In the Nation's Capitol

This was the iced-up view from the window of MD's airbus at Washington Dulles airport on his trip back from Ireland and the UK exactly one month ago; hopefully the weather will have improved considerably by tomorrow...

Mad Dog is stressed out. He's currently in Washington DC reviewing research grants for the National Institutes of Health (that's the US government for those of you not in the trade). The last week has been spent reading grant applications which have been of patchy merit. There's been no time to consider any personal activities such as rallying, duelling and other related manly and relaxing activities. Tomorrow (Wednesday) he's on his way back to Seattle and that sword (see previous post) is going to be ordered as a small personal reward -and possibly something to do with the anticipated, massive, honorarium of $200 for reviewing the above applications (works out to about $4.00 an hour; i.e. about half the minimum wage).

P.S. According to blogspot statistics, this is my 300th post since I started blogging.

Iaido

Mad Dog is lusting after a sword like this one (don't worry only the point is sharp).

While I'm on the subject of aikido, I should also mention that I also train in iaido. This wonderfully graceful and contemplative martial art is all about sword drawing. The Japanese were absolute masters at unsheathing (and re-sheathing) their famously lethal katana in a precise, lightning quick manner and practiced the movements in a similar way to gunslingers of the Wild West (yes, and I haven't forgotten about those cowboy posts I said I'd finish awhile back). Anyway as aikido techniques are largely the empty hand versions of sword movements, taking up iaido has been a logical extension of my practice. It also has the allure of swordplay which has been a fascination since childhood. So recently I decided to extend my training beyond the sword classes offered at my home aikido dojo and join the excellent Musokai in Bellevue, Washington. Musokai is run by two very senior Japanese sensei (both 7th degree black belts) as well as a host of highly ranked assistant instructors and is one of the best schools in the country. I'm anticipating that this will be excellent supplementary training not to mention the fact that will give me an opportunity to acquire weapons like the one pictures above...!

Aikido Notes

I don't blog much about my practice of aikido and iaido as I'm the consummate under achiever in these arts. However since my decade long hiatus (1995-2005) I've been training fairly diligently for the past 18 months and even feel I've made some modest improvements both in technique and general fitness. Long may this trend continue. Anyway I feel I must comment on a marvelous seminar I had the privilege to attend a couple of weeks ago. It was conducted by the legendary Frank Doran and was quite simply the best seminar I have ever witnessed. Not only was it extremely well thought through in themes and teaching style but Doran Sensei, at the age of 74, is a model of graceful movement and amazingly precise aikido (see YouTube video clip above). In addition he is an extremely polite, courteous and approachable human being: personality traits that are not evident in many of the instructors I've observed over the years. I must also add to a comment on seminars made recently by the excellent aikido blogger, UchiDeshi. Unlike many students I generally don't care much for seminars. Having had some great teachers over the years I find that seminars generally fall into two categories (i) the instructor teaches the same old basic forms I can see on any given day of the week in my home dojo or (ii) he/she demonstrates very complicated techniques, usually on a overcrowded mat where they can't be executed properly by the deshi. So I don't usually relish the idea of paying money (usually quite a lot) to get battered more than usual with little in the way of enlightenment. Doran Sensei was a notable exception however and I'm going to make every effort to his workshops in future.

World Traveller

OK, here's a piece of nonsense for you to do -assess your globe-trotting activities over the years. It would appear that I have visited 28 of the states in the USA and 32 countries (except this algorithm lumps the constituent parts of the United Kingdom together). Anyway what's a Celt or two between friends? According to the this TravelBuddy thingy I've visited 15% of the countries in the World. That's ok I suppose but there are some shameful omissions. I haven't been to South America, Central or Southern Africa, Russia or China. I'm hoping a trip to Thailand might come up towards the end of the year and jaunt to Zanzibar might be in the pipeline. So many places, so little time (and money)...!

