I’ve got an existing, legally binding contract, yes. But I have received a better offer. What should I do?

(a) announce to all the world that I’m switching mid-season
(b) talk to my legal advisors first and stay quiet
(c) politely say thanks but no thanks, I have an existing contract.

I guess I would have a good think about it, since it is a great opportunity. In any case we have the answer right here: Gilmore learned that her contract with Menikini-Selle Italia would not allow the transfer, and she decided to remain with the Italian squad for the remainder of the season.

Contract is valid, team doesn’t want to let me go. End of story, unless I want to break the contract…

I’ve got an existing, legally binding contract, yes. But I have received a better offer. What should I do?

(a) announce to all the world that I’m switching mid-season
(b) talk to my legal advisors first and stay quiet
(c) politely say thanks but no thanks, I have an existing contract.

I guess I would have a good think about it, since it is a great opportunity. In any case we have the answer right here: Gilmore learned that her contract with Menikini-Selle Italia would not allow the transfer, and she decided to remain with the Italian squad for the remainder of the season.

Contract is valid, team doesn’t want to let me go. End of story, unless I want to break the contract…

What makes a professional bike racer? Is it someone who simply rides for cash? Is it a racer who also rides clean? Or is it a bike rider who does everything possible to maintain optimum performance? Including doping?

With that thought in mind, here’s an interesting quote from David Millar, via CN: Millar walks through his career, saying he was naive about the prevalence of doping in the sport when he started as an amateur and said doping “went against everything I stood for.” Millar then speaks about a point in his early days as a professional after he won a race when he showed a team-mate that his natural hematocrit level at the time was 8 points below the UCI allowable 50 percent. “I saw it as showing him that you could win without doping,” Millar says in the show but adds that his team-mates response was that Millar was unprofessional to not have a hematocrit level right at the allowable limits. The message, he said, was that doping was considered normal and expected.

What makes a professional bike racer? Is it someone who simply rides for cash? Is it a racer who also rides clean? Or is it a bike rider who does everything possible to maintain optimum performance? Including doping?

With that thought in mind, here’s an interesting quote from David Millar, via CN: Millar walks through his career, saying he was naive about the prevalence of doping in the sport when he started as an amateur and said doping “went against everything I stood for.” Millar then speaks about a point in his early days as a professional after he won a race when he showed a team-mate that his natural hematocrit level at the time was 8 points below the UCI allowable 50 percent. “I saw it as showing him that you could win without doping,” Millar says in the show but adds that his team-mates response was that Millar was unprofessional to not have a hematocrit level right at the allowable limits. The message, he said, was that doping was considered normal and expected.

We have a global crisis or 2 on our hands: (1) soaring fuel cost driven by demand and a supply that has peaked; (2) a food price crisis arising from (1) and (3) global warming, probably caused by human activity. Now I’m all for allowing market forces to play out – but there are people being hurt here. We don’t need online ‘journalists’ attempting to sell over-powered, overly-large sedans, especially by playing the ‘nationalism’ card. It’s OK, people of Australia, you are still Australian, or an American for that matter, if you down-size to a smaller, more efficient car. It’s OK, it can still be ‘sporty’.

Indeed it’s OK to ride a bike or catch public transport, or walk. There’s a place for over-powered ‘sporty’ cars, there are enthusiasts aplenty who will pay the bucks required. But it’s not somehow quintessentially Australian to drive a fat, fuel guzzling sedan.

What this article demonstrates is the inherent bias in the established media, that lags reality by about a decade: Biffing through a sunburned summer landscape in a big, boofy Australian muscle car is to feel like a native son; a bloke’s bloke. The jaundiced might view HSV’s Clubsport R8 as quintessentially ‘Strayan as seafood at Christmas, inviting a mate along on your honeymoon, or claiming a catch off an Indian batsman’s pad. A bit retrograde. A boganmobile. It’s not well written, indeed the article is a contradiction in and of itself. But if I were to have a stab at deciphering it, what the writer is really doing here is ‘having a go’ at what some may call the ‘cafe-latte’ or ‘chardonnay’ set and aligning with what they see as a ‘populist’ view. In that sense the article asserts that it’s better to be a ‘bogan’ and drive a fuel guzzler than to be elitist and down-size. Read the whole article if you want, but it’s a tedious repetition of that old line – bigger is better. Oh is it, really?

