Danwichmann

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

I had to look up what a 'vertical marathon' is - I'm not surprised they wanted a medical check! 

I once did a 10K in France, and when I went to register I was told that I couldn't enter without a letter from my GP certifying I was fit to run. In desperation I showed them my UK Athletics membership card, and luckily, that qualified as a waiver as I was supposedly an actual athlete! I tried to suppress my laughter as best I could. 

I think there may be quite a few different variations on vertical marathon, in this case it meant running up the stairs in a large tower, about 90 floors. Most participants walk but even for those that run, it's less than 20 minutes of fairly intense running but not much more than a serious interval running session. 

A lot of countries want some type of medical check for these things, can be extremely annoying. 

14 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

My wife has one of those diy blood  pressure appliances because of this medication she’s on at the minute. I did my blood pressure last night and it was 130/80 which I’m lead to believe is at the high end of normal. Thought I’d do it this morning before I eaten and had a coffee and it was 138/87. Never had an issue with my blood pressure before but think I’m going to get myself checked in at the doctors to see what they think .

I'm always a bit skeptical of the readings not taken by a professional. 

I was taking part in a vertical marathon a few months back and they carry out a medical check before hand, including blood pressure check. They were clearly misreading as they were trying to tell me my reading was something like 300/120 and I couldn't take part. I tried to explain that if that was correct they should put me in an ambulance. They were telling my friend the same thing. Eventually we managed to convince them the heart rate reading on our watches was blood pressure, as that was in range so we could race. Finished 6 and 7th which kind of made a mockery of them telling us we weren't fit to race. 

33 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Tougher laws needed. Anyone  caught carrying a knife should be automatically arrested for attempted murder . Wether they say it’s for protection or not, it’s a vicious circle. What’s up with just having a scrap. I detest people that carry knives and have no sympathy for them whatever their circumstances. There’s other weapons that could be used over a knife. 

A bit harsh if you are brining a new kitchen set back from IKEA. It's easy to say things like that but there are obvious and legitimate reasons to have a knife on you at times. 

13 hours ago, blandy said:

Tackling aviation emissions needs to happen as well, both for people near airports and for climate change, and guess what. That’ll cost people money too. Internal flights should probably be banned, for example, and international flights taxed differently.

 

Are you just talking about the UK here? Because it makes sense there, but banning domestic flights in places the size of China, Russia, Canada or countries with lots of Islands simply isn't going to work. 

1 hour ago, dubbs said:

Out of interest are you the really active guy on Strava filling up my feed

Yeah that would be me 

50 minutes ago, Genie said:

Not that I am complaining, especially with what other people around the world are having to endure, but summer in the UK just hasn’t happened this year. It’s been a combination of spring and autumn but no actual summer. 

Sweltering in China, you don't know how good that sounds. Tempts me to spend next summer back in the UK.

With so many places unbearably hot in the summer now, I can imagine that places with cooler summers will be big tourist destinations in a few years. People won't keep visiting the old tourist destinations when it's too hot to leave the hotel before 10 PM each night. 

1 minute ago, Demitri_C said:

Can you point me the direction that scofield is going on trial?

If he does he gets same rights as tate a fair trial

He doesn't get a trial because there isn't enough evidence he committed a crime. But you seem to be saying in his case your opinion is enough to know, and you don't trust the justice system. But for Tate, you trust the justice system enough to reserve judgement. It's a very strange position. 

12 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

In my opinion schofields commited a crime a

13 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

He [Tate] deserves a fair trial like any person whether we like what they are representing.

Why does Tate get a trial but your opinion is enough to condemn Scofield? It just makes zero sense. 

I'm live on campus at the college at teach at, so my immediate neighbours are the other teachers. There are only a couple I actually socialise, and a few who I try to avoid rather than listen to their endless moaning, but everyone was friendly and mostly gets along well enough. 

Beyond the gates of the teachers compound, there are about 15,000 students in their late teens or early twenties. That means there is always sport or music going on and generally a fun and buzzing atmosphere. 

I know that living and working in the same place would be a nightmare for a lot of people but absolutely love it. 

7 hours ago, GlobalVillan said:

Grown men in Baseball caps. Particularly worn back to front (especially in warm countries) where all you are doing is making your head even hotter than it is already, whilst looking like a 15 year old BMX fanatic.

 

 

I do it to stop my neck getting sunburnt. I'll adjust the position of the hat according to where the sun is. I also wear a great bug floppy bucket hat when it's really bright. As anyone who has seen me will wearing either would assure you, it's definitely nothing to do with style or fashion. 

58 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

Dogs are too much hassle.

All pets are too much hassle. 

Also, children. 

2 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Maybe for the things you wonder thread, but should you undress in that case and rid yourself of the weight? But then when you get out you'd be frozen.

Yeah I'm pretty sure you should. Even if you make it out, you're going to take the clothes off to warm up anyway, as the wet clothes will only make you colder. 