Gift of the Gab

Mad Dog Indulging in Tourist Silliness

In case any of you wondered about my whereabouts, I've spent the last few days in the Emerald Isle attending to a collaborative project. While in the delightful town of Cork I took time off to visit Blarney Castle where I shamelessly kissed the Stone of Eloquence (and ignored rumours that the locals urinate on it). As if I needed an endorsement to blather on and on and on...

P.S. SInce writing this post, it has been drawn to my attention that there is an epidemic of "Winter Vomiting" going around these parts. It's due to a really contagious bug called a norovirus. I'm really anxious I might succumb. Ironically I'm working on a diagnostic for this very disease back in Seattle. Ah, well, home tomorrow...

Monte Carlo Historique Rally 2007: Progress Report 4

The rally is now over and the results confirmed. I watched the ACM site avidly as the cars raced off to tackle the dreaded night loop on the mountains behind Monte Carlo. Many a competitor's hopes have been dashed on the infamous Col de Turini (memories of hitting That Wall in 2005 still make me shudder). There were three regularity stages. On the first two nothing much happened and with both the Barker/Cave and O'nion/Wilkinson Mini Coopers moving up through the field. And then on the final stage from Lantosque to the Col de Braus, chaos! Peter Barker and Willy Cave 13 places to finish 22nd overall but somehow lost the class position to a Renault 8 Gordini that had been running about 10 places behind. They were however, the first Mini over the line. A fitting performance on this the 40th anniversary of the last Mini victory in the original event. Geoff O'nion and David Wilkinson were less lucky. They had a torrid time on the last stage and they dropped 30 places to 99th overall but still finished 4th in class behind a Saab 96. I'm not sure what happened but weather is almost certainly to blame. The mountain roads behind Monaco are very, very tricky and when snow, ice and freezing fog are thrown into the equation anything can happen. The overall winners were the formidable Belgian team of Alain Lopes and Joseph Lambert. I've excerpeted the top 10 results from the Automobile Club de Monaco's site (sorry about the size but you can just about read them).


Oh, and for completeness I've posted the final episode of the 2004 event for your viewing pleasure.

Monte Carlo Historique Rally 2007: Progress Report 3

Today is the second part of the Common Leg and runs from Briancon to Monaco. I'll post the results as they come in (the most recent at the top of the page). I've also posted the Episode 5 movie clip of the 2004 event.

Results after the third regularity stage (Rouaine - St Pierre)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 51st overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 72nd overall, 4th in class (II/1)

Both Mini teams have been gradually moving through he field but overall most crews seem to be performing very consistently and I presume this is due to good weather. Furthermore the domination of the event by more powerful cars and the relatively few retirees (29) suggests that this is a "dry" year.

The next item on the agenda is a race around the casino at Monte Carlo after the cars arrive in the Principality this afternoon. Just like the days of yore. Finally it's the dreaded nightloop around the Col de Turini where in the past many a crew has literally become unstuck (including your humble narrator on the 2005 edition).
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Results after the second regularity stage (Ets Thermals - Norante)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 54th overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 75th overall, 4th in class (II/1)

A Saab 96 and a Renault Gordini still separate O'nion/Wilkinson from Barker/Cave in class II/1.

The highest placed Mini, the Innocenti Cooper S of Treves/Calegari is running 26th overall.
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Results after the first regularity stage of the day(St Clément sur Durance - St Sauveur d'Embrun)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 58th overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 79th overall, 4th in class (II/1)

Monte Carlo Historique Rally 2007: Progress Report 2

Today in Part 1 of the Common Leg. I'm going to try some live reporting throughout the day; so here we go -the most recent result are first.

Results after the fourth regularity stage (Les Rambeaux - La Paute)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 59th overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 84th overall, 4th in class (II/1)

I have a suspicion that Geoff' O'nion's little 997cc Cooper is struggling in the mountains and gives away a lot of horsepower to the more much more powerful 1071cc engine of Peter Barker.
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Results after the third regularity stage (St Michel les Portes - Col des Deux St Guillaume)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 58th overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 84th overall, 4th in class (II/1)

A Saab 96 and a Renault Gordini are in between Peter Barker and Geoff O'nion in the II/1 class.