We have a global crisis or 2 on our hands: (1) soaring fuel cost driven by demand and a supply that has peaked; (2) a food price crisis arising from (1) and (3) global warming, probably caused by human activity. Now I’m all for allowing market forces to play out – but there are people being hurt here. We don’t need online ‘journalists’ attempting to sell over-powered, overly-large sedans, especially by playing the ‘nationalism’ card. It’s OK, people of Australia, you are still Australian, or an American for that matter, if you down-size to a smaller, more efficient car. It’s OK, it can still be ‘sporty’.

Indeed it’s OK to ride a bike or catch public transport, or walk. There’s a place for over-powered ‘sporty’ cars, there are enthusiasts aplenty who will pay the bucks required. But it’s not somehow quintessentially Australian to drive a fat, fuel guzzling sedan.

What this article demonstrates is the inherent bias in the established media, that lags reality by about a decade: Biffing through a sunburned summer landscape in a big, boofy Australian muscle car is to feel like a native son; a bloke’s bloke. The jaundiced might view HSV’s Clubsport R8 as quintessentially ‘Strayan as seafood at Christmas, inviting a mate along on your honeymoon, or claiming a catch off an Indian batsman’s pad. A bit retrograde. A boganmobile. It’s not well written, indeed the article is a contradiction in and of itself. But if I were to have a stab at deciphering it, what the writer is really doing here is ‘having a go’ at what some may call the ‘cafe-latte’ or ‘chardonnay’ set and aligning with what they see as a ‘populist’ view. In that sense the article asserts that it’s better to be a ‘bogan’ and drive a fuel guzzler than to be elitist and down-size. Read the whole article if you want, but it’s a tedious repetition of that old line – bigger is better. Oh is it, really?

SAA 747 1977_210
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Not a perfect composition, I’d have liked to have seen the wheels in the shot, but dramatic nonetheless… as before, a long lens, hand-held.

SAA 747 1977_210
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Not a perfect composition, I’d have liked to have seen the wheels in the shot, but dramatic nonetheless… as before, a long lens, hand-held.

SAA 747SP ZS-SPF 1977_034
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Hmmm. A case of get as close as you can, use a long lens (400mm in this case, hand held), as high a shutter speed as you can get and follow the target… Tri-X 35mm Pentax shot, 1977.

SAA 747SP ZS-SPF 1977_034
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Hmmm. A case of get as close as you can, use a long lens (400mm in this case, hand held), as high a shutter speed as you can get and follow the target… Tri-X 35mm Pentax shot, 1977.

It’s right and proper that we all share this planet’s resources equitably, but the bitter truth is that some of us – myself included – were simply born in the right place. Whilst others were not so fortunate. It’s a gift where we are born, an absolute stroke of luck – good or bad. Some of us are born with fresh water, good food reserves, safe shelter and in amiable climates. And some are born into political, social or racial strife, or in a land that yields resources less easily. Whilst we could be harsh and say that our parents choose where we are born, and thus put the blame somewhere, in fact choice doesn’t always enter into the lives of the poor, the uneducated, the neglected or the simply misfortunate. Indeed, misfortune can strike anywhere, even when you seem to have made the best choice possible. Even US citizens can suffer floods and fire, hurricanes and tornadoes.

