An awful downhill run

So I came off my bike at high speed on a downhill run. I was going flat out, I couldn't go any faster and it is fair to say, I snapped the bone my arm right at the joint.

My arm fractured right at the ball on my shoulder, very high on the bone and my arm and was just hanging off. I would like to tell you it didn't hurt, I shook it off and jumped back on my bike and started pedaling again but there was no chance of this.

This was a long trip, fortunately, we had a full support team following us and they helped me up as there were people all around. I would like to thank the people who helped me, to be honest, I cannot remember it all that well, I was pretty dazed.

Even the two-hour trip back at just over walking pace was pretty much a dream, the roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the rainy season have to be seen to be believed. The roads are filled with stacked logs to allow light vehicle access through, that made for an interesting return trip.

Needless to say, the bikes were making better progress than the light vehicles, we were faster than the motorised transport - hard to believe. So a two and a half hour trip at walking speed wasn't fun, then we were able to hit some decent roads and gather some speed, not exactly what I was hoping for but I have no complaints.

I was flown down to Johannesburg for surgery, this required a pin to be inserted in my arm and that immediately fixed the problem. After four days of a fractured arm, it was starting to wear thin, I was immediately wheeled into surgery after meeting with the surgeon, so I guess it was fairly well buggered.

I was still in his consultation room at the hospital waiting for the insurance claim to clear before the doctor returned in his scrubs and I was off to pre-op. It all happened pretty quick, I had not eaten since the evening before so I was ready to go, there would be no holding me back getting that arm repaired.

Grey skies and no sun

I thought the pre-Christmas is high season the Philippines, this is the first time I have been there at that time of year, so I am a little surprised.

Normally my first trip is around April/May right at the end of the high season. The sky is still sunny and I have missed the majority of the crowds, this is the last of the European holiday makers. I didn't really plan this trip as well as I should have and now I'm paying.

Still tropical downpours occurring but not quiet wet season conditions, I do come to the Philippines in September and that is typhoon season so diving is marginal. I had expected a sunny sky every day based on what I have been told - no complaints though, still good to be here.

One metre arsehole

In Western Australia we have the one metre rule, that is, motor vehicles must give cyclists a one metre clearance when overtaking. This is expanded to one and a half metres when the motor vehicle is overtaking the bike at a speed exceeding sixty kilometres per hour - fair enough. 

So, we also have a situation where cyclists are using dual use pathways, now they are the party that has the potential to cause harm to pedestrians. So I ask, should not the same rules apply? Cyclists can get pretty precious all dressed in lycra pedaling on their expensive bikes.

Despite the racing coloured lycra outfits, we are not dealing with professional cyclists here. There is no time trials, no prize money at stake or state and national titles to be awarded. These people go whizzing past pedestrians at breakneck speed to fulfill their own illusions.

This is not an individual pursuit being raced at a velodrome, the bicycles have gears and brakes fitted. This means they have the potential to slow down as you pass pedestrians. The gear-set on the drive allows the rider to accelerate as required, this is particularly useful after slowing down near pedestrians.

Bells should be fitted to all bicycles, as a cyclist passes a pedestrian, the general courtesy is to ring their bell to indicate their presence to pedestrians. Unfortunately, we know that cyclists generally are not courteous and if they are not causing troubles on the road, they are creating issues on dual use pathways.

Paid parking at shopping centres

Now that Carousel Shopping Centre has been renovated, the improved shopping and recreation amenities are expected to draw increasing crowds to the centre. The next shopping centre to undertake renovation is Innaloo Shopping Centre closely followed by Karrinyup Shopping Centre.

Now the issue of paid parking at the three shopping centres has been raised. Never before in Perth have we had paid for parking centres, the decision to charge for parking at hospitals has been met with opposition in the community. In relation to hospitals, you don't have much choice, nobody wants to go to hospitals, this is the one place we seek to avoid at all costs.

Not so with shopping, there are a multitude of choices from local shopping centres, the main shopping precincts of Perth and Fremantle are also entertainment centres with restaurants, bars and other facilities such as cinema, showrooms and service providers.

People now have the option to shop online avoiding bricks and mortar retailers who are already reeling from the take-up of online sales. Now Amazon has opened in Australia we can expect greater online competition. If retailers wish to attract people back to large shopping centres then they need to reduce and remove barriers for people to remain customers.

