Out-grouching the Grinch

I had to head home from work as I realised I was getting grouchier by the minute and my brain was doing less and less work and more and more cussing.  Ever have those kind of days.  It started badly with a 25 minute delay on the motorway.  For some reason I find delays beacuse of rubbernecking a LOT more irritating than because of an accident on my side of the motorway.  So when I found that this one was just down to rubbernecking I was less than pleased.  Then delays to meetings at work, for good reasons, but meant my day was disrupted.  Attempts to buy tickets online for the Saints quarter finals were also more complicated than they should have been - I seem to have bought tickets but no idea where we are sitting or if we are eventogether or how much they cost!  Then a computer that was more happy crashing than running.  Add into that I seem to ache just about everywhere - even my teeth are painful - then all in all this would have been a day better avoided.

Lighten Up

I took my car in for some new boots the other evening.  It does seem to get through the tyres quickly, and I am sure it is nothing to do with the power slides around the MK roundabouts.  Anyway, once they had finished they gave me the keys.  I got in and drove off.  As I went I wondered just what they had done to my dash.  It was much darker than normal.  Cursing them I pondered on which button they may have flicked.  I tried different things but to no avail.  I gave up worrying about it and continued on.  About ten minutes later it dawned on me.  They had turned my automatic headlights off, hence no light on the dash.  I was driving around MK with no lights on!  This is the problem when you get used to the car doing everything for you, you then forget the delicacies such as switching on the headlights.

Camley Street Gardens

As many of you know I am not a fan of London.  But every so often it surprises me - often courtesy of geocaching which brings me to places I otherwise wouldn't have known about.  One such place is Camley Street Gardens, carefully hidden away behind St Pancras and next to the canal.  Camley Street Gardens is a small, but perfectly formed, urban nature reserve.  It is also somewhat eclectic, with strange sculpture and a over-arching eco feel to it.  And even though I didn't find the cache, I am glad I found the gardens.

Bruised

I'll carry the bruises
The mental scars
I'll hold them high
Bear them proud
At least I know
Deep deep down
You cared enough
To hurt me.

Totem - Cirque du Soleil

It's January so it is time for the annual tour to the Royal Albert Hall by Cirque du Soleil.  This year they have brought Totem.  I nearly didn't buy us tickets.  Well how stupid would that have been!

I think this was our 6th Cirque show.  And it by far eclipsed any that we had previously seen.  There was real innovation and uniqueness to this show.  It all passed us by much too quickly.  It was spell binding, mesmerizing.  Cirque manage to be so much.  The music as ever wonderful, the costumes stunning, the acts jaw dropping.  And it isn't just the acts themselves, even the way they bring on and remove the props is part of the story, done with care and beauty.

Am I being rather effusive, yes.  Do they deserve it, yes!

The clip below is of the trapeze acrobats.  It is a fine example of what makes Cirque different.  It isn't just a circus act.  Here they have choreographed two lovers coming together, the shyness, the pretence, the fooling.  And it is done with some very dangerous acts which are incredible to watch.

Time Lag

I've been wondering recently why we, as a society, decided that self service was a GOOD idea.  Somehow we moved from a society where people did things for others - the attendent used to fill your car with petrol, grocers would put together your shopping order, etc - to one where we did it all for ourselves.  And does this change in behaviour now reflect our attitudes to each other.  Society does not care for its neighbour, people do not watch out for each other or each others children, people think that they have a right to things.  Off course 80 years ago things were not all rosey, average lifespan was shorter, less money, and so on.  But in trying to imrpove a persons lot in life we have made the whole thing worse.  Individuals are better off, but culture is sick.

A New Year

I've been blogging a lot less if late. It's mainly a case of how many things can be juggled at once. There's geocaching, photography, rugby, riding, masonry (with 4 different orders thats a lot of meetings), gym, the Saints blog and this. Plus I really need to fit in work as well. But I want to try to get this going again. Not exactly a new year resolution but a conscious decision.

Let's see.

It's Not About The Numbers...

Except for some of us it is. Geocaching statistics are fascinating if not a smidge worrying. I wanted to get to 500 by the end of 2010, and I did, although the snow did mean it was a close thing. So, beginning of the year and where am I:

513 Finds on 512 unique Geocaches


Overall Total Finds: 513 finds in 225 caching days over 2401 total days (9.37 %)

Overall Averages: 2.28 finds per caching day, 0.21/day, 1.50/week, 6.50/month

Last 365 Days: 497 finds in 213 caching days over 365 total days (58.3 %)

Last 365 Days Averages: 2.33 finds per caching day, 1.36/day, 9.53/week, 41.45/month

Most consecutive days with finds: 104, from 06/09/2010 to 18/12/2010

Most consecutive days without a find: 1059, from 09/09/2006 to 02/08/2009

Most finds in a day: 10 on 18/07/2010; 10 on 13/10/2010; 9 on 30/10/2010

Best weekend caching: 13 finds, on Saturday 10/07/2010 & Sunday 11/07/2010

Best week caching: 24 finds, from Monday 16/08/2010 to Sunday 22/08/2010

Most finds in a calendar month: 72, in Jun 2010

Most Cache Types in a day: 3 on 01/06/2010

Most States in a day: 4 (South East England, Nil, Southern England, Eastern England, East Midlands) on 27/07/2010 Note: includes locationless caches.

Most Counties in a day: 5 (Surrey : South East England, Berkshire : Nil, Oxfordshire : Southern England, Buckinghamshire : Eastern England, Buckinghamshire : East Midlands) on 27/07/2010 Note: includes locationless caches.

Fastest 100 finds: 37 days from 12/06/2010 to 18/07/2010

Last 100 finds: 43 days

Total cache-to-cache distance: 13045 Miles, Note: includes locationless caches.

0.52x Earth Circumnavigation,

0.055x Distance to the Moon

Maximum distance in a day: 332 Miles - 6 caches, on 14/10/2010

Nearest cache found: The Go Between 'Two' GC1797J

Furthest cache found: 1847.08 Miles, PICNIC (the 4 islands) GCTVNC

Most Northerly cache found: N 57° 26.064, Never mind the Bullers GCG4W9

Most Southerly cache found: N 28° 11.159, PICNIC (the 4 islands) GCTVNC

Most Easterly cache found: W 0° 05.303, An old street GC1NR69

Most Westerly cache found: W 16° 41.889, Pico Viejo - DP/EC50 GC1WYK8

Cache centroid: N 52° 02.035 W 1° 16.170

Centroid is 18 Miles from home: England, United Kingdom

Youngest cache found: 31/12/2010, D'Abby Dash #21 - Hulcote GC2KVWK

Oldest cache found: 13/10/2001, Accessible by Horse GC22E0

Caches found which are now archived: 24 (4.68 %)

Most FTFs in a day: 2 on 13/07/2010; 2 on 03/08/2010; 2 on 06/09/2010

Most FTFs in a calendar month: 7, in Sep 2010

Most consecutive months with a FTF: 8, from Jun 2010 to Jan 2011 (Current streak)

23 FTF's
 
Found caches on 217 dates in the year
 
Highest cache "Picnic" on Teneriffe at an elevation of 7007ft, and lowest cache "Howzat! Torre Abbey" at 7ft.

19 caches hidden which have been found a total of 271 times by 98 cachers.