The Whole is Less than the Sum of the Parts

Have been really busy at work these past few weeks and there is no relief in immediate sight; this week I have to go to work even on Saturday, and I really could do without that. Fortunately it is not that long till Easter and so I am dreaming of a week’s climbing in Majorca while plodding on. Should be good fun, providing the weather is decent.

The garden is telling me that the spring is here: I had to spray my roses at the beginning of February because of green fly and the tulips are out by some three inches, and what is really annoying, the grass needs cutting. The nature is well ahead of the callendar, and it worries me. Most of all I am concerned about the magnolia tree, which is budding fast; I really hope we get no more heavy frost.

Otherwise, I am trying to get back on form running; the first 10K of the season is in Grangemouth on Mar 13, but I have not been able to put in the miles as much as I would like. Partly I blame the weather, partly the daylight, but mostly these are just excuses. Nevertheless, I am confident of a sub 48min time, but as the Grangemouth course is flat, it would be nice to do better than that. With a bit of focus over the next two weeks I might be able to shoot for a sub 45min, which would make me happy. My feet are telling me I really need a new pair of running shoes, but with the various holiday expenses I might have to wait another month. In any case, I will not be able to get to the running shop till March, too late to break the new shoes in before Grangemouth.

Have not been able to get much done on AbiWord since the start of the year, mostly to do with work commitments and being really tired when I get back home. I have done little bit of work toward using Pango, http://www.pango.org, for complex script support on the *nix version, but much more work is needed before it will become usable.

Just came across this article that suggests that the real strain on world energy comes from food consumption. Basically, it would seem that if you cycle to work, the amount of fosil fuel energy you use up to replenish the calories you burn during the journey is significantly worse than if you simply used your car. Hmm …

The article is here: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/100303eatingoil.html

It probably needs to be taken with a pinch of salt as all that emerges from that part of the world, but it certainly contains some material for thought.