It’s really a case of ‘do we see ourselves as part of a global community’ or do we simply take advantage of globalisation to ensure our own wealth? If you believe in Karma, even if solely as an ethical construct, you’d want to think carefully here. Increasingly the wealthy western nations are taking advantage of lower labour costs in developing nations to lower the cost of their own consumption. It should follow that this global convenience leads to a global conscience, but it seems not always to be the case. Unless the threat seems personal, or specifically detrimental to western assets or politics, it’s ignored. It may be discussed and shown nightly on the TV news, but largely allowed ‘to play out’ in a political sense. Thus Saddam’s Iraq is targeted for ‘enforced democratisation’ whilst similarly despotic rulers just go about their business until it gets too ugly to ignore. Or so it seems.

That may be the dark side of humanity in 2008. On the other hand by trading fairly with the developing nations we raise their economic opportunities and, perhaps indirectly, improve their lot. It’s a significant by-product of globalisation, as is the creation of increased industrial pollution, increased demand for raw materials and the consumption of farming land for urban development. What we in the west have done in 2 or 300 years the people of China and India will do in 20 or 30 years. And that’s great, up to a point. Wealth will transfer and some natural balances will occur. Population growth will decline, for example. But demand for food and power will grow, often because wealth changes taste and increases desire.

Which puts up the cost of everything in the west. How ironic that the flood of cheap manufactured goods from the developing world that has allowed our western nations to consume goods and services at almost unimaginable rates, whilst keeping inflation down, will now drive up inflation and dampen down demand in those same western countries. Perhaps there’s some Karma in it after all.

It’s right and proper that we all share this planet’s resources equitably, but the bitter truth is that some of us – myself included – were simply born in the right place. Whilst others were not so fortunate. It’s a gift where we are born, an absolute stroke of luck – good or bad. Some of us are born with fresh water, good food reserves, safe shelter and in amiable climates. And some are born into political, social or racial strife, or in a land that yields resources less easily. Whilst we could be harsh and say that our parents choose where we are born, and thus put the blame somewhere, in fact choice doesn’t always enter into the lives of the poor, the uneducated, the neglected or the simply misfortunate. Indeed, misfortune can strike anywhere, even when you seem to have made the best choice possible. Even US citizens can suffer floods and fire, hurricanes and tornadoes.

It’s really a case of ‘do we see ourselves as part of a global community’ or do we simply take advantage of globalisation to ensure our own wealth? If you believe in Karma, even if solely as an ethical construct, you’d want to think carefully here. Increasingly the wealthy western nations are taking advantage of lower labour costs in developing nations to lower the cost of their own consumption. It should follow that this global convenience leads to a global conscience, but it seems not always to be the case. Unless the threat seems personal, or specifically detrimental to western assets or politics, it’s ignored. It may be discussed and shown nightly on the TV news, but largely allowed ‘to play out’ in a political sense. Thus Saddam’s Iraq is targeted for ‘enforced democratisation’ whilst similarly despotic rulers just go about their business until it gets too ugly to ignore. Or so it seems.

That may be the dark side of humanity in 2008. On the other hand by trading fairly with the developing nations we raise their economic opportunities and, perhaps indirectly, improve their lot. It’s a significant by-product of globalisation, as is the creation of increased industrial pollution, increased demand for raw materials and the consumption of farming land for urban development. What we in the west have done in 2 or 300 years the people of China and India will do in 20 or 30 years. And that’s great, up to a point. Wealth will transfer and some natural balances will occur. Population growth will decline, for example. But demand for food and power will grow, often because wealth changes taste and increases desire.

Which puts up the cost of everything in the west. How ironic that the flood of cheap manufactured goods from the developing world that has allowed our western nations to consume goods and services at almost unimaginable rates, whilst keeping inflation down, will now drive up inflation and dampen down demand in those same western countries. Perhaps there’s some Karma in it after all.

