illustrious and sustainable business blogging!

The Bike racing speed feed you need to read!

GTVeloce images and insights!

The Class of 75 Fortian feed!

Looking for the Fortian Forum?

2008-02-03T11:39:00.000Z

Look no more.... it's here!

A clear case of "wow"

2007-10-11T01:20:00.001Z

Who wouldn't like to find a dusty old barn full of Alfas, Minis, Lancias and even F1 cars ? Well, OK, some people would be unmoved but have a look anyway... via Gerry Reyes (his gallery is here):At the end of January 2007, I stumbled upon a Portugese web forum with a thread that contained a large number of pictures of old cars left in a barn, somewhere in Portugal. The picture files themselves were hosted on the web site of a Portugese classic car dealer, but were taken down after only a few days. I thought it would be a shame not to have them online, so I rescued them from my browser cache and put them up here, on intuh.net.

What's happening? Where's the content?

2007-07-26T02:47:00.000Z

Cars, bikes and com-munities

2007-02-21T05:55:00.000Z

So what does it mean? Why do I bother? Well there are more reasons than one. I do like driving cars, especially Alfas. I own an Alfa - a 1982 GTV. I also like riding - and racing - my bikes. I have a couple of road bikes and a track bike. And I enjoy fostering communities like the cycle forum and the Fortian reunion forum. I also get a buzz out of art and photography, books and the environment, so I squeeze a bit of that in as well. So please feel free to browse, it's more complicated and diverse than it seems!

Audi TT wins Drive award? Huh?

2006-12-03T22:09:00.000Z

I had to look twice at this one. The Audi TT has won an Aussie Car of the Year award from Drive.com.au Now they go on an on about their criteria and say it's really, really fair, but maybe if your criteria are all wrong it doesn't matter what you come up with it'll still look wrong. How exactly does a bland Audi coupe "advance the breed"? Well they tell you at length but at no stage - barring when they mention fuel prices - do they let on that they actually ignore the world around them and judge the cars on lofty personal ideals of "engineering" and "dynamics". The Yaris can't win because it's "underpowered". Who cares if "underpowered" is thrifty and represents the future - not these journos! That the TT uses more aluminium - sometimes known as liquid electricity - is seen as a great thing, and another "achievement". Folks, judicious use of all materials is a great thing, but wasting the world's resources on extravagant affluence - and encouraging it - is surely pushing a dead dog up a hill in 2006. Catch up with the world, guys. Ah well, the climate may change but journos don't.

A worthy addition to your film collection

2006-11-19T21:51:00.000Z

Another DVD to hanker for. Obree's story should be good. He rose to prominence with a bike of his own build and design and with a position that looked wildly different. The UCI being the conservative body that it is ruled against the bike and forced Obree to try again with his famous 'Superman' position. Which he did. In the course of all this he was setting world records on the track. However like all of us he had his demons and there's a sadness in the tale. Potentially both a good cycling movie and a good human interest story - hope so.

Don't forget the sponsors page

2006-11-07T06:29:00.000Z

Yes, we have a sponsors page. It has bargains, it has cheap stuff and good stuff plus a regular feed of all content published to my blogs. What else could you want?

Don't forget the community gallery

2006-09-20T23:30:00.000Z

I've put loads of pics into the community gallery, so please visit!

I've been busy

2006-09-12T22:17:00.000Z

It may not look like it but I have been busy. Apart from working for a living - which is not what you see here - I have been creating or updating a few blogs and image galleries... like...