Former Cooper Car Co colleagues (but now Porsche 911-mounted, the buggers) Alain Lopes and Joseph Lambert are running 2nd overall.
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Results after the second regularity stage (Les Nonières - Mens)

Aghem, G/Cumino (Lancia Fulvia 1.6) 1st overall

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 59th overall, 1st in class (II/1)

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 85th overall, 4th in class (II/1)

It looks like weather conditions are now breaking up the field...
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Results after the first regularity stage (St Jean en Royans - Vassieux en Vercors -usually a tricky run with lots of snow):

Ortiz de Zarate/Gonzalez (Porsche 911): 1st overall

O'nion/Wilkinson (Mini Cooper): 69th overall, 2nd in class (II/1)

Barker/Cave (Mini Cooper): 74th overall, 3rd in class (II/1)

I'll update these results throughout the day.

A quick eyeball of the overall results after the first regularity suggests that the crews are being very consistent and I suspect there's not yet much snow. Hopefully I'll get some direct reports from the frontline soon. In the meantime I've linked another episode of the 2004 rally for your viewing pleasure.

Monte Carlo Historique Rally 2007: Progress Report 1

In true petrolhead fashion, I've been glued to the Automobile Club de Monaco's website as the results of the 10th Monte Carlo Historic Rallye are posted. Notes are as follows:

After the Concentration Run, a non-competetive but gruelling 800Km+ overnight slog from the various European start points to Saint Etienne in the Ardeche, 14 of the original 319 crews had abandoned the event.

Today is the first truly competitive day of rallying. Traditionally this is known as the Classification Run: the results of the first five regularity stages dictating the running order for the rest of the event.

At the end of the fifth and final regularity stage, BRR customer and former Cooper Car Co cronies, Geoff O'nion and co-driver David Wilkinson were running 65th overall and second in class in Geoff's fabulous 997cc Mini Cooper. Peter Barker and Willy Cave in the seemingly immortal 977 ARX Mini Cooper were running 81st overall and fourth in class behind the Mini Cooper S mounted crew of Castelein and Schamp. A Porsche 911 driven by the Spanish crew of Ortiz de Zarate and Gonzalez is in the overall lead. The highest placed Mini is in 39th place and driven by the Danish crew of Kristofferson and Arp although this is a more contemporary car than those of O'nion/Wilkinson and Barker/Cave and thus in a different class.


I'll post more result as the come in -in the meantime I've posted a clip (3 of 8) of the 2004 MCH.

Monte Carlo Historique Rallye 2007

I shouldn't really complain about the weather as it's perfect for rallying. And today is the start of the 10th Monte Carlo Historique. I'm hoping that the whole Mad Dog team will be at the start in 2008. There really is nothing else like it to stir the blood. a I've found a clip of the 2004 edition that gives a good feel of the event (it has some great historical footage of Minis racing around Monaco). Enjoy!

Whining about Weather

South facing view of road outside MD kennels this morning; the incline turns it into a ski slope.

I'm so bloody cold I can't think.

In November we had the heaviest rainfall since records began...

In December we had record breaking gales that blew down trees everywhere in the state....

Now, in January, we've had snow on the ground for a weeks and it's frozen solid. More snow fell this morning. There's a burn ban in place so I can't have an open fire in the grate (but all the wood is sold out anyway). All I want to do is stay warm and eat huge amounts of comfort food.

I'm starting to hate winter...!

