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I’m delighted to finally be able to announce the launch date of the Glasgow parkrun: A free, weekly timed 5k around Pollok Park. This joins the 10 other parkrun events that take place around the UK, and is the first parkrun event in Scotland. 

The provisional start date we’ve agreed with Pollok park management is Saturday, 6th December at 9.30am, outside the Burrell museum. The all important sociable coffee and chat follows in the Burrell cafe. The parkrun occurs every week at the same time. Plenty more at: 

http://www.parkrun.com/glasgow_home.aspx 

If you want to take part in this, or any of the other parkrun events, you just need to register with parkrun before your first event: http://register.parkrun.com/ - It’s a one-off process. No need to repeat each week. 

parkrun’s are run entirely by volunteers, so please get in touch if you’d like to help. You might be racing later in the day, want to give something back to the running community, or be recovering from injury and want to stay in touch with running friends. 

We’re particularly keen to get names down for the first few weeks as the event establishes itself. See the Volunteer tab, drop me an e-mail, post a comment, or speak to me in person. 

A bit more on the parkrun idea follows below.

Regards, 

Richard Leyton and Iain Brown, Event Directors  Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve a bit of a dilemma over our central heating. The boiler we have is around 30 years old, so clearly a classic example of the sort of boiler that we’re being encouraged to upgrade to newer, more efficient condensing boiler systems. If we also moved to a “combi” boiler we’d lose the hot water tank (we don’t make much use of it, on the whole, as we have an electric shower), and - I’m told - automatically save about 25% or so on our gas bills.

The complication comes in the fact that our boiler is outside the house, so we have no gas coming in to the house. I’m a big fan of induction hobs, so have no desire to return to gas hobs, so don’t really want to bring gas inside if we can avoid it. Why in the house? Well it turns out that modern boilers are designed to be inside. They’ve complicated parts, and consist of copper and complex electronics. They just can’t live outside without proper protection.

In comparison, we’ve currently got something a solid-workhorse of a boiler: It lives in a simple walled structure (single bricks) with a basic roof and door with some basic insulation. It just about withstood the gales/storms last week. It’s got (I understand) a cast iron core, so can withstand the temperature and humidity variance that comes with being outside in the boiler house. It’s also very uncomplicated. It heats water, has an outlet flue, and the only electronics are the ignition system and the pump. Hardly complicated. But because of the solid cast structure, it takes a fair bit more energy to get up and running in the mornings.

We could put the replacement boiler in a cupboard in a spare room (where the hot water tank is). It’s perfectly safe. The only place you can’t put a boiler is, I’m told, a bathroom. But personally I don’t like the idea of a boiler in a bedroom: it’d certainly be something I’d query if I was buying a house. Other locations in our house aren’t possible for a variety of reasons to do with layout, distance from gas meter and so on.

Whilst our boiler did break down recently (turns out the thermocouple needed replacing), I was rather reassured that it’s easy to fix (Although the markup charged for the thermocouple itself was eye-watering). Newer boilers with their electronics strike me as a bit more higher maintenance as they get older. Specialist parts are expensive even at the best of times. And there doesn’t seem to be a market these days for simple, cast-structure boilers that can work outside the house.

So our option, if we’re against getting gas run into the house, is to build-up our boiler house a bit from it’s current form, so a combi-boiler could be installed outside at the appropriate height, and to install a proper door/roof to keep the elements properly out. But after talking to the boiler repair engineer, I’m somehow reassured that our existing boiler, despite its various inefficiencies still has a fair bit of life left in it. A classic example of old and reliable

Perhaps I can assuage my green-guilt with my ‘inefficent’ (but simple and reliable) boiler by keeping the hot water tank and getting solar panels fitted to reduce the need to fire up the boiler for the hot water we rarely need. But then is that practical in sunny Glasgow? Or perhaps we should get rid of the electric shower and use this hot water we’re heating? But I rather like the consistency and power of an electric shower.

There are a number of excellent programmes on television at the moment about the United States of America. Simon Schama’s The American Future: A History is a particular favourite, and whilst I’m enjoying the variety and cinematography of Steven Fry in America, I fear it’s taken on too much, so we’re left with fleeting glances. I suspect the companion book from Fry, which will probably be on my Christmas list, will be more in depth. Finally, we have Jon Snow’s American Journey, to be broadcast tonight. I always enjoy Jon Snow’s reports from America (he has a knack of finding interesting views from ordinary Americans), so this promises to be a treat.