My portals

My Alfa pages

The Rust-free Alfa Romeo page: guaranteed since '95
All about Alfas, especially GTVs
The car gallery

My bike racing pages

Addicted2wheels, bicycle race wheels: my most popular blog
Bike racing for almost anyone
The bike gallery

My myths and Legends pages

Myths, legends and weird stuff: Mythoblogia

My sustainable business pages

The business of sustainable business
My MBA resource blog - thespiel.com
Out Out Damned Blog - a wilder ride
The Offline blog for quieter web-rants

My overly long list of blogs

Addicted2wheels, bicycle race wheels: my most popular blog
The site that started it all for me in 1995, Colnago - the blogger
The Rust-free Alfa Romeo page: guaranteed since '95
My MBA resource blog - thespiel.com
Myths, legends and weird stuff: Mythoblogia
The Abecedarian Insult: A2Z, the blog
Stuff I think you all mustknow
All about Alfas, especially GTVs
The business of sustainable business
Bike racing for almost anyone
The Offline blog for web-rants
My all purpose writing blog
The Class of 75 blog
The gtveloce.com-munity blog
My genealogy research blog
Out Out Damned Blog - a wild ride

My image galleries

DAP: the digital image gallery
My mostly digital image blog
DAR: the digital art gallery
The aviation gallery
The aviation image blog
Trams, trains and buses... yet another gallery
The bike gallery
The car gallery
The flora and fungus gallery (I kid you not)
The New Fortian gallery
The Original Fortian gallery

Community and networking pages

Sponsors and other pages

Buy my mugs and t-shirts from Cafepress
Buy my books and images from Lulu
The mustknows

Surely that's enough for now!

Mythoblogia

2006-09-02T13:19:00.000Z

I've started yet another blog - Mythoblogia - to get my love of myths and legends 'out there'. I need to get this out of my system. I need to talk about and explain the inexplicable. That's why I also write about bike racing :)

My reading list

2006-08-23T07:08:00.000Z

Way out but worth it

Because I can, I will share here some weirder choices from my personal bookshelf. You may not agree with 'weird', indeed weird is the wrong word. Nevertheless I use it advisedly in the sense that I will cover subjects beyond literal truth. And I use truth advisedly as mathematics is the only provable truth. Everything else is either awaiting a mathematical proof or is a belief, a theory or an assumption.

Just to explain my thinking: you may believe in what you can see, hear and/or touch, and that's cool; but it's not necessarily a literal truth. Even if a thousand people see, hear and/or touch that thing it doesn't make it true. It may be real enough to the people concerned but it's not an incontrovertible truth. It may be an illusion. It may be a shared thought. It may be a shared assumption. It's something, but it's not a literal truth. To be a literal truth requires proof. To my mind we can only be certain of mathematical proofs, as I haven't seen any other proof that convincingly lives outside the mind or perception of man.

And I could be wrong about maths. Perhaps there is no independent proof? Ahhh, but that's an undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns....

So to the first installment of my 'way out but worth it' booklist, in no particular order:

Bill Shakespeare's works in full. An essential lesson in the use of the English language, up there with Fowler's.

The Elegant Universe (by Brian Greene. Post-Einstein string theory to get you thinking.)

Anything by Richard Dawkins or Stephen Jay Gould. As I said, there are mathematical proofs and there are theories. Some theories are more compelling than others.

The Torah (the Pentateuch, the Book of Moses: a lively read, basis for Judaism and the Old Testment and a fascinating read on any level)

The Bible (Greek for 'Books'; The Old and New Testaments: basis for the Christian cults and a brilliant read)

The Koran (Arabic for 'Recital': another excellent piece of writing and the basis for Islam. I have the Dawood translation)

The History of Magic (by Eliphas Levi: a great, compelling read. Spot the a ha! 'Harry Potter' moments and see the footprints of Rowling's research)

The Theory of Celestial influence (by Rodney Collin: immensely detailed, it wallows around trying to 'prove' a case scientifically but falls magnificently short. Can be heavy, clumsy and painful to read... but still worth it for the determined!).

That's just for starters. Let me know what you think.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 at 9:51 am and is filed under No idea where this one goes, Writing, Religion and Essential Truths. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

More bike stuff

2006-08-18T06:02:00.000Z

2 shots of an old (read 1989) road bike - my Kerry Hopkins crit machine (with a high BB for cornering)... sadly rusting away now but still used daily... it just doesn't get very far!