I won’t comment, really, I won’t: When the Kazakh cycling federation handed down its decision in December 2007, the UCI had initially planned an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but subsequently withdrew after Vinokourov announced his retirement from professional cycling. However, on May 31 Vinokourov participated in – and won – the Laurentine Kivilev, a 100 km race held on the French Riviera as a tribute to his compatriot Andrei Kivilev, who died at the 2003 Paris-Nice. Vinokourov revealed at the event that he was training three times per week, but denied a comeback was on the cards.

I won’t comment, really, I won’t: When the Kazakh cycling federation handed down its decision in December 2007, the UCI had initially planned an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but subsequently withdrew after Vinokourov announced his retirement from professional cycling. However, on May 31 Vinokourov participated in – and won – the Laurentine Kivilev, a 100 km race held on the French Riviera as a tribute to his compatriot Andrei Kivilev, who died at the 2003 Paris-Nice. Vinokourov revealed at the event that he was training three times per week, but denied a comeback was on the cards.

Do we now distinguish between drugs that actually work and drugs that only work because we think they work? We already control substances that both work and don’t work and have bad side-effects (like gluocorticosteroids), so controlling a substance that probably doesn’t work and hurts you still makes some sense. I think.

The researchers concluded, “The results of this study suggest that the placebo effect may be responsible, at least in part, for the perceived athletic benefit of doping with growth hormone for some people.”

Or do we ban placebos?

Do we now distinguish between drugs that actually work and drugs that only work because we think they work? We already control substances that both work and don’t work and have bad side-effects (like gluocorticosteroids), so controlling a substance that probably doesn’t work and hurts you still makes some sense. I think.

The researchers concluded, “The results of this study suggest that the placebo effect may be responsible, at least in part, for the perceived athletic benefit of doping with growth hormone for some people.”

Or do we ban placebos?

Just a progress report on another “attempted” use of dope… in case you missed it: Italy’s Ruggero Marzoli has been disqualified by the Italian cycling federation (FCI) for six months for his involvement in the Oil for Drugs investigation involving Doctor Carlo Santuccione. The 32 year-old will be able to return to racing October 17. Despite an appeal made on March 31 to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the FCI appeals commission ruled, “he is liable for frequenting Doctor Carlo Santuccione, limited and without membership … therefore it is considered guilty of attempted use of prohibited substances and a sanction is imposed.”

Just a progress report on another “attempted” use of dope… in case you missed it: Italy’s Ruggero Marzoli has been disqualified by the Italian cycling federation (FCI) for six months for his involvement in the Oil for Drugs investigation involving Doctor Carlo Santuccione. The 32 year-old will be able to return to racing October 17. Despite an appeal made on March 31 to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the FCI appeals commission ruled, “he is liable for frequenting Doctor Carlo Santuccione, limited and without membership … therefore it is considered guilty of attempted use of prohibited substances and a sanction is imposed.”

Well he would be satisfied, surely? Australia’s Nathan O’Neill is satisfied with the outcome of his Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal, which sees him able to return to the sport on November 12. O’Neill will return to the United States of America on Monday, where he will begin training and start to focus contract negotiations for the 2009 season. O’Neill tested positive for the stimulant Phentermine in an in-competition test on August 12, 2007, during the Tour of Elk Grove in the USA. While the eight-time Australian Time Trial Champion is allowed to use the appetite suppressant out of competition, traces of the substance remained in his system during the event.

O’Neill has published some interesting ideas on weight control in Aussie cycling mags. So was the Phentermine part of his program? You’d have to say yes, but I hadn’t seen it in print before, strangely. So is it still OK out-of-season? Is it a case of anything goes, at least with weight loss? Or was the Phentermine part of a larger picture? Nathan, please tell us what you think…

Well he would be satisfied, surely? Australia’s Nathan O’Neill is satisfied with the outcome of his Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal, which sees him able to return to the sport on November 12. O’Neill will return to the United States of America on Monday, where he will begin training and start to focus contract negotiations for the 2009 season. O’Neill tested positive for the stimulant Phentermine in an in-competition test on August 12, 2007, during the Tour of Elk Grove in the USA. While the eight-time Australian Time Trial Champion is allowed to use the appetite suppressant out of competition, traces of the substance remained in his system during the event.

