Similar Posts
Negotiating Overhangs
Negotiating overhangs is physical, fun and sometimes scary. It is for this reason that the Via Ferrata de Thônes via ferrata section is such fun. It gets your adrenaline pumping as you fight to keep hold and clip and unclip in the relevant sections. It forces you to overcome your fear of being over the void. The third section of the Via Ferrata de Saillon is a challenge for the very same reason.
The video above shows rock climbers at the IFSC World cup negotiating an overhanging wall and trying various techniques to get further than other people. We see how they use heel hooks and go for it before losing their grip and falling. This footage is fun because we see them work to solve the problem in a number of ways and then fall. When they fall the belayer slows down but does not stop the fall so it looks as if they are falling towards the ground. Imagine an ordinary person getting that sensation. It would scare them.
Fear is good because it keeps us safe. It means that we’re thinking of the consequences and we are aware of the dangers. It means that we will only progress within our comfort level. If we have doubt we can climb down to the nearest quick draw and rest. If we ignore that fear then we may fall. By staying in our comfort zone we are safer.
When you’re climbing you know when you have good foot holds and hand holds. You also know how long you will be able to stay in that position. The more afraid you are the more energy you burn. That’s why positioning is important. In the video above we see that one person decided to climb feet first through the overhanging section. Our leg and feet muscles are much stronger than our arm muscles so they allow us more time to think of a solution. With time all of these climbers could have negotiated that section.
Watching clouds form as a 360 timelapse
Time-lapse videos are fun because we can see something happen faster or slower than real time. By watching this content we gain a better understanding of the world and how it works. For years I have been filming time-lapses and the results can be fun. In some cases we record time-lapses with video cameras and at other times we set an interval timer to take pictures every so many seconds. In this post you will be watching clouds form as a 360 timelapse.
I have chosen to share both the flat image and the spherical image. The reason for sharing both versions is to give you an overview of how objects move in both.
Spherical Version
With this version look to your right and you will be able to watch the clouds move through space. As they move you will see them grow thicker and then cover the sun. At this point everything gets darker. If you watch this video a few times you can watch the landscape change.
The next step would be to get a 360 camera somewhere high during a total eclipse of the sun by the moon. During such events you will see a grey mask cross over the landscape, you will see birds fly away and then everything will be dark. You can then turn around and watch totality, the corona and then the reverse process. The time is right for eclipse chasers to be at the right place to capture such an event as a 360 video.
Flat Version
With the flat version you can imagine where you would aim a standard camera. Would you try to get the clouds that are forming over the mast or would you prefer to look out towards La Dôle and watch as the large clouds form and float to block off the sun? In this image you can see from Villeneuve and Lausanne to Geneva and the Salève.
Having such a wide angle of view allows you to see everything that is going on in front of and behind the camera. The timelapse is a sequence of pictures rather than video so in future I hope to export the video in a higher resolution.
On Being Moral
Heavier than Expected
I ordered something online two days ago. I received a package today and I was surprised by how heavy it was. I opened the package. It contained over a hundred francs of things I did not order.
More Waiting
It’s frustrating not to get what I ordered.
To be Moral, or Devious
I found myself in a quandary. Do I report the mistake, or do I keep silent about it? Of course morality is how you behave when no one is looking, so I reported the mistake. Now I wait to see what they tell me to do. Part of me is thinking that I should offer to review these products, as blog posts, mentioning the company that made the mistake, and benefiting from it.
The Contents
I am already familiar with the USB to lightning cable as well as the 1l Befree water filter. I am also familiar with the USB-C to USB-C cable. What I am not familiar with is the Philips Sonicare 5100 tooth brush. This is what I would be most curious about.
Estimated Value
The value of the package is about 200 CHF according to a quick search. I think someone put the wrong label on a package, and now someone else got my order that is worth less.
BeFree
Out of the list above the only thing that I have no interest is the Befree water filter. In my experience it clogs up after the first use, if you do not use it again within a very short period.
Water in Switzerland is so full of calcar that a nanotube water filter will clog as soon as you let it dry after use. It’s light and portable, and great, if you’re walking for several days or weeks in a row. If you use it once every few weeks then it is less useful.
Waiting
Now I am waiting to see what I am told to do. Do I post it back, do I keep it, or do I take it to a physical shop. We’ll see
And Finally
After years of ordering stuff online this is the first time that I get the wrong thing. I am used to excellence from this company, which is why I order from them, rather than others.
They like to provide people with next day delivery, even from Friday to Saturday and soon they will have same day delivery. This mistake means that someone else will have waited a week for an order that should have taken one business day. Order fulfilled on Monday, to be delivered by Tuesday. Now in the best case scenario it will be Thursday or Friday.
Perm 36 YouTube Video Visit
Last night I watched a video about a visit to Perm36 but it covered just the trip. The video below is far more complete and informative. I am currently reading Gulag by Anne Applebaum, rather than The Gulag Archipelago, like she mentions. I started reading it decades ago but never finished it. I read A day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch in a single day.
Reading Gulag, The Gulag Archipelago and other books helps give some context to what Soviet Russia was like. As I read Gulag by Applebaum I get the feeling that Soviet Russia was about enslaving people to make profit for some whilst everyone else suffers. From this perspective what the Soviet Union would morph into, at the end of the Soviet age would make more sense.
I recommend watching this video. It is informative.