Bike racing at GTVeloce.com - again!

2006-08-08T03:12:00.000Z

Does it ever let up? Either it's racing or doping!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Brown wins Stage 4 in Germany

Graeme Brown finally delivers for Rabo (Cyclingnews quote and link): However, with 500 metres remaining, the field came back together, just in time for one last suicidal attempt from Jens Voigt (CSC). With that over before it even started, Australian Graeme Brown threw his bike across the line and took his first victory of the year, beating Schumacher and Zabel to the post.

What a relief! He's had his ups and downs, but he looks pretty happy about winning a stage of the Deutschland Tour. Renshaw was in the Top 5 and Zabel has taken the lead. Can he hold on over the mountains? You'd like to hope so, but with Vino one of many contenders just 48secs back, highly unlikely.

On Landis: It's hard to know who's clean, what with masking agents and autologous transfusions, and we have to trust the integrity of the sampling and testing procedure. So is it as robust as we'd like? Cyclingnews gives a rundown on the B sample result here:Christian Prudhomme, Director general of the Tour de France, said Landis is no longer considered champion of the 2006 event, but added: "Until he is found guilty or admits guilt, he will keep the yellow jersey. This is normal. You are not sanctioned before you are found guilty.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Aussies in Germany and Denmark

A good result for 2 Aussies in Stage 3 of the Tour of Germany, as reported by Cyclingnews:
1 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 4.56.22 (41.16 km/h)
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
3 AndrÃ© Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team
4 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
5 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole

And O'Grady takes yellow in Denmark, again reported by Cyclingnews:
Stage 3 - August 4: Kolding - Odense, 203.7 km FÃ¶rster scores for Gerolsteiner, as O'Grady takes yellow

Friday, August 04, 2006

Aussies in Denmark

Some Aussies are doing well in the Tour of Denmark... stage 2 - see Cyclingnews for the report: 2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 0.21, 4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 0.23, 5 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com, 14 Gene Michael Bates (Aus) Team L.P.R. 0.39

Monday, July 31, 2006

Other sports and doping

Because I can, I will comment on drugs, doping and what have you. It's just my opinion but I personally realised something was truly happening - as against being told by press or dodgy friends what "was" happening - when I spent time in an eastern suburbs gym in Sydney, building up for bike racing (more of a psychological boost than a physical one). This was the mid 1980's. These big, shiny, oily pimply guys were always there lifting massive weights (and gazing into mirrors) and they could sell you "stuff". It reminded me of 'under the stairs' deal at high school, actually, but different stuff. That other stuff you got at the pub and was detrimental to sports performance, or general sanity for that matter. (Not that I did, but some people did do that other stuff, anyway!)

So you could buy any sort of body-building drug at that particular gym, in my experience. Presumably other gyms as well. I also "knew" about the occasional cyclist's drink bottle ("bidon") that (it was suggested) contained alcohol, to give some sort of kick up hills or before a sprint. Don't know how effective it was, but a few people seemed to like it and claimed to "know". Bikes of course are build to carry bidons as well as riders and musette bags, but what about other sports?

'No-Doze' was also big in the '80s for that caffeine kick, and coffee itself gained notoriety in sports where being "aware" and awake was important. Again in cycling there were "special" bananas to be eaten just before a race finish. Now these were reputedly spiked with amphetamines, but who knows the truth? No-one did a laboratory analysis on this sort of stuff at the time and it may have been riders just bragging. But very, very few people were drug tested pre or post race, even at elite State level back then, so anything could have happened. (And I have yet to see a club-level drug test, even now. Tell me if you've seen one!)

So I can imagine, and it is just imagination fueled by innuendo and availability (particularly via the Internet), that some bike racers are using performance enhancing agents to "get noticed"; firstly at club level (basically weekly racing thoughout the year) and probably at State level. They would effectively get away with it. Testing remains something done at higher levels of the sport, not below. Not often, anyway, in my experience, would they get caught. On the other hand I have never myself seen a culture of drug use in cycling at first hand, beyond caffeine and stories of what other riders did. I heard about but didn't see the evidence.