O’Neill has published some interesting ideas on weight control in Aussie cycling mags. So was the Phentermine part of his program? You’d have to say yes, but I hadn’t seen it in print before, strangely. So is it still OK out-of-season? Is it a case of anything goes, at least with weight loss? Or was the Phentermine part of a larger picture? Nathan, please tell us what you think…

Nasty recreational cocaine-taker one day, winner the next. You’d imagine he’d like to stay out of sight for a while, but no… Tom Boonen recovered from his rather tough few weeks with a trademark Boonen sprint victory, crossing the line just ahead of his lead-out man Wouter Weylandt while notable speedsters Mark Cavendish, Matthi Breschel and Graeme Brown were left in his wake. The Belgian, who tested positive for cocaine and had his invitations to the Tour de France as well as the Tour de Suisse revoked, had a quiet first three stages, but was back to his old form on stage four of the Ster Elektrotoer. He and Weylandt crossed the line a full bike length ahead of third placed Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff). Enrico Gasparotto of Team Barloworld retained the leader’s jersey.

Nasty recreational cocaine-taker one day, winner the next. You’d imagine he’d like to stay out of sight for a while, but no… Tom Boonen recovered from his rather tough few weeks with a trademark Boonen sprint victory, crossing the line just ahead of his lead-out man Wouter Weylandt while notable speedsters Mark Cavendish, Matthi Breschel and Graeme Brown were left in his wake. The Belgian, who tested positive for cocaine and had his invitations to the Tour de France as well as the Tour de Suisse revoked, had a quiet first three stages, but was back to his old form on stage four of the Ster Elektrotoer. He and Weylandt crossed the line a full bike length ahead of third placed Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff). Enrico Gasparotto of Team Barloworld retained the leader’s jersey.

From CN, quoting Cancellara after his breakaway stage win in the Tour of Switzerland: “Kim Anderson was shouting to me that I had to keep going strong, to go for it, go for it, but in my head I was thinking, ‘where is this finish line?’ I knew that the sprinters behind me would accelerate to 70 kilometres per hour whereas me, on my bike computer, I wasn’t even doing 60. So I was a bit scared and was wondering where the hell the finish was.”

Don’t we all know that feeling of impending capture? You’ve gone first a long way out and are just hoping the bunch doesn’t catch you before the line. Except if it was me I’d be going well under 50kmh, it would be a crit and the bunch sprinters would be lucky to crack 60, if that. It still matters!

From CN, quoting Cancellara after his breakaway stage win in the Tour of Switzerland: “Kim Anderson was shouting to me that I had to keep going strong, to go for it, go for it, but in my head I was thinking, ‘where is this finish line?’ I knew that the sprinters behind me would accelerate to 70 kilometres per hour whereas me, on my bike computer, I wasn’t even doing 60. So I was a bit scared and was wondering where the hell the finish was.”

Don’t we all know that feeling of impending capture? You’ve gone first a long way out and are just hoping the bunch doesn’t catch you before the line. Except if it was me I’d be going well under 50kmh, it would be a crit and the bunch sprinters would be lucky to crack 60, if that. It still matters!

Some companies test for “personality”, some don’t. Some say it works, some have no idea. Some do it just because they can. Fact is, there’s no evidence it works at all. Fact is, behavioural interviews work better, but not by a lot. Fact is, nothing really works to predict job performance. We cull out the candidates we don’t “think” fit the picture, then we interview to weed out the people we don’t like the look of, or to choose (somehow) between close candidates. We interview because we are people and we are hiring people. We judge things quickly, face to face, and back it up with logic later. However we may test for “personality” in order to discriminate in yet another way, and just because we can. Not because it’s a better way.