Now, I realise the first three hours are free at this stage; however, the ticketing system has been installed then the situation could rapidly change and shorter times introduced or no free parking at all. People will just not go, another reason to shop online. 

Just as bad, employees of retailers are not offered special conditions and pay for their vehicle to sit in car parks. Generally speaking, retail workers are on lower pay structures and conditions, this decision affects the more vulnerable workers.

One hopes shopping centre managers are listening as large grocery retailers such as Coles and Woolworths and large retailers such as David Jones, Myer, Big W, Kmart and Target are able to exert influence on Westfield management and cut a better deal for not only their employees but their customers too.

Tokyo subway - its something else

I have been lucky enough to travel on a few subways internationally; for me, it is the favoured mode of transport in a foreign city. Travelling on the Tokyo subway is something else, this city of 9 million people needs an efficient transportation system.

This complex network of lines takes a little navigating, mastering the subway map is the first step in navigating the network and these days of online devices certainly assists newcomers to the system.

There is English translations on the subway maps, this certainty aids navigation but what really impresses me is the sheer complexity of the system. The absolute volume of people utilising this rail system daily is astounding, yet it is relatively simple to navigate for a tourist.

The fare adjustment machines aid fast movement, when you have exceeded the fare on your paper based ticket if you are not using an electronic transit card. You can easily add the required funds to the ticket and pass through the turnstiles - it’s a pretty decent system.

Teamwork failures

Every management textbook I read explains the need and virtues of teamwork, in class we discuss virtual teams, cross functional teams, self-directed teams, leadership teams and quality teams and the benefits they bring to the organisation.

I'm a yachtie and sail on weekends, sailing on a yacht is all about teamwork with the skipper pointing the vessel in the right direction to move fast through the water. Controlling the mainsheet ensures we point high and are powered up, the jib trimmer ensures we have adequate power along with the tailer who ensures we tack quickly.

The forwardhand and masthand ensure downwind legs are efficient with raising and lowering of sails, they provide tactical information to the skipper and tacking. Yet, head across to my former workplace and teamwork is non-existent; people undermine your work, are horrible to get on with and actually slow the workplace down.

If they were sailing on a yacht they would be left on the shore as it is better to head with out one or two crew down. The damage inept crew can do far outweighs having them onboard, so just run short. Instead, not only do we pay them, we promote them and allow them to damage the workplace and the performing tam members.

My Acer Aspire E11

I purchased a new Hewlett-Packard notebook computer when I started my MBA, my older notebook was getting a little tired and slow and I needed it to work optimally as I was using plenty of online resources.

The HP turned out to be a pile of rubbish that had compatibility issues with all software uploaded. One such program was VitalSource Bookshop, all our text were online resources so I really needed this to work.

So I had to go out and purchase another notebook to run the VitalSource software and I chose a mini laptop for this task alone. At first I was very happy with my Acer E11, sure the Celeron processor was slow but I had time, or so I thought and the battery life was superb.

I did a fair amount of study whilst on holidays, the mini-laptop was invaluable on those trips. My backpack was loaded up with textbooks and required readings so the lightweight notebook was invaluable.

Programs took ages to load, the computer froze pretty much all the time and the cursor jammed up frequently. I did look up the Acer website and found the F7 button functionality, that improved it a little bit, I now no longer had to wait for my computer to unfreeze.

The WiFi connectivity is the main flaw, the connection drops out frequently, not intermittently and I can have my tablet sitting alongside my Acer notebook that hasn't dropped out once.

Am I complaining? I hope I don't come across that way. My Acer Aspire E11 served its purpose, it ran my VitalSource books during my course, something my specifically purchased HP couldn't do.

It is lightweight and highly portable and the battery life was astonishing, I could charge the battery in my hotel room and spend hours studying and writing up case studies and assignments in a cafe without searching for a power outlet to recharge the battery.

Now the battery life of this notebook is cooked, it first started shutting down at 15% remaining, jumping to around 20% before quickly jumping to 50% of remaining battery life. I had four years of use out of the laptop computer and whilst I can still use it connected to power.

It's portability due to its lightweight nature is still great, it's functionality and computing power remains annoyingly slow, its diminished battery life will see it replaced.