Nevertheless we quite possibly get riders started on this stuff early and then they either chicken out, or get smarter. Or dumber? If there's money involved there's temptation. Of course cycling is not as "wealthy" as some other sports.

So what happens in other sports?

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Web resources - Roadcycling UK

An interesting take on the UK road and TT scene is to be found at RoadcyclingUK. Worth checking out. Here's a snippet on starting road racing in the UK:
Road Racing from scratch By RCUK "I could do that!" Almost invariably it's around the time of the three great tours that many occasional cyclists get so carried away by the unfolding drama, passion and competitive spirit of the Giro d'Italia,Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta that they picture themselves flying along in the midst of an illustrious bunch or riding with relative ease up steep mountain climbs with cheering crowds lining the road. At least that's what appears to be the case, even though you know that the apparent ease at which the riders are "flying" along at an average speed of 45k per hour is deceptive and the whole idea, in fact, may seem totally mad and completely and utterly out of my league - even more so as the prerequisite is incredibly hard training, unbelievable talent and a super-human physique. But cycling is all about sticking at it.

Le Tour 2006 all wrapped up

2006-07-26T07:41:00.000Z

My 2006 Tour de France Wrap up, all wrapped up

Back to normal

Stage 20 - Le Tour 2006 - the dust settles

Stage 19 - Le Tour 2006 - the TT decides

Stage 18 - Le Tour 2006 - Status Quo

Stage 17 - Le Tour 2006 - Floyd flies!

Stage 16 - le Tour 2006 - Floyd falters

Stage 15 - Le Tour 2006 - Alpe d'Huez

Rest Day 2 - Le Tour 2006

Stage 14 - Le Tour 2006 - France over Italy this time

Stage 13 - Le Tour 2006 - Voigt's day in the sun

Le Tour 2006 - stage by stage

2006-07-15T00:23:00.000Z

Don't miss the action in this 3 week stage race!

Stage 12 - Le Tour 2006 - Discovery bounce back

Stage 11 - Le Tour - Rabobank strongest

Stage 10 - Le Tour - The mountain tactics

Stage 9 - Le Tour - The Spaniard returns

Le Tour - Rest Day 1

Stage 8 - Le tour - Calzati's day

Stage 7 - Le Tour 2006 - T-Mobile win

Stage 6 - Le Tour 2006 - McEwen's 3rd.

Stage 5 - Le Tour 2006 - the Spaniard takes it

Stage 4 - Le Tour 2006 - McEwen's 2nd

Stage 3 - Le Tour 2006 - the Cauberg

Stage 2 - Le Tour 2006 - Chaos and the Viking

Stage 1 - Le Tour 2006 - Blood on the road

Prologue - Le Tour 2006

Le Tour and the Aussie contingent

We get so close and the rug gets pulled

Bloggomania

2006-07-07T02:11:00.000Z

Blogging gives me another reason to write. As I do want to write, and I want to practise writing, it seems to me that any method is better than no method. Blogging is a style, one that I break regularly. There's an etiquette as well, which I choose to ignore. The point to me is that I can write what I want, when and where I want. Now I always could - and did - do that. However now my scraps of paper are not filed away in a folder but published on the web. Apart from added colour and motion I have gained a small readership. Potentially, anyway. Somehow it's both inspiring and limiting to have this level of openness. Inspiring that what I write will be viewed and critiqued, and limiting in the sense that now what I write is not just for me. So I tend to edit a bit more harshly. Or not. It's my choice, and I am aware of it.

Anyway, most of my recent writing has been in my blogs. I blog about writing, photography, business, cars and bike racing. Plus I rant and rave. Or just share opinions. There's some overlap, but mostly they stay on track. Feel free to critique.

Are you watching or reading about Le Tour?