So how come we read this at BNET: “Sweeney claims that his testing methodology is based upon some pretty heavy-duty science. While I’m naturally skeptical of psychological research, I have no particular reason to disbelieve him. So I’m afraid that I think your irritation may be misplaced. In all probability, the company in question has discovered that testing is a better way to recruit successful sales employees than the standard interview process.” Sweeney is a marketing guy, BTW.

Yep, interviews tell us little about how someone will perform in a role. But what correlation is there between personality and job role performance? None. So what is this “heavy duty science”? Well who knows, it’s not disclosed here and it’s not in any literature I’ve found. I’ll keep looking…

But in the meantime… as far as personality testing goes, consider that you can guess what a company wants to see – honesty, integrity, an outgoing nature. You can also guess that overdoing it and appearing ‘perfect’ would be spotted, so you lie strategically. Lying, or telling falsehoods if you prefer, is smart. It’s human. Sure, some people will be diligent in their answers, but even so it comes down to interpretation. Honest people will mark themselves down, some will simply misinterpret the question… in either case the validity will be doubtful. And then you want to somehow correlate personality with job performance? Over what time scale? A year? 3 years? What exactly will you accept as a positive correlation? Because I can assure you if it was that easy we’d all be doing it! In the real world a motivated person with the “wrong” personality may very well run rings around a less motivated person with the “right” personality. For a while, anyway. They will have ups and downs. Work performance is the sum of many parts, and good teams are made up of many different types of people. Selecting for “sameness” is just another way to shoot yourself in the foot. Avoid it.

Some companies test for “personality”, some don’t. Some say it works, some have no idea. Some do it just because they can. Fact is, there’s no evidence it works at all. Fact is, behavioural interviews work better, but not by a lot. Fact is, nothing really works to predict job performance. We cull out the candidates we don’t “think” fit the picture, then we interview to weed out the people we don’t like the look of, or to choose (somehow) between close candidates. We interview because we are people and we are hiring people. We judge things quickly, face to face, and back it up with logic later. However we may test for “personality” in order to discriminate in yet another way, and just because we can. Not because it’s a better way.

So how come we read this at BNET: “Sweeney claims that his testing methodology is based upon some pretty heavy-duty science. While I’m naturally skeptical of psychological research, I have no particular reason to disbelieve him. So I’m afraid that I think your irritation may be misplaced. In all probability, the company in question has discovered that testing is a better way to recruit successful sales employees than the standard interview process.” Sweeney is a marketing guy, BTW.

Yep, interviews tell us little about how someone will perform in a role. But what correlation is there between personality and job role performance? None. So what is this “heavy duty science”? Well who knows, it’s not disclosed here and it’s not in any literature I’ve found. I’ll keep looking…

But in the meantime… as far as personality testing goes, consider that you can guess what a company wants to see – honesty, integrity, an outgoing nature. You can also guess that overdoing it and appearing ‘perfect’ would be spotted, so you lie strategically. Lying, or telling falsehoods if you prefer, is smart. It’s human. Sure, some people will be diligent in their answers, but even so it comes down to interpretation. Honest people will mark themselves down, some will simply misinterpret the question… in either case the validity will be doubtful. And then you want to somehow correlate personality with job performance? Over what time scale? A year? 3 years? What exactly will you accept as a positive correlation? Because I can assure you if it was that easy we’d all be doing it! In the real world a motivated person with the “wrong” personality may very well run rings around a less motivated person with the “right” personality. For a while, anyway. They will have ups and downs. Work performance is the sum of many parts, and good teams are made up of many different types of people. Selecting for “sameness” is just another way to shoot yourself in the foot. Avoid it.

Well he knows how to win, and how to prepare to the level he needs. And he also has a bit of experience at ‘doing it on his own’. But he has also had a few guys helping him these last few years – with spectacular launches like Steegman’s 2 years ago and more recently a couple of Lotto guys who would expertly move him into the final corners first. But come July there will be no such help as protecting Evans will be task numero uno. McEwen will have to jump on someone’s wheel and fight it out with the big trains, assuming the trains actually run this year (it will be a bit grim without Boonen and Petacchi). It may be the right year to be on your own in the sprint, actually.