Vend it like Beckham

The New Year has started with some remarkable developments in the world of sports. The number of column inches devoted to the England cricket team's annihilation by Australia and the subsequent loss of The Ashes has already been exceeded by the announcement of David Beckham's move to the USA. It was even the front lead story on today's New York Times. Now why anyone would pay $250,000 million for a 31 year old midfielder who was quite overated at his peak (c2002) is beyond me. I presume that marketing rather than football is the driving force in the deal and all this talk about "branding" and promoting the "David Beckham Image" is getting on my nerves. I won't rant on about deification of celebrities and such because my blood pressure won't take it. Unfortunately I'm just going to steel myself about the prospect of seeing pictures of Posh and Becks saturating the commercial media while hawking all kinds of consumer frippery. Oh well...I'm off to have a G&T and contemplate seeing a publicist about marketing the Mad Dog Image! LOL!

Reflections on 2006

Olivia receiving her degree at the University of Washington Commencement Cermony, 10th June, 2006

The past year was great. There were quite a few memorable "highs" and not too many "lows". Possibly the best moment was daughter Olivia's graduation from University of Washington with a very creditable Bachelor's degree in Psychology (with loads of additional honours for rowing, leadership etc) back in June. Definitely a good outcome after 21 years of conspiracy/worry. Well done, O, -now just make sure you get into medical school. I'll post a resized photo in due course. Something seems to be awry with my scanner just now and I doubt it has anything to do with the amount of champagne I've just consumed -in any case I'll try to fix it on the morrow.

Have a great New Year's Eve, everybody and stay safe (if in doubt take a cab).

Forty Years Ago Today

Mad Pup with first car; a pedal-powered Maserati -the only type of this marque I'm ever likely to afford.

While we're on the topic of things automotive, it was 40 years ago today that I passed my driving test. It was my first attempt. I was also the first person in my class at school to gain my driving licence and gained minor celebrity status as a result. Forty years though, it doesn't seem possible -doesn't time fly when you're having fun!?

Mad Dog Rallying Update

Mad Dogs on the Winter Challenge Rally 2001 (2nd in class, 13th overall)

Several people have asked me about rally plans for 2007. Earlier this year I proclaimed that the Mad Dog Rally Team would enter the 10th Monte Carlo Historique (MCH) event to be held in January, 2007. The repair of PRX 720B was completed and a rebuild mapped out with Bill Richards. Lots of upgrades to performance and safety (especially considering out altercation with a wall in 2005) were planned. Better still we obtained very valuable sponsorship from a major parts supplier as well as a US-based automotive magazine. But despite this promising start things slowed down mid-year and we failed to secure an additional major sponsor. It's an expensive business to be competitive in the MCH and in the absence of a personal fortune external funding is essential. Following this letdown I felt quite despondent about the future of the car and decided that one rally every couple of years didn't justify the the expense of keeping it in cosy lockup the rest of the time, so relcutantly I put it on the market.

I received quite a few enquiries including one or two that were serious. The publication of advertisment corresponded with a trip to the UK and needless to say I popped in to Bill Richards racing for a chat. In retropect this was not the most sensible thing to do if I'd wanted to remain objective. After sharing several glasses of good shiraz with Bill being exposed to an evening of his infectious enthusiasm I decided to pospone the sale for now and agreed that we will definitely enter the 2008 event (just one year away). The rebuild will start in January and I can assure you that the next iteration of PRX will be seriously hot: faster, stronger, safer and more reliable than ever before. The team is all on board and the sponsors are happy. Now we just need one more major investor to cover the entry fees (3000 Euro). So if any deep pocketed readers want to back the team in return for some substantial publicity please let me know.

Cultural Observations: No.1, Phonophilia in the UK

Passengers on a UK train indulging in the national pastime.

What is it with the English and their phones? Stand one of them alone in a room/train/bus for more than 30 seconds and I guarantee they will pull out their mobile. Sometimes a phone call results but mostly they fiddle. I'm not sure what they do: check messages? check texts? write texts? web surf? play games? all of the above? Possibly they have cooler phones on the other side of the Atlantic or they've become more adept at SMSing (which seems to have just caught on here: I think the US is about 6 years behind Europe on this particular fad). Whatever it is the behaviour seems quite compulsive and much more evident than in the American counterparts. If you have any theories on this social phenomenon please feel free to speculate below.

