Giro d'Italia

I'm following the Giro d'Italia, but not with any great enthusiasm. It's a Grand Tour that a British rider has never won. That is not so unusual, as we've never won any Grand Tour. But The Giro has been won by Italians 66 times. I put this down to Italians feeling comfortable wearing a Pink Jersey (Maglia Rosa), whereas this colour does not sit comfortably on one of our own. I may be wrong.

Mum has been incensed this year at the course chosen by 'the men in blazers'. 

"They've never ridden a bike" she exclaimed to me. But the Giro tends to do this more than Le Tour, sending the riders up ridiculous inclines, often on gravel tracks to a mountain peak. It's a cruel race.

But I was concerned when on Sunday the Giro decided to enter Sicily. Mark Cavendish Tweeted:
"En route to Sicily. Ah, the nostalgia of boarding a ferry to a place full of gangsters. Reminds me of my teenage years going to Liverpool."

 The route took the riders up Mt. Etna. Once from the North and once from the South. Odd really, as the volcano had erupted only 4 days previously. The men in blazers did not see this as a problem. Race Director Angelo Zomegnan admitted that there may be some rocks on the road and a layer of ash, but was hopeful that his teams could clear the road come Sunday. "We are 'tranquil'," he added. 

Hang on - rocks on the road and a layer of ash - what is this, Giro Extreme Challenge?

So just to recap here. It is considered dangerous for a Jet Engine to fly through an ash cloud, but it's OK for a racing cyclist. Bizarre.

Thankfully the stage passed without incident. Except that the inner sanctum of the Pro Cycling teams' luxurious coaches is rarely breached. It is impossible for a film crew, a journalist or a fan to be allowed onto the bus. So how 247 Africans were intercepted when the Team Coaches left Messina remains a mystery. You have to hand it to them.

Thankfully every team and rider is issued with a Route Map of the race, so they can study the route. I'd love to get that job, making those maps. I really must pursue that avenue.

Monday should have been a rest day. But that was not always the plan. The men in blazers deemed that a stage in Africa would be a good idea. And why not? The Giro started in Greece in 1996, and will start in Denmark in 2012. So why not take the Giro to Africa? It's not a long way, and given the colonial ties between Italy and North Africa it probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

The stage identified was Misratah to Tripoli. Perfect distance at 215km (135miles) and good transport links with regular ferries and good air links. As Paris-Nice is known as 'The Race to the Sun', this historic stage was to have been 'The Race to muˈʕamːaru lqaðˈðaːfiː'. Catchy, eh?

But the routes for these Grand Tours are planned a year in advance, so who was to know how things would turn out? I don't have the original route map for this stage, but it looks pretty much like this at the moment. Such a shame. Maybe next year.

So Monday became a rest day after all. On Tuesday the men in blazers had a day off, sending the peloton north after an air transfer. The route zapped up the coast, the steepest incline being a speed bump. Cav went apoplectic on Twitter

"Look! Look! Oh! Oh! Oh! Look! Look! A sprint! A real sprint! For sprinters!"

And he duly won the stage, but not without controversy. Adversaries accused him of taking a tow from cars up Mt. Etna on Sunday. Ashen faced, Cav denied any wrong doing.

I never expected Cav to win the Green Jersey on the Giro. Because that's the Mountains Jersey - Maglia Verde. The Points Jersey is the Rosso Passione. Confusing isn't it.

Pancake flat again tomorrow, and then I expect the sprinters will call it a day before the weekend. 

And who can blame them. There's the Grossglockner on Friday, then the big one.

To quote The Daily Peloton
"Stage 14 is the kind of stage of which cycling fans the world over dream about.. Today is why grand tours are the most exciting spectacles the sport offers. The sort of day when history is made, legends are written and heroes made. And it's a Saturday which means the entire cycling world will be glued to their TVs or hunched over their PCs, if they are not on the slopes of Monte Zoncolon itself. The stage starts in Austria, in Lienz, before crossing back into Italy for four classified climbs en route to the Monster itself...
…after the Crostis comes the climb that strikes fear into the peloton, the brutal Monte Zoncolon. The climb is 10 km and includes a 5 km stretch that averages a leg killing 15% and has stretches that max at 22%. It is going to be horrible for the riders, but glorious for everyone else".