2006-07-03T05:58:00.000Z

I am writing a running commentary on the Tour de France in 2006. A daily diatribe of sorts. It's a labour of love for me but you may be interested as well. It has an Aussie influence but it's not just about the 5 Australians in the race. It's a great place for me to have a whinge. Read on!

And what exactly is "GTVeloce.com"?

2006-06-11T16:07:00.000Z

Cars, bikes, aircraft, flowers, coffee mugs, t-shirts and... philosophy? So just where am I?

	Well, it's a webspace where I put vaguely interesting or relevant stuff that interests me, in the hope that someone else will take an interest as well. Sometimes it's photography, sometimes a script, or even a short story. Art, philosophy, reunions, science, airliners, cars...just stuff. If it fits, it's in. It can be your stuff, too. I can share my webspace!
	If you do like some of the "stuff" on this site please show your support by buying a t-shirt, postcard or coffee mug, or perhaps an image! Or even search for a book on Alfa Romeos from Amazon! They are good quality items from excellent providers that I use myself.
	So enough of that. I will admit to a broad ongoing theme or two on these pages. Namely ALFA Romeos and bikes, as in push bikes. Also Art, Science and Ethical Business management (bet you didn't expect that!). The GT in GTVeloce is an abbreviation of (warning - it's horribly Anglicised) "Grand Touring", and Veloce is simply Italian for velocity. Not speeding, per se, just speed, if you get my drift. OK, pretty dull stuff, really, but I've embellished it with all manner of passing fancies. OK, I like cars and bikes, photography and writing and history, airliners, Australian flora and philosophy - so all that gets a run, but content will change and I hope surprise.
	Looking for books on Alfa Romeos?
	You can also have your own say at either our general community forum or the bike racing forum. Otherwise you'll cop whatever's here.

Worth a read - Science mag

2006-06-02T03:26:00.000Z

Always worth a read, if not a free newsletter sub is Science. This week we have this fascinating snippet: "Beats of Heat. The Sun's atmosphere rotates with a period of about 25 days near the
equator and 35 days near the poles, and the resulting twist of magnetic field lines causes the output of solar energy pulses on similar time scales. The extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is the heat source for the upper atmospheres, or thermospheres, of planets, and Forbes et al. (p. 1366; see the Perspective by Muller-Wodarg) have spotted a 27-day periodic fluctuation in Mars' thermosphere, which they compared with simultaneous measurements at Earth. The beating of Earth's upper-atmosphere temperature changes is twice as strong as the signal for Mars; the difference arises from a combination of distance from the Sun and the effects of cooling by CO2. These joint observations constrain CO2 cooling rates in basic models of planetary atmospheres."

Now to me that signals some interesting thoughts. 27 Earth day Solar heat fluctuation. Hmmm. Very close to the 28 day lunar phase cycle, upon which many things have become reliant in timing terms, the human menstrual cycle being one. I wonder also how closely this solar beat may be aligned with earthy events such as storm activity, global warming and so on?

Hydrogen and realism

2006-05-30T13:22:00.000Z

The carconnection.com has run an interesting and balanced article on hydrogen-power in Iceland. In part it says, "The Shell station uses a process known as electrolysis to produce its fuel, electric current splitting water into its basic components: two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, the latter vented into the atmosphere."

Interesting indeed that they are producing the hydrogen onsite. Better, cheaper and safer than trying to transport it. The hydrogen is for a small H-dedicated bus fleet, by the way. The article admits "Electrolysis is an energy-intensive process, in itself, and if you were to follow the wires leading out from the back of the station, they'd connect to the big towers snaking east, nearly 30 kilometers into the country's rugged interior...As they approach the source, one can spot steam pluming into the sky. Some are natural vents, hinting at the violence roiling deep beneath the rocky soil." It's geo-thermal, folks.

So hydrogen is do-able, despite lower energy density and higher volatility. Especially so if you have locally renewable energy such as hydro or geothermal sources to tap into. In most countries you just don't have that sort of energy locally available, of course. So we resort to oil or coal. Which defeats the benefits of using H in the first place. Of course there is also Nuclear power but again the production of the right blend of uranium isotopes is energy intensive. So you end up spending energy to make energy. Are we ever to get out of this cycle of fossil-fuel dependence? What will it take?

