A few people have asked me if I have given up on the project and startup idea that was the original motivation for this blog. No, I have not. A large rewrite and a lack of testing has slowed me down. There is a very large list of new functionality and I could of course keep working on it nearly forever before it is "finished". However, my experience has suggested it is best to release early and often after a minimum level has been reached. My project has now reached that minimum level. There is the occasional bug, new functionality to write and the GUI is still awkward - but what needs to be done will be clearer with people (hopefully) using it, or at least commenting on it.
So this would normally be where I put a link...
Unfortunately/fortunately, I am on holiday the next fortnight and to announce it seems like tempting fate a little too much. Instead I will just describe my idea, and in mid-September give the web address. I keep a great number of todo lists around for work and most software development workplaces have bug tracking or project management software. It seems to me there is a middle ground between a simple online todo list (of which there are many) and a complex project management system (again, there are many of these). My goal is something that can be easily used by one person or can handle groups of people working together. Another goal is to make it easy to use for non-IT people as long as they are familiar with the web (thus usable by a wider audience than many of the issue tracking systems that focus on IT people). So there's the plan, soon you can compare theory to reality.
August 2008 Archives
Back in May I decided it was time to learn to play golf. Since then I have been to a golf school, 2 golf courses, a driving range and an indoor video golf centre. I thought I would write briefly about them.
The James Andrews School Of Golf
I signed up for a 3 day residential training course with The James Andrews School Of Golf as a holiday. I greatly enjoyed the break. Although I can't claim to be a good golfer at the moment, I can say that I am a better golfer as a result of the course as I saw my swing improve over the 3 days (considering I consistently missed the ball entirely at the start). Indeed most of the course focussed on the swing. The general format was swing practice, putting/pitching practice, and then the swing again before lunch and having the afternoon to ourselves. Nice course, good teacher, highly recommended (although the food could have been better considering the cost). I certainly left feeling prepared to tackle a proper course.
World Of Golf
Unfortunately it took a while before I managed to get myself onto a proper golf course, so in the interim I kept up my driving skills with a couple of visits to World Of Golf, a local driving range. I never had to queue for a bay, itis £7 for 100 balls and you can hire clubs, not much more to say. I still go regularly.
Hobbs Cross Golf Course
My first proper game of golf was at Hobbs Cross. in Essex. It seemed like a friendly course, geared towards beginners. There was a 9-hole par-3 and another more normal 9-hole. For the record I was 57-over for the full 18. There was a driving range, but the café was closed - take your own food just in case. A good course and I'll go back eventually (it's a good distance away from where I live).
Beckenham Place Park Golf Course
Beckenham Place Park is probably the nearest course to my current abode. It is a cheap public course (£50 for 2 and club hire), and is a bit harder than Hobbs Cross. Aside from the golf, I was not greatly impressed: the hire clubs seemed poor to me; the café was disappointing (salad in sandwiches is apparently not often requested); there were many groups of kids wandering around and the toilets were closed. On the golf side, quite a few of the holes are uphill which causes me some problems. I'm in no rush to return.
City Golf
I was given a voucher for a complimentary session at City Golf, where you play golf inside, hitting your balls towards a video screen. While this was ok for driving practice, nothing else played as I would expect it. Putting was hopeless and so was trying to get out of the rough - there was just no feel. Although it was free to me, the costs seemed quite high. I doubt I am their target market. I can't imagine I'll be going back anytime soon.
Yesterday was the second Poker evening I have organised. This time the turnout was a little smaller: me, Ann, Amanda and Ury. Like last time we played two Texas Hold'em tournaments, but the structure was a little different. As Amanda was a complete beginner we decided to split into pairs for heads-up tournaments for the first game. A decision with which I was happy as this is what I mainly play during my occasional forays online. Ury and I played each other, while Ann and Amanda went over the basics. The second game was all four of us. Below are the games as I remember them.
In the first game, I had the best of the early exchanges and built a decent lead. Then came a hand where I had K5o; as the small blind I 3-bet and Ury called. The flop came K54o, Ury made a small bet, I went all-in and Ury called. I was confident when he turned over K9, but when the 9 came on the river I went from a bit ahead to way behind. I brought myself back to par over the next 4 hands, with 3 all-in semi-bluffs (ace high or a Q-high flush draw after the flop). Ury called me on one, my A3 caught trip 3s. The game went on as Ury slowly lost ground with poor initial hands until forced in by the rising blinds on 10-8s (he said that was the best starting hand he had since my run of semi-bluffs), but beaten by my A2o with a pair of 2s. In all we played an hour and a half with only 4 showdowns.
The main game started in a similar manner to the heads-up games; big bets winning the pot without showdowns. At this point I seemed to get a reputation as a bluffer judging by the table banter. So to answer Ury's question after pushing him off a pot with an all spade 9,10,J flop - I had Q7, and open-ended straight draw with an overcard, not a complete bluff. Ann was then so sure I was bluffing when there was a possible straight on the board, she went all-in against me with the comment "I know what you are pretending to have." Ann then became the first rebuy in our home games. The action came quickly after that. Ann busted Ury and he bought in again right on the time limit. Amanda lost a couple of big hands and was forced to go all-in. Ury and I joined the pot, which I started betting big after the flop with an overcard, open-ended straight and flush draw. Ury "ummed and ahhed", complaining that we should do just enough to bust Amanda, but finally called. Sensing weakness, I continued to bet big and Ury agonised over the call. Then I went all-in and Ury took an age to call, but finally won with two-pair against my pair of kings. I was crippled with barely a big blind, and I was the big blind! Without looking at my cards I went all-in 4 times in a row. Then it was just Ann and Ury to finish. They seemed to get a little bored and soon were all-in. Ury won on the better starting hand.
Again this was a lot of fun. I thought the small group may be a problem, but it worked out very well. Also, changing the format of the games is something worth trying again.
Last weekend I finally saw the Tour de France live. I'm a fan of cycling
and have been to the Track World Championships, but never to the Tour. Generally I find road racing uninteresting live - you wait around for ages and then they go past very quickly. I made an exception for the Tour since it is the biggest road race and there could be a good atmosphere.
We arrived at Issy, a suburb of Paris, around 1pm. The tour was scheduled to pass between 3pm & 3:30pm on their way to the Champs-Élysées. The hope was that this would avoid the crowds. A fair assumption since the roads were deserted apart from the police. Settling at a road side bar with a few drinks we waited. After an hour the crowds started to build and cars began to pass us more often. Then came the Tour caravan - a collection of advertising vehicles resembling parade floats. I don't have any photos of this as the crowds were 3 deep (larger than for the cyclists!) and were desperately scrambling for the trinkets thrown from the passing cars. We largely stayed in our seats.
By around 2:45pm the caravan had passed and the peloton was scheduled to arrive soon after. Only they didn't. The schedule was based on an average speed of 38km/h, but the riders were obviously going much slower and arrived around 4:30pm. It was a pleasant afternoon. I'm glad I went and especially glad I didn't go to the crowded end of the stage. I'd recommend seeing it once, but I don't feel any need to go again. Road cycling is definitely a TV sport.
Below is a video of the peloton passing us. The winner Sastre (in the yellow jersey) is in about 5th place, but there is clearly not much racing going on. The overall results had been largely decided by this point.
Here is our location in Paris on Google Maps (with streetview):