P.S. And in case you were wondering it was I who took the photo of the above two gentleman with my own phone: they were clearly too absorbed in their telephonic twiddling to notice what I was doing!

Weather

A view of some of the storm debris at Mad Dog's kennels.

Earlier in the month I made a lightning pre-Christmas trip to the UK to organise some collaborations. While there I survived a tornado in North London and radiocactive contamination (I hope -at least I don't appear to be glowing, yet) from polonium 210 at UCL Hospital where the unfortunate Mr. Litvinenko met his recent demise. On the night of my return to Seattle I was, in a slightly self-congratulatory manner, I admit, contemplating my near misses before retiring to bed quite exhausted. I was woken up at 2.00am by the most violent wind storm and noticed that the power had gone out. The next morning, still without power, I surveyed the damage. It was quite unbelievable. Trees were down everywhere and millions of people were without electricity in Washington State, a wretched situation that continued for over week for some unfortunates. It took me a whole weekend to clean up the mess in my garden and heaven knows how long it will take me to dispose of the piles of debris. Oh Lord, I promise I won't be smug ever again...!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Alan Freeman, RIP

Alan Leslie Freeman MBE, 1927-2006

Farewell, Fluff. You entertained us PopPickers hugely.

Erm....not 'arf!

Bond, James Bond

Now before you chide me, I haven't forgotten about the cowboy poll -it's just that I've been overtaken by life recently. So I promise to publish the results soon. However as we've been on the topic of spys and spying recently I thought I'd continue the leitmotif today. As a distraction from grant writing (now done, Praise the Lord!) I took myself off to see Casino Royale at the weekend. I have to admit to leaving the cinema ("movie theatre" in American) slightly breathless after two hours of non-stop action and I offer the following comments:

Daniel Craig is a great Bond; possibly the best since Sir Sean. And I mean Connery in the first two flicks, Dr No and From Russia with Love in which he was very phyiscal and quite ruthless: Craig did well to play a similar character. I note that Timothy Dalton (an excellent actor and an underrated Bond) tried hard to do something similar but was given rubbish scripts and as a result came across as a bit wooden.

Lots of the old stuff is gone. Mercifully improbable stunts and ridiculous gadgets have been deleted (why did it take so long for the producers to get rid of this nonsense?). Notable missing items are:

-the Aston Martin DB5 (although there is a hat tip to it)

-the Walther PPK (I guess too old fashioned and puny -now the preferred pistol seems to be a modern Walther, always carried with a quite phallic silencer)

-Ms Moneypenny (but again there is hat tip but you have to be awake to catch it)

-"Q" nobody could really step into the shoes of the late, great Desmond Llewellyn (and please don't even mention John Cleese) and in any case the gadget-gimmick stuff became seriously silly after the autogyro in You Only Live Twice

-Martinis, shaken not stirred. Bond does drink in the film. Indeed he seems to drink quite heavily but when asked if he prefers his Martini shaken or stirred he snaps "do I look like I give a damn?"

In fact with so few references to the past you could be forgiven for thinking that the movie was just a plain old action-thriller but then in the final scene Daniel Craig reinvents the Bond character as he introduces himself to the arch villain as "Bond, James Bond" -then as the credits play the old familiar Monty Norman theme tune starts up for the first time. Brilliant!

Now don't get me wrong. There are still big stunts, luscious ladies and some extraordinary violence. But somehow it all appears credible.

Overall, Daniel Craig and the producers have more than reversed the rot that started to in creep into the films after Goldfinger. Heaven knows, I never thought the franchise would be taken seriously after Roger Moore (bloody hell, what did do to get his knighthood -if I had my way I'd have him thrown in the Tower of London for his efforts).

Now I can't wait to see Bond #22...