I realise this is going against the grain at the moment, here in Melbourne, what with the Australian Open being in full swing and apparently doing great business, but tennis is such a bore.
It’s exactly the same game as they played 80 years ago, only with bigger, stronger rackets and more colourful clothes. Players are either stoic, iron-faced Eastern Europeans or petulant spoilt brats.
Women’s tennis is a little more watchable, if only for the chance you might see Maria Kirilenko. But it says something about women’s tennis when the most interesting thing about the sport is speculation about the nature or existance of Venus Williams undergarments.
In the men’s game, now that Nadal has slipped a bit, Roger Federer is so far ahead of everyone else, in almost every way, that the game is approaching levels of boredom not seen since Michael Schumacher ran formula 1.
That said, I do think it was a bit of risk for Jake Niall to write a glowing article in the age saying “There’s only one Roger Federer”. A year ago, Gillette was running ads with Thierry Henri, Tiger Woods and Federer clutching razors with the air of being the 3 most admirable people on the planet. Now two of these paragons of virtue have stained their escutcheons. Who can guarantee Roger has no dark secrets?
Running
A long run this morning, for no other reason than I could. It was from home in Ringwood East into the city. 27km at right on 5 minute km pace.
I quite admire Apple, as a company, yet at the same time I find them vaguely distasteful.
I think they’ve been extremely effective, especially in the last 5 years, at tapping into a number of undercurrents in western society.
Thin is beautiful
One of the first thing Steve Jobs said in today’s launch of the iPad was that “so…. let me give you a little overview: it’s very thin”. Not “it’s very powerful” or “it’s very useful”. The most important feature of the product its skinnyness. Thinness in itself is seen as something desirable and virtuous. Strangely, it’s only this dimension that is so important. Height, breadth, weight, are all secondary considerations. So the iPhone is stick thin and we’re supposed to drool over it, despite the fact it’s too long to fit in your pocket.
Texture is a problem
Another thing Apple have raised almost to fetish level is the objection to buttons, knobs, dials or any kind of external texture on their objects. The ultimate Apple item would be entirely without buttons, textures and almost entirely without colour. Apple products feel very simple, very uncluttered, very pure. Something like a Blackberry is anathema to Apple – black and chunky, cluttered with buttons for everything, tactile.
Of course, the irony is almost everyone has to buy a chunky cover to avoid scratching that beautiful unblemished surface, and the covers are anything but lovely.
Insider is cool
Apple does have a long history of being the underdog, the small company producing products that were used by a fairly elite bunch of users – graphic designers, architects etc. Their users are far cooler than average, if a little on the geeky side (and they’re aware of it). To buy an Apple product still has a certain cache. It says “I am not one of the masses. I am discerning and clever”, despite the fact millions of iphones are sold every year, certainly not exclusively to inner city trendy types.
Don’t make me think
This is one of the main commandments of the web design industry. Websites should be instantly navigable and understandable, without having to learn their workings. Apple products are like that too. The whole Apple experience is one of incredibly honed usability, to the point that the user never needs to learn how the product actually works. You never have to learn code, or command prompts to use an iProduct. Apple products let you feel that sense of superiority, but without you actually having to learn anything, or have any expertise at all (unlike Linux, which also attracts fanboys, but which is far more technical and difficult to use).
Everything can be bought
The “Brand” is a very powerful thing these days. It’s not what you do with it that counts, it’s just the fact that the laptop you use on the train is a Mac that marks you out from all the other schmucks with their Vaio and other Windows machines.
All of this culminated this morning, with the launch of the iPad. It’s a product that no-one needed, or even really wanted. It looks beautiful, in an Apple sort of way, but has some major design problems and really isn’t all that practical when you think about it.
No doubt millions will be sold, and then upgraded in 12 months time when a newer, larger, more powerful version comes out with features that should have been included in the original version.
And on it goes.
I do like this video, though, if only because it pulls Mr Jobs down into the muck with the rest of us.
Running
13.2km yesterday. A long run tomorrow morning.
Events conspired against me, and in a positively un-Australian disaster, I’ve ended up having to work on the Monday before the Australia Day holiday.
Not overly happy.
Anyway, we went down to the place at Venus Bay on Saturday morning and came back to Melbourne last night. We had a good time, in quite glorious weather.
Long run
I’ve run from Inverloch to Venus Bay a few times. It’s a nice distance (around 25km) for a long run, and has some nice hills and views, and the last 5km is dead flat and fast. On Sunday, I decided to do it the other way – from Venus Bay to Inverloch.
I talked my self into it on Saturday, but woke feeling a bit nervous about it. It’s by far the longest run I’ve done in months, completely ignoring the 10% rule. Also, it was sunny and relatively warm, and there was absolutely no water on course.
But I did it anyway, taking the camelback and taking it really easy. The first 5km to Tarwin Lower were taken at an consciously restrained 5 minute/km pace. The hilly bits between km7 and 14 were taken at a comfortable pace. I had enough energy to climb the worst hill at 20km and then coast into Inverloch with plenty of time to spare before the meeting time.
I was quite happy with the run. It was a proper LSD – long and steady, and a nice balance to Friday’s track session. 26.43km in 2 hours 10. Here it is on mapmyrun.com.
