What I Learnt Today

Le Tour de France is getting to  the business end – Stage 16, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to the Gap, 160 km across the top of the Alps. Australia’s Cadel Evans remains 2 minutes behind the yellow jersey holder Frenchman Thomas Voekler. The race finishes in Paris on July 24th. By then an astonishing10 million spectators will have watched the riders passing by first hand.

Those cyclists competing for the overall prize are some of the fittest atheletes in the world. Navigating the high mountains requires tremendous power to weight ratios.

In the Conversation, David Roufett of Victoria University analyses the Science of Elite Cycling in a two part series.

During the first half of the race, most of the riding is done on flat land. The primary force for the riders to overcome is wind resistance. The pack (or peleton) races along at 40km/hr – with riders in the middle of the pack benefiting from the ‘slipstream’ effect created by the riders in front of them, but risking crashes, and being left behind by a breakaway group. Riders who specialise in sprinting – larger, stronger men – come to the fore.

http://theconversation.edu.au/the-science-of-elite-cycling-tour-de-france-sta…

During the second half of the race, the course traverses the mountains. The primary force for riders to overcome is gravity, and the lighter men are advantaged. The best riders can maintain effort intensity close to 90% of their maximum while climbing for long periods – which is an astounding display of fitness. They are at risk of ‘bonking’, which apparently in this case is not a good thing. ‘Bonking’ is when you run out of energy and hit the wall.

http://theconversation.edu.au/the-science-of-elite-cycling-tour-de-france-sta…

David Roufett’s articles make an excellent companion for those who are staying up late in front of SBS.

What would you do if a coffee cart gave you $5 too much change?

What if the barista in the cart was completely obnoxious?

The NAB have ‘conducted a series of honesty experiments‘ which have ‘established’ that Australians are very honest (so they deserve an honest credit card, apparently).

While it is touching to see people going out of their way to do the right thing, the most striking think about this ad is the great lines given to the obnoxious barista. Makes you want to work in a coffee cart.

In the other two experiments, a wallet is left lying on a street, and an actor drops $20 bill out of his pocket. Will any be returned?

Australia had better hope that Western Samoa claim some big scalps in the upcoming World Cup, or July 17th will forever be a National Day of Celebration in Western Samoa.

Samoa has a population of only 170,000. Most people still live a traditional life, in which most of the day is spent in communal activity. Sport is a feature of daily life. Sunday is reserved as God’s day, and the different denominations represented in each village will gather in their own church before coming together for a Fia Fia. Saturday is devoted to the one religion that unites each village in war against it’s neighbours – Rugby.

When we travelled in Samoa last year, the country was celebrating it’s victory in the World Rugby Sevens championship. It is not a team that should be underestimated.

The Wallabies today were rocked by the ferocity of the Samoan game. The men in Blue have always been known for their physicality and attacking flare – today they demonstrated structure and consistency in defense, and the Wallabies had no answer. Many of the best Samoan players now play for European clubs, and are available for their national team, rather then being adopted by New Zealand or Australia.

Samoa beat the Welsh in the World Cup, and that event remains central to Samoan rugby lore. The Welsh will now be very happy to share their prominent role in Samoa’s rugby history with the Australians.

The girls last night saw Mary Poppins and her umbrella fly over the rooftops and land on the stage of the Capitol Theatre. Bert, Jane, Michael and Mary danced with the chimney sweeps, had tea on the ceiling, jumped into the world of toys, and flew kites. A supercalafragilistic time was had by all.

Who created these enduring characters? Perhaps someone who grew up with a string of horrible nannies and distant parents and dreamed of a better life? Surely a Londoner who had daily contact with the upstairs/downstairs world and was familiar with cockney life?

Or was Mary Poppins created by a team of writers from the Disney Studios to showcase young talents Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyck?

Would you believe that the entire world of Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane was created by a girl from Maryborough in rural Queensland?

PJ Travers was the JK Rowling of her time, and like her creation Mary Poppins, even when famous, she ‘never told anybody anything’.

Travers was born in 1899 as Helen Coff, in Maryborough, where her father Travers worked in a bank. he was born in London, but had Irish connections, which meant that he considered himself a romantic poet and drank too much. He and his eldest daughter would sit at night and make up stories about the stars.

He died when she was seven, and the family moved to Bowral, supported by a very strict great aunt. I wonder if she met a young Don Bradman, 9 years her junior?

She had a brief career as a dancer and actress, then as a poet and journalist. In 1924, aged 25, she left Australia and travelled to England to seek her fortune. She never returned.

Mary Poppins was published in 1934. Another seven books about her adventures were published subsequently, the last in 1988!

It was the Disney movie of 1964 that brought her fame and fortune. Ironically, she hated it, and refused to give Disney permission to use her character again.

Pamela Travers died in London in 1996, aged 97.

How can you keep your brain sharp?

What should you eat?

Is ‘Use it Or Lose It’ a proven technique?

How much sleep?

Does exercise help?

The Alliance for Ageing Research has compiled the latest research to help you keep your brain in top shape.

http://www.agingresearch.org/section/topic/brainhealthresearch