Cars and Malls vs People and Bikes

2006-05-26T04:16:00.000Z

An excellent article entitled 'More mall pall than Pall Mall' By Elizabeth Farrelly (May 24, 2006, Sydney Morning Herald). It begins, "Fantasise this: for some reason - dollars a barrel, airborne particulates or, conceivably, government backbone - petrol is all but prohibited. Car use, while not banned, has shrunk to maybe one-20th of present levels. Sydneysiders drive only as absolutely necessary. For the rest, we walk, cycle or take trams. What would change?".

Indeed, lots would change - for the better, as Elizabeth goes on to say. There have been reports in Sydney that the rising cost of petrol is driving people out of their cars and back onto public transport. Whilst we are a long way from returning to villages and corner shops, it's a start. I think also that the hypermarket malls will fight back, possibly by investing more heavily in public transport that feeds directly to their shopping plazas. We shall see.

More from Elizabeth here.

A summary of my recent posts

2006-05-25T05:41:00.000Z

Hotcakes and hydrogen

By Robert Russell in http://thespiel.com 1 day ago

cost via the small ongoing fuel saving, depending upon how much driving you do. They are also a 'safe' buy in that they still use the fuel you buy at gas stations (as against some alternative home brew, cold fusion or risky hydrogen). Read more...
http://thespiel.com

By Robert Russell in http://thespiel.com 1 day ago

Rob's Guide, part 2 Track race tips Sydney's Velodromes What do those lines mean? Automobile links Mustknow links Philosophy links Music Links Images of the Russell, Matthews, O'Brien and Brown families in Australia Rob's Amateur Art Gallery
addicted2wheels

By Robert Russell in addicted2wheels 2 days ago

Rob's Guide, part 2 Track race tips Sydney's Velodromes What do those lines mean? Automobile links Mustknow links Philosophy links Music Links Images of the Russell, Matthews, O'Brien and Brown families in Australia Rob's Amateur Art Gallery
the gtveloce.com-munity of interests

By Robert Russell in the gtveloce.com-munity of int... 2 days ago

Links GTVeloce.com ...cars, bikes and com-munities The bike racing forum ...for racers only The general purpose gtveloce forums ...for everyone MBA related resources ...with an HR spin The KlausenRussell Com-munity ...please visit! OODB ...out out damned Blog GTVeloce.com blog
Velodrome 101

By Robert Russell in addicted2wheels 2 days ago

too so keep away - it can get a bit hairy if you get stuck in that transition zone, especially if you are on the duckboard at speed and try to get onto the banking before a turn. It's a good way to fall and bring down the pack. Read more...
Image gallery

In Image gallery 8 days ago

Rob's Guide, part 2 Track race tips Sydney's Velodromes What do those lines mean? Automobile links Mustknow links Philosophy links Music Links Images of the Russell, Matthews, O'Brien and Brown families in Australia Rob's Amateur Art Gallery
Aviation images

In Aviation images 8 days ago

Links GTVeloce.com ...cars, bikes and com-munities The bike racing forum ...for racers only The general purpose gtveloce forums ...for everyone MBA related resources ...with an HR spin The KlausenRussell Com-munity ...please visit! OODB ...out out damned Blog GTVeloce.com blog
Airliner art

In Aviation images 8 days ago

[IMG ]
Airliners, automobiles and art

In Image gallery 8 days ago

[IMG ]
Welcome to the image resources at GTVeloce.com

In Image gallery 8 days ago

Folks Copyright is reserved, but feel free to browse. Reuse is often possible by arrangement and some images may be purchased. The content starts here . Image gallery
Welcome to Aviation images and postcards @...