Powered by Qumana

Well he knows how to win, and how to prepare to the level he needs. And he also has a bit of experience at ‘doing it on his own’. But he has also had a few guys helping him these last few years – with spectacular launches like Steegman’s 2 years ago and more recently a couple of Lotto guys who would expertly move him into the final corners first. But come July there will be no such help as protecting Evans will be task numero uno. McEwen will have to jump on someone’s wheel and fight it out with the big trains, assuming the trains actually run this year (it will be a bit grim without Boonen and Petacchi). It may be the right year to be on your own in the sprint, actually.

Powered by Qumana

Boy, was that short. OK, he claims his drink was spiked and it wasn’t his fault – God knows I believe him, too – but at the ‘I’m sorry’ press conference last week, Boonen said that he would take ‘a short break’ from racing. Damned short, since he is starting in the Ster Elektrotoer today.I’m guessing won’t try to bring any attention to himself by winning any stages…

Powered by Qumana

Boy, was that short. OK, he claims his drink was spiked and it wasn’t his fault – God knows I believe him, too – but at the ‘I’m sorry’ press conference last week, Boonen said that he would take ‘a short break’ from racing. Damned short, since he is starting in the Ster Elektrotoer today.I’m guessing won’t try to bring any attention to himself by winning any stages…

Powered by Qumana

QF DC4 1977_229
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

In 1977 there were 2 ways to get to Norflok Island – by sea, or by air. I guess little has changed in that regard, however the type of aircraft used certainly has changed. This is a Qantas DC-4. Yes, it really is the famous flying kangaroo adorning the tail of an elderly Douglas Commercial airliner, just one step up from the illustrious DC-3. And it’s 1977. Why this blast-from-the-past? Because Qantas was obliged to provide a service to the remote Pacific Island (and Australian territory), it retained its fleet of DC-4s until the airstrip was upgraded and the work passed onto smaller but more modern aircraft. The DC-4s had the range and payload to do the job, plus the reliability and safety-over-water of 4 engines, as well as being surprsingly easy on the old grass field at Norfolk.

QF DC4 1977_229
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

In 1977 there were 2 ways to get to Norflok Island – by sea, or by air. I guess little has changed in that regard, however the type of aircraft used certainly has changed. This is a Qantas DC-4. Yes, it really is the famous flying kangaroo adorning the tail of an elderly Douglas Commercial airliner, just one step up from the illustrious DC-3. And it’s 1977. Why this blast-from-the-past? Because Qantas was obliged to provide a service to the remote Pacific Island (and Australian territory), it retained its fleet of DC-4s until the airstrip was upgraded and the work passed onto smaller but more modern aircraft. The DC-4s had the range and payload to do the job, plus the reliability and safety-over-water of 4 engines, as well as being surprsingly easy on the old grass field at Norfolk.

Well it is a personal issue, isn’t it? It’s a stretch to say that cocaine will improve your cycling; rather it’s a social, recreational drug for people with a bit of cash to play with. And a popular one at that. So when we get upset at Tom Boonen’s lapse of judgement we are really getting upset at our own community, its double-standards and its penchant for social drugs of all kinds. Cocaine is but one; the biggest drug of choice by far, is alcohol. Do we get upset about cyclists or other sportspeople abusing alcohol? Perhaps not as often as we should…

From CN: Belgian Tom Boonen will not be sanctioned by his team for his positive cocaine test, it was announced Wednesday morning at a press conference in Wielsbeke, Belgium. The 27 year-old Quick Step rider apologised for his actions and said that he would take a short break from competition. The team continued to show its support for the sprinter, as did the sponsor, which prolonged its contract.

Powered by Qumana