12 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Burger King Germany doing coke floats for their summer menu, been a while since I've had one so will have to give that a go

Be careful. I had one in McDonald's a couple of weeks ago, and when I stuck my straw in to it, the whole think pretty much exploded in a coke fountain. I'm not entirely sure why, it's not as if I really punched it in, the ice cream seemed to have created some built up pressure that got released. What was left tasted good, even with the cleaner giving me evil looks as I enjoyed it. 

The outdoor pool is so warm it feels like bath water, at 8 PM in the evening. This summer is killing me and it's only just starting. 

3 hours ago, StefanAVFC said:

The teacher topic.

Having moved abroad, I see teaching as a fairly well-paid lifestyle choice in the UK. You really need to throw yourself into it, and be willing to give up your life in term time.

In Poland, the hours and pressure aren't as crazy but the pay is absolutely awful. It's just above minimum wage in most cases, and you don't have the progression of salary that you have in the UK. I have a friend, who after 12/13 years in teaching, earns on average 250 quid more a month than when he started. In the Uk you'd get that within 1/2 years.

I taught in the UK and now teach in China. I'm paid a lot less, but I would not even consider going back to teaching in the UK. My mental health, and some work/life balance,  is worth more than that. 

50 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

An 'In-service Education & Training' day, where children dont attend the school so that teachers can complete training and catch up on admin.

Completely get why the teachers need them, but why are they during term time and not during the holidays?

Because that would rather defeat the purpose of having a holiday, for the teachers. 

38°c here today with 'feels like' of 48°c. Pretty humid as well. Stand still and sweat weather, absolutely dying. 

Has anyone visited Xinjiang? I'm going there next month, probably for a couple of weeks. While I've got some recommendations from students who come from there, the Chinese way of doing tourism differs quite a lot from mine so I'm curious if anyone has experience of the place. I'd like to get out in to wilderness, more interested in hiking, running, cycling etc than food and culture. I'd especially appreciate ideas on how to get around, as the trains don't reach a lot of places and there are few high speed trains in the province. 

8 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Probably wrong here but isn't part of the Asian face mask culture thing that you wear a face mask when you're ill? Stop you spreading your germs to everyone else

So maybe the woman on the train had rona but was still going to work

Same as for years now I've worked from home if I had man flu, didn't book a day off work but also didn't be the office martyr, covid hasn't changed that even if it's made it more commonplace

Yeah, definitely a common thing in Asia. Both Covid and Norovirus doing the rounds here right now so a lot of students in my classes wearing masks either because they are sick or their roommates are sick. And some wear it because they have lots of spots or terrible teeth, I'm convinced of that. There are still a few students I've barely seen without a mask, 12 weeks into the semester. 

5th race of the year today. 15km trail race on Hong Kong Island. Very wet but good fun on the trails. 23rd out of 300+ runners but I'm realising that at 40 years old I can't push like I could just a couple of years ago. 

1 hour ago, stuart_75 said:

I did it. 5th time now, probably my last (I've enough of the t-shirts!).

Not entered anything else for this year. I did a 50km ultra last year and I told myself 'NO MORE RACES'!

I've told myself that a lot. Then I sign up for something ridiculous the next day. Doing Lantau by Utmb in November, 140km. Made my first visit to Lantau today, those hills are insane, it's going to be another 'never again', until the next one. 

8 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

for the anti brigade I'd be interested to know , if you were in another country and had the chance to witness some historic or traditional event .. would you say , **** that bollocks or would you go witness it ?

I mean I think the Hadj is bollocks , but if I could go to Mecca and witness it I'd do it at the drop of the hat   .. I've been to military parades and religious events around the world , not because I believe in them but because they are historical , traditional or even just enjoyable . 

 

Funnily enough I was having that conversation with my students last night. I've got no interest in the coronation and I'm glad I'm on the other side of the world where it's easily avoidable, but I can easily understand their interest as outsiders. If I had the chance to witness some type of similar ceremony here in China, or another country, I'd want to see it even if I vehemently disagreed with it. But I don't want to be a part of something I disagree with in my own country, even if it's in the smallest way possible of simply watching it. 

4 hours ago, sidcow said:

Authenticity.  Also see Genuine and Proper as in they're a proper football club. 

Just heard in a tv show "I love the authenticity of this house decoration" 

What does it mean? It's not an authentic house without that decoration. 

**** off, pretentious nonsense. 

Reminds me of when magazines like FHM, Nuts etc used to say things like "real women reveal all" and I would always wonder which magazines had 'fake' women. 

Had it in both Korea and China. I was surprised the UK didn't already have it in place, seems a pretty standard thing to have! 

Was very useful in Korea when I got two minutes warning of an earthquake and could get the kids outside. In China I mostly get warnings about the weather, which are almost always unnecessary.