But in watching any programme or news report on America, so much in vogue as the presidential election nears it’s climax, I find my mind is always cast back to a cafe in Luxembourg one spring day in what must have been 1996. Myself and two American friends and work colleagues (Amy and Peter) from the company we worked for in Düsseldorf, Germany, had hired a car and headed off on a road trip over one of the many really long German weekends.

Of course, given it was Amy who had booked the car, the German company presumed an automatic car was required, so that’s what we got. My first go driving such, and on the wrong side of the road too. I found the automatic harder to get used to by a long shot. A hill start in Monaco a few days into the trip had me asking (quite frantically, I recall) “but where’s the clutch; how can I start on a hill without the clutch”, only to be told all I needed to do was take my foot off the brake, and on to the accelerator.

Our trip took us down through Germany, to Strasburg, then in to Switzerland, where we stayed in Berne. Then down to Italy and Genoa, over the border to Monaco, then back through France, and a few excitements in Lyon, and on to Luxembourg. It was a great break, and what working abroad was all about.

Luxembourg left me with two memories. One, that there are an awful lot of petrol stations there. Brought about, I seem to recall, by the tax policies, which made it very attractive for German, Dutch, Belgian and French motorists to fill up.

The second leads on to my choice of the title. Over lunch, I idly asked Amy and Peter if they could name all fifty states, because, I suggested, I didn’t know if I could do the same about English counties (I knew I couldn’t name many Welsh ones, so English was it!). They seemed to think this was achievable, easy even, and set out to name them.

Thankfully we had a paper table cover, and a pen, so they set out to write out every state and write it down. Quick progress was made. I even chipped in with some easy ones. We made good progress. But as we hit 40 states, it genuinely started to get tricky. But one by one, they fell. Until we had 49 states. Out of, of course, 50.

And there it stayed. As did (perhaps most regrettably of all) the table cover. We didn’t take it with us, so no way of working out which one had been missed. So as a result I’m left with this annoying gap of one state. Whenever America is mentioned, a programme featuring an off-the-beaten track State, I always find myself wondering “was that the state we missed?“. That red table cover with the 49 states, and the furrowed brows of my American friends, 12 years ago in a Luxembourg cafe, at the end of a superb road trip. I’ll never know which one was it, of course. But do like to think back to a great road trip with good friends all those years ago.

I’m delighted to hear, and fully intend to support, the creation of a new ‘Friends of Pollok Park’ group that will be launching after the Save Pollok Park meeting (Tuesday 28th October at 7.30pm, at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, opposite Pollok Park). Members of Kelvingrove Park’s Friends Group will be along to explain how they operate. A constructive supporters group should be a great asset to the park. I’ve myself put forward one or two ideas as to how the park could be improved, without recourse to commercially focused development, and hope they’ll be considered at the public meeting next week.

The Save Pollok Park meeting that precedes it should be interesting too, as it’ll be covering the legal arguments as to why the Go Ape lease can’t be granted, and updating supporters as to progress and strategies. Hopefully a constructive series of discussions. 

There’s a petition still open for supporters to sign. It closes next Tuesday, so be sure to get your name down on it before it’s presented to the council.

A new iPhone release is a good thing, on the whole. New shiny features aplenty

But a small request to Apple: make SMS reminder notifications optional!

Like many geeks, my phone has replaced my pager. So I get notifications and warnings aplenty. And the preview is usually enough to see what it’s about so I don’t ‘acknowledge’ them. This new release insists on doing just that, and insessently (well, twice) notifies me. And gets very annoying very quickly, as I can’t distinguish a new message from a reminder.

So, Steve, an option to disable this would be very welcome. Mmmmok?

Robert Peston is a man who rarely seems off the airwaves at the moment, from his Northern Rock news last year, through to his coverage of the financial meltdown we’re seeing today.

Whilst I can’t fault the substance of what he says, and it seems he’s got some substantial contacts, I’ve a few gripes with Mr Pestons presentation style (in particular his elocution), and his seeming self importance, matched solely by seeming self-belief. Most particularly his choice of language can be clumsy, and possibly even self-fulfilling. Watching his body language when being interviewed on television, particularly in the studio when he has to try and sit still for a little while whilst the presenter sets context, is always interesting.

But this exchange on Radio 4’s Today, this morning (at about 7:30 this morning) was delightful, and an example of something I’d suggest are real ‘Pestonisms’:

Evan Davis: Morning Robert, what do we know now [about the Treasury Statement]?