In Aviation images 8 days ago

Folks Copyright is reserved on all images, be it my own or other attributed work - please ask before using. Otherwise feel free to browse the content here . Aviation images
OffLine

In OffLine 20 days ago

Links TheSpiel.com TheSpiel's Business Blog OODB GTVeloce.com OffLine Addicted2wheels Site Feed
8 duplicate posts removed. Show all »

Hybrid cars and their ROI

2006-05-17T06:50:00.000Z

I’ve said it before, but here goes. You buy a car and it’s already consumed somewhere between 40 and 60% of it’s ‘carbon quota’. The numbers vary with size and complexity, number of miles driven, total life-span of the car but the point is that fuel use is only one factor. Unless your new car’s steel and aluminium was smelted with hydro or nuclear power it’s likely as not come out of a coal-fired oven. Then there’s all the petro-chemical plastics that go into a car…plus the shipping of parts and the finished good to you by ship and truck. The math is not as simple as ‘oh, hybrids are better because they save fuel relative to a petrol car the same size’. Read more...

The evolution of music and humour...

2006-05-17T06:05:00.000Z

Hmmm, the evolution of humour. This came up a while ago but I keep thinking about it. Why did we develop humour – how does it better equip us for survival? Much of our evolution (apologies to the ID crowd – just tune out if the weight of evidence is too great to bear) is in theory revealed during our early childhood, so that gives us a clue where to look.

Humour could (he postulates!) derive from play. Play is a way to test ideas, to push boundaries and to learn or develop skills. It’s also useful as a socialising, bonding tool. With our social complexity and a big brain it probably doesn’t take much effort to use what we and many other animals have (the play impulse) and turn it into more abstract jokes, especially later in life when the original reason for being is no longer so relevant. So we have a tool for learning and socialising – that conceivably will help us survive in the evolutionary jungle. Read more...

Let's face it, if you want to be good at something you practise it...

2006-05-17T05:08:00.000Z

Bike racing is like running, swimming, golf or any other sport. In fact it’s just like anything in life. Put the time and effort in and you’ll get better at it. It’s a simple equation, really, limited more by your own motivation or commitment than by any theoretical potential you may or may not possess. If you are looking for easy fitness and a sport that won’t take up much of your time, stop now - it doesn’t exist. Multiple Australian and World Point Score medalist Gary Sutton was once reported to have replied to the question, What’s the secret to success in bike racing?, with the statement: Ride lots. Eddy Merckx is reported to have said the same.

Let's face it, if you want to be good at something you practise it, over and over... Simplistic, but not a bad thought - and don’t put it off, thinking that you won’t do well, or that you don’t have the time. This is a multi-level, multi-discipline sport with a niche for everyone. As the cliche goes, you won’t know if you don’t try.

OK, maybe some sports are easier on the body, are less risky, or consume less time. But we’ve settled here on something that does involve injuries (guaranteed), risk (a given) and a commitment of some sort. Hey, you can choose not to train and be happy racing in a lower grade, but don’t come to me after you’ve died from a mid-race heart attack and then ask my advice. You get out what you put in. Bike racing is hard. It's a demanding sport that will suck hours out of your day and draw the sweat from your skin, whilst demanding top aerobic fitness, great lower body strength, quick wits and excellent hand-eye coordination. You need tactical nous, swift reflexes and a will to win. It ain’t easy. And that’s just C-grade. Read more...

Welcome to the new GTVeloce.com

2006-05-09T06:40:00.000Z

We have revamped the front end, again! This time I have 'blogified' the look and feel. Nevertheless the content remains the same - cars, bikes, blogs, art, philosophy and communities, including the Fort Street Class of 75 reunion site and the Bike Racers forum. Not to forget the MBA resources at The Spiel or the KlausenRussell com-munity.

Check out the blogs, too: The On Sustainable Business Blog (TheSpiel on Business), My Bike Racing Addiction (addicted2wheels.com), The Alfa Blog (gtveloce.com) and My Raving and Ranting about Everything Blogs (Offline and Out Out Damned Blog).

Enjoy - and feel free to comment. And if you want to see what we used to look like, just look here.