Gruesome. Mother will be cursing the men in blazers, but glued to Eurosport all day. Such is sport.

Website update

Home page

Finally my long overdue website update is now live. Many thanks to all those who have helped - Keith, Liezel, Greg, David and Aaron.

And I'm pretty happy with it. Tried and tested with various browsers and systems. Only IE6 messes it up, but I can live with that. If things don't work for you, do a refresh and check your browser preferences.

I'm especially proud of the work/gallery page. Considering I was cast into the dangerous waters of freelancing only 18 months ago, I don't think that's not a bad portfolio.

Onwards and upwards!

Minimum Requirements

My First Lieutenant in CT recently brought this site to my attention, thinking it may be of interest. Indeed it is interesting, and I should maybe blog about it. But then just a few lines in I came across the fatal words - 'PC only'. And now I don't want to know.

So rather than blog about for all what I know may well be a ground breaking application, I'll do something else.

I was recently given a Sony EReader. I thought I may be able to use that - to read books and stuff. 'PC only'. I lost interest. It's a bit like not wanting to join a club which would have you as a member. If companies put out these sort of products then they are not talking to me.

As a Mac user I find this frustrating from time to time. I see it as being lazy and sloppy. Yes, I know - it's all about economics and your user base, but I still find it surprising how so many major initiatives and producers can be so short-sighted.

My allegiance to the Mac goes back 20 years now. I trained using traditional manual techniques, and almost missed the boat when it came to switching to digital. I had a lucky break, and despite my fear and ignorance of computers Malcolm Swanston took a chance on me as a freelancer and trained me up to make maps using Illustrator 3 and Freehand 3. Good times. Swanston Publishing did a lot of work for the 'Times Atlas of World History' at that time, and were instrumental in implementing new DTP technology into Cartography. We made some super Historical Atlases there, and my love for Macs was founded.

By this time, despite Apple's troubles, I was a Mac evangelist.

But Swanston Publishing folded, and I soon found myself in a much tougher commercial world. Where using PC's was a requirement. I stumbled around a couple of projects using Maplex and MapInfo, but was never comfortable in that environment. GIS just isn't my bag. Now I'm on my own, and content with that.

So I still use my Mac every day for work. My background and strengths are in graphics and publishing, and that is where my MacPro excels. That a Mac is female there is no doubt. A PC is male, and anything else is Gay/Bi/Trans.

Thinking of my domestic machines, my Performa was a kindly auntie. My Bondi Blue iMac was a mischievous niece. My eMac is a good sister. My G4 is a watchful Grandmother. And my G5 - it's like the daughter I never had.

It's not that I bow down to the altar that is Apple. I have no IPhone. I have no IPad. My IPod is a £30 shuffle. But I adore my Mac. She never fails me.

So that's where I am.

I don't need to know about your C:Drive
I don't need to know about your .exe files
I don't need to know about your right click
I don't need to know about your Norton, McAfee, or how many spams and viruses infect you
And most of all, I don't need or wan't to know about 'PC Only'

Rant over - my girl needs attention

The Coen brothers - mapping America

The 80's was not a great decade for cinema as I recall. So many Hollywood blockbusters which did nothing for me at the time. 

But I did see Blood Simple on release in 1984, and the Coen Brothers have been on my radar ever since.

So to mark the occasion of True Grit being released in the UK, I thought I'd plot the locations of their films. 

A very American odyssey...

London's growing up!

The UK has never done skyscrapers very well. 
In London sensitivity towards the local heritage, concerns over sight lines to St Paul's, the proximity to Heathrow and recent economic uncertainty have conspired to keep building heights in check. 
But that is now set to change, with a 'cluster' of new buildings either complete, under construction or planned for the City of London. 
The designs are generally quite restrained - this is not Dubai after all - and I'm generally in favour.
The Shard (whilst not within the Square Mile) leads the way - in more ways than one. I can't wait to see it completed - a must see London sight.
You can't fail to miss these landmark buildings in London, especially with the help of my handy spotters guide.