Robert Peston: Well, what we know Evan is that absolutely, well it confirms really, what I’ve been saying for 24 hours. Absolutely colossal sums going into RBS and HBOS. RBS raising £20b from taxpayers. HBOS £11.5b from taxpayers….

‘Pestonisms’ have been mentioned before, but I’d suggest that a true ‘Pestonism’ isn’t purely his spoken style, but also something that captures the raw essence that is Robert Peston.

Other examples gratefully received.

I’ve just stumbled on this marvellous collection of running frustrations at DebsOnWriting. Well worth having a read: If you’ve ever been out running, I’m sure you’ll agree with most - if not all - of the items included! I’ve certainly tried writing my own compilation of frustrations and annoyances, but don’t think I’ll come quite as closed (or anywhere near as well written!).

More here at DebsOnRunning, from the same author.

Whilst locking up the house last night, I noticed the postman had wedged a package behind our storm doors. Annoyed that they’d not at least tried to ring, I dug it out and wondered who on earth had sent me a fleece. I’m afraid I’ve reached free-garment overload with all the free t-shirts I get as a runner and a techie.

Only after a moment of silence that must have been quite noisy in the way that important moments are, did I realise this was the official are-you-in-London-2009 Marathon letter. So after ripping open the package, the magazines words of “It’s not over yet”, and “You have been unsuccessful” stared back at me. 

Oh well. According to wikipedia, in 2007, as many as 125,000 people applied to run, but only 49,963 applications were accepted. So that’s quite a ratio, especially given there are charity places allocated out, good-for-age runners, and places made available to running clubs to take out of that figure. So my chances were always slim, and I really don’t know if I fancy trying to raise money for charity - the minimum figures for guaranteed entry are quite high. Oh, and I rather like my running club top

So as I decided some months ago that I would run a marathon of some sort, I’ve today applied to run the 2009 Edinburgh Marathon, which is a bit easier to get to, still has places, is much smaller, and according to their publicity at least, has a fast course. It’s also very popular with my running club, so there’ll be a good number of people to train with. Plus a hotel we rather like is a short train journey away from the finish line, and it has rather good spa facilities. Which I expect will be very welcome indeed after the event.

I’m probably still going to have a go at London 2009, through my clubs allocation, but as I write that I’m wondering if that’s going to be such a good idea. I quite like the idea of a smaller race (If 11,500 participants is ever considered small? Compared to London it is!) for my first marathon, and perhaps leaving the ballot to people in the club who want it more. Plus the Edinburgh entry is non-refundable…

No matter. That’s still some months off. In the meantime I suppose I need to have a think about what sort of time is reasonable to aim for in this, and all the other distances I’ll be running next year.

Returning home from a rain soaked running training session this evening, I caught the end of an interview on Radio 4’s Front Row with sculptor Richard Serra. Towards the end of the interview (28 minute offset) he made a fascinating aside about graffiti, specifically tagging, after being asked about a mark that the interviewer had seen on a recent installation:

If you notice, kids never tag advertisements because advertisements, they think, are something they aspire to, even though advertisements are probably what represses them and makes them conform more than anything else. Yet they’ll tag something they think has no useful function. And the interesting thing about art is that it’s purposely useless. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a use in terms of evoking feelings and sensations that nothing else can do, but it means it’s not useful in the utilitarian way that a doorknob is.

Thinking about it, I can’t think of any graffiti or tagging I’ve ever seen on adverts. But maybe other factors are at play - that adverts are replaced frequently, that they’re slightly out of the way, or maybe that I’m not paying attention. 

But I can’t shake the feeling that it hits a truth about the process. It struck me as a fascinating observation, and presents an interesting insight into the mindset of the perpetrators.

In my previous financially focused post (link) I expressed frustration at how the media continue to misrepresent the perfectly legitimate practice of ’short selling’. As I was watching the news yesterday (with their on-screen live FTSE and DOW figures), and reading the newspapers again this morning, I was reminded that there are further examples of oversights and simplifications in financial reporting, that all go to make me concerned there are few places to go for solid news (Radio 4, Newsnight and Channel 4 news, largely).

One example is, perhaps, well known. It’s the reporting of the FTSE 100 index figure as some generic financial indicator. Remember, this is just a selected index of a basket of equities (ie. stocks), and it is adjusted over time. Whilst it constitutes about 80% of the total value of the FTSE shares, it is still an equity indicator, and a general purpose one at that. It’s of interest as many people invest in FTSE-100 trackers. Personally I prefer a FTSE-All Share tracker.