I’m sure I can, and will, do it a bit faster in the future, but that’ll come.
I’ve been a relatively early adopter, for once, of the latest thing here in Melbourne: our whiz-bang billion-dollar ticketing system, Myki.
It’s fair to say it’s not been an altogether smooth experience. Myki is the curate’s egg of “smart” ticketing systems – good in parts.
For one thing, the website is appalling. It appears to be designed only for Internet Explorer AKA “The browser of the beast”, which all sensible people avoid like Sam Newman with an extra-infectious case of the plague. Also, as far as I can tell, it uses table layouts, which were the latest thing back in 1996. There are also several rookie mistakes right the way through the thing, the kind of mistakes that would have been picked up in basic user testing.
Sigh.
I managed to order a card, despite obstacles, and it came exactly 2 days too late, meaning I had to buy another weekly Metcard to make it through.
It was only today I managed to put it to use.
This morning it worked like a charm. I “touched on” and it went beep appropriately, and super-quickly. I was pleasantly surprised, which is lucky as there is absolutely no-one to help you at Ringwood East, and nowhere to buy tickets within about 200km. At Parliament, it was even better. I got to work and sent a tweet about it all being perfect.
Sadly, the trip home was not so smooth. At Parliament, the same ticket barriers that bent over backwards to accomodate my shiny new card in the morning, flatly refused to acknolwedge my Myki at all. I may as well have been waving a limp piece of lettuce in their direction. I tried every gate, feeling progressively more humiliated. Eventually I asked one othe Myki mates what was happening. He said it was my card, and I should go online to check.
Good one. Very helpful.
So, my card works perfectly in the morning, and mysteriously turns into a turnip in the afternoon? I don’t think so.
My afternoon facebook status update was composed on my mobile, and was not so glowing, believe me. I think I used the phrase “steaming pile of crap” and I would have carried on in that vein at great length if I didn’t have to use my phone’s frustrating, dinky little keyboard.
Running
Another “speed” session bright and early this morning. It was the same as last Friday’s session – 4 x 1200m with 400m float recovery between reps. Add in warm-up and cool down, and it was about 8km. I could be imagining things, but it seemed a touch easier than last week. Hard to tell, really.
I could almost grow to like this summer lark if it keeps on going like this.
Last night I got home from work, and faffed about with things, putting the kids to bed and such, and headed out for a run at about 8 o’clock. It was lovely. Light, but with the sun starting to set. The temperature was in the low 20s and there was a wind to cool me down.
I ran just under 15km before collapsing in my customary sweaty puddle on the doorstep.
Shoes
The run was helped considerably by a new pair of Adrenaline shoes, which just arrived from the good ol’ US of A. God bless America and god bless the internet and all who sail on it.
My old pair will have been made to walk the plank today. They haven’t even been given a decent gardening shoes retirement, it’s straight to the knackery for them.
Another thing that irritates me these days: shoes. Specifically, women (mostly young women) who don’t wear them even on cold days.
For example, these last few days have been quite cold, especially in the morning. There’s a young women, who looks about 18, who rides on my train and she’s been rugged up in a coat and scarf and jeans but, get this: thongs!****
Thongs, I tell you!
So am I right to assume that every part of her feels the cold except for her feet, which somehow exist in their own separate climatic zone where it’s always 40 degrees? It’s insanity, I tell you.
Regrettably, this practice has extended to the male half of the population, although only the younger ones.
*****(If there are any UK people reading this, I mean “flip-flops”. I have no way of knowing if she was wearing a thong)
Running shoes
My running shoes, the pair I keep at work, are starting to concern me. They’re scruffy, and have been ever since I went running on a wet, puddly day months and months ago. What’s worse, they’re unhealthy. They are the Monty Burns of the shoes world. The black grippy bits are worn away at the toe and almost disappeared on one heal. I’m running on the white cushiony bits.
I think it’s time to put them out to pasture. I will as soon as the new pair arrives from the US. God bless the exchange rate, I ordered new Adrenaline GTS10 for $70 less than they cost in the shops here, and that includes delivery.
One of the things I’ll never understand about retail is the concept of “brands”. I know why we have brands, but I don’t understand why shops and shopping centres try to sell themselves as having great, or cheap brands.
If I went to Chadstone, for example, it would probably be because I wanted to buy some clothes, or shoes, or something along those lines. I don’t want to buy Esprit, or Valley Girl or (god help us) Brooks. Yet Chaddy advertises itself on billboards as having:
12 World Class Luxury Brands!
Sorry, but I don’t care. Do you have good quality stuff? Is it reasonably priced?
Well, that’s not exactly true. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning to do them wasn’t fun. Croydon athletics track isn’t all that fun, especially with the sun not quite up. The lungs leaping out of my mouth bit wasn’t fun.
But the rest was good, especially when it was over.
I did 4 x 1200 with a 400m float recovery between them. Add on some warm-up and cool down and it was 8km of running.
I don’t believe I feel any faster; I’m still as sluggish as a particularly lazy fat slug on a slow day. One assumes this will improve if I continue with this sort of thing.
JRuns 
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