1 The Shard 305m

With the completion of it’s central core, The Shard has overtaken 1 Canada Square (Canary Wharf) as the UK’s tallest. The bottom third has already been clad in glass. It will be the highest building in Europe when complete in 2012 – at least for a while. Rival buildings for the European crown are mooted in Frankfurt, Moscow and La Defense. It is mixed use, comprising a hotel, residential, offices and a viewing gallery.

2 Bishopgate Tower (The Pinnacle, or Helter Skelter) 288m

Will be the tallest building in the City of London when complete, and Europe’s 2^nd highest. Under construction - the core has reached the 9^th floor.

3 The Heron Tower 230m

Recently topped out and due to open in February 2011. Currently the tallest building in the City of London. The design includes a Restaurant and Sky Bar at the top and a 70,000 litre aquarium in the reception area.

4 The Leadenhall Building (The Cheese Grater) 225m

This Richard Rogers design has had a stop-start history, with demolition of the previous building at 122 Leadenhall Street commencing back in 2006. However, construction started again in January 2011.

5 Tower 42 (formerly The National Westminster Tower) 183m

Arguably the first skyscraper in the UK by international standards, Tower 42 was the highest building in the City for 30 years, until the Heron Tower just over the road reached it’s 44^th floor and overtook it in 2009.

6 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) 180m

An iconic building, this Norman Foster design stands on the site of the former Baltic Exchange. It won a host of awards, including the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize.

7 100 Bishopsgate 165m

Approved for construction, which should start in 2011 once the existing lease expires on the site.

8 Broadgate Tower 164m

At the northern end of the city, completed in 2009.

9 20 Fenchurch Street (The Walkie Talkie) 160m

The design of 20 Fenchurch Street divides opinion on a grand scale! The top-heavy appearance is driven by the higher rents that upper floors command – hence it’s bigger at the top. The groundwork is complete and work has started on the basement levels. Features 3 levels of ‘Sky Garden’ at the top.

2David

Back in the day, I thought I knew a thing or two about using Illustrator. I started off with version 3.1, and reckon I knew about 80% of what Illy could do. Now, make that 40% or less. I learn on a 'needs-must' basis, but now am thinking I need to up my game.

This frailty came to light this week, when I was asked to produce some maps illustrating walks in Rome. The key word here may be 'Illustrating', as I'm not an Illustrator, I'm a Cartographer.

The maps feature a bird's eye view of a featured walk. A sort of 3-D effect. And this was my downfall. So many years of Topographic mapping has locked me into the 2-dimensional, and I can't visualise that 3rd dimension.

A shame really, as the finished articles look stunning when done well. I had a brief attempt at capturing these Roman streets, but soon realised that my ham-fisted attempts just don't do justice to the Eternal City. The task defeats me.

So now I'm thinking - what dimensions are open to me?

For now, I think it best that I be 2David, and consider my options.

At least that's better than being 1 dimensional.

I told you I could not draw...

But this was never an exercise in verisimilitude - more of a very personal recollection of a specific area, at a non-specific time.

The idea was to hand-draw a map of the streets around where I grew up, from memory without recourse to on-line resources or any tools other than a 99p set of crayons and any other pens/pencils I possessed.

Not all of the features shown were present at the same time. (The map covers a 15 year period)

What strikes me, looking back, is how this area (1km2 at most) managed to sustain 10 small corner shops and 5 Petrol Stations! I have not been back there for some years (it's a pretty grim town, to be honest), but I very much doubt that many of those establishments have survived.

I dare say much has changed in the area, but I don't plan to go back, check my map or update it. I have fond childhood memories of the area, and prefer to keep it that way. If there are any obvious errors, I'm sure my Mum will let me know!