In the context of the ‘credit crunch’, equities are not really a particularly good indicator. Whilst it’s clear that share values fluctuates, it doesn’t in itself show very much about the underlying problem that faces financial institutions. Let’s not forget too that in times of doubt there is always a flight of money from equities to fixed income products and commodities (particularly gold). When people sell their equity investments in large numbers, share prices naturally drop (a surfeit of sellers), and it’s likely to see ’safer’ investment values rise (due to limited availability; commodities need digging/drilling!). Just compare the graph for last months gold price, particularly it’s big spike in September 2008, and last months stock market indicator graphs.

Oil prices are an interesting case - they were a solid investment earlier this year - it was doing nothing but rise - but with the doubt and fear about a global recession, oil prices drop over fears about reduced demand. A good thing too, clearly, as the knock-on effect on heating bills has serious consequences for societies most vulnerable members. But let’s forget the halcyon days of less than $25 barrel oil - many of the oil-rich Gulf states are funding huge investments on the basis of (relatively) high (>$75) oil prices. I for one was not in the least bit surprised by the news in early September that OPEC were cutting production. Let us not also remember oil is priced in US$, so as the US$-Sterling rate falls, so oil price rises for us. But it’s not really been mentioned in the media that oil prices are safely below $100 at the moment: It’s been ignored due to other financial events.

So share price drops are inevitable in days of doubt. Investors seek safer shores. In today’s Guardian it’s reported that is also happening with people’s savings, as they move from perceived ‘at risk’ banks to National Savings products and other government backed savings accounts. You’d almost think that the financial professionals are people too! On a side note, the term ‘Masters of the Universe’ used a lot at the moment (in reference to financial high-flyers) comes from The Bonfire of the Vanities, rather than the children’s cartoon series.

Equities are a good indicator of confidence, and the massive dives in recent weeks indicate the failing confidence. The problem was exacerbated, in my mind at least, by an inept US President. By making the announcement that something of that scale was planned so far in advance, expectations were set. Financial institutions felt the cavalry was coming. So when Congress refused to pass the bill in it’s proposed form, expectations were shattered, and confidence plunged.

The other key word is volatility. Prices are moving about as much as they are as investors take differing views on insufficient, inaccurate, incorrect information. Throw in a healthy dose of fear, and you’ve everything you need. One figure that seems to be missing from public resources is traded volume. Prices are naturally volatile when volumes are lower (fewer people competing to sell/buy assets), and I’m curious to find out how traded volume compares in September, with that of previous months or years. Although I suspect the confidence figures remain the dominant factor here.

But as far as measuring the ‘credit crunch’, it’s LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) that’s king. These are the rates at which banks lend to each other over various periods of time. The credit crunch is all about this lending drying up, represented by spikes in the rate, which is normally closer to the Bank of England interest rate. Just yesterday the overnight rate hit 6.87%, compared to the 5% for the Bank of England. This rate is finally getting reported more often by the serious media, but it’s still difficult to find on market data websites.

As we all know the Credit Crunch is about banks not lending to each other, at least without a prohibitive premium. For the ‘real economy’ that means borrowing of any sort are going to be more difficult. As such borrowed money - vital in the short-term - dries up, we can expect to see in the coming months businesses struggling to find money to help them grow, invest or simply get through a difficult patch. When cash runs out, for whatever reason, businesses fail, and jobs start to go. If the complete grid-lock in the finance sector isn’t eased soon, the bad news from successful businesses will start to grow in numbers. Sadly it’s a delayed consequence, which doesn’t sit well with the 24 hours news cycle that seems to demand cause-and-effect to be observable.

So if you want a figure that indicates how the credit crunch is affecting lending, LIBOR is the one to look to. If you want an indicator of confidence and fear, the FTSE figures. Whilst confidence remains so low, and the US government struggles to find the rescue package it needs, I’d expect prices to remain volatile, and many valuable commodities, will rise.

But it’s not all bad news. If, like me, you’re some years away from retirement, take the pragmatic view that lower prices can make for a good buying opportunity. A complete economic meltdown is unlikely as fundamentals are, I think, still quite sound and the crises is still solvable if fingers are extracted and US politicians get a grip and stop playing, er, politics. But look to the other figures for a better indication of what’s going on. It’s certainly not all about what the FTSE or DOW is doing day to day.