Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Saturday, October 29, 2022

LEONARDO da VINCI AS PERSEUS STATUE

I'm  not sure of the size of the statue but I estimate the size as being about 5 ft from knee to heel.




click on image to enlarge

Bronze statue of Leonardo da Vinci as Perseus on the Ile d'or in the Loire opposite, more or less, the Château d'Amboise, Amboise, France

Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years in Amboise and is said to be buried in the chapel of the château (there is some doubt that his remains are actually there). This statue by the Italian sculptor Amleto Cataldi (1882-1930) was presented to the French government by the Republic of San Marino in 1935. It represents Leonardo as a "Greek god," although why the subject of Perseus and Medusa was chosen is not known. 


The sculpture was originally installed in Paris. It was moved to its present location in 1976, but for some reason it was left unidentified (no plaque or marker) until December of 2011. 


The sculpture rests on a concrete platform near the river bank on the Ile d'Or, a small island in the Loire River at Amboise. The statue faces the château but at an angle from slightly upstream.


For a rear view of the sculpture, see: www.flickr.com/photos/hunky_punk/15306546653/


For a detail of the Medusa's head, see: www.flickr.com/photos/hunky_punk/15303964404/

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

DIARY SEPT 21/22


Below is a response to an article about a woman who thought her sister (who was suffering from dementia) was not getting the quality of long term care that she expected. The demented sister was being given a drug to control her behavior (the article does not specify what the unacceptable behavior is) but there were undesirable size effects (as there always is with any drug). 

One cannot help asking why wasn't this woman's sister kept at home? The answer can only be because the demented sister was impossible to control and was put in an LTC facility. The woman, having unburdened herself of her crazy sister, now feels she is free to complain. She is, of course, projecting her guilt for abandoning her sister onto the poor staff who, somehow, have to manage an unmanageable dementia patient (and without the use of drugs). Perhaps she thought that individual counseling was a viable option, free of charge, of course.

  1. If I may paraphrase Col. Jessup from A Few Good Men:

    “You weep for your sister Linda and you curse the LTC facilities. You have that luxury because you have off loaded the burden of caring for your demented sister to others. The treatment of your sister, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, is the best care care possible within the available budget. 

    Your sister could have had the finest care that money could buy. All you had to do was keep your sister at home and cough up the money for private nurses and other caregivers. But the truth is that you won’t do that. You want other people to pay for her “money-is-no-object" long term care. But you don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you don’t want to take care of your crazy sister. You and the rest of your family should have had a talk about the proper way to die before you got into this mess. I’ll bet you have never used the words duty, sacrifice and honor to govern the end of life healthcare. 

    We accept the principle of dying for one’s country - if one’s country is in jeopardy - because it is one’s duty. And it is dishonorable to do otherwise. Well, how about the duty to die for one’s family if one’s continued existence puts the family in jeopardy? But the woman does not want to do her duty. Actually she probably thinks duty, sacrifice and honor are quaint anachronisms. But the taxpayers of this country should not have to commit, either in time or in inclination, to explain themselves to irresponsible people who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very healthcare system that they provide and then question the manner in which they provide it. 

    Personally, I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, otherwise, I suggest you provide your own end of life healthcare at home and accept that burden. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”



 

Monday, September 5, 2022

BIKE DIARY SEPT 05/22


      FINALLY!! 

Start time  9:15 pm 

Temp 17.4 C                                                 

Ah                                           27.92      
Trip Distance                          64.10 km            
Total Distance                       13,005 km                         
Time                                      119:11           
Av. Speed                               32.20              
Trip Wh/km                             22.70                 
Trip Wh                                1452.90

Friday, September 2, 2022

BIKE DIARY SEPT 02/22

Saw two coyotes tonight, hunting together. First coyotes this year.

No.3 battery cut out at some point. A weakness in info gathering by concentrating on mileage. After 13,000 km I'll go back to using the main screen which shows voltage level. I would have picked up the battery cutout by noticing the drop in voltage by using the main screen.

If I had noticed the drop in voltage I would have stopped and re-set each battery. By doing this I would have noticed a voltage increase the instant I re-set the battery that had cut out. 

Start time  9:35 pm 

Temp 21.5 C                                                 

Ah                                           14.87      
Trip Distance                          30.17 km            
Total Distance                       12,941 km                         
Time                                       54:30           
Av. Speed                               33.20              
Trip Wh/km                             22.60                  
Trip Wh                                 697.40

Thursday, September 1, 2022

BIKE DIARY SEPT 01/22

  

Start time  9:30 pm 

Temp 21.4 C                                                 

Ah                                           15.55       
Trip Distance                          35.54 km            
Total Distance                       12,911 km                         
Time                                       603:09            
Av. Speed                               33.70              
Trip Wh/km                             23.10                   
Trip Wh                                 817.72

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 31/22


 Not long now!

Start time  10:30 pm 

Temp 22.5 C                                                 

Ah                                           13.30       
Trip Distance                          30.75 km            
Total Distance                       12,876 km                         
Time                                       60:29            
Av. Speed                               30.50              
Trip Wh/km                             21.60                   
Trip Wh                                 663.60

Monday, August 29, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 29/22

 Start time  9:45 pm 

Temp 20.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           17.25         
Trip Distance                          38.62 km            
Total Distance                       12,838 km                         
Time                                       68:54             
Av. Speed                               33.60              
Trip Wh/km                             23.10                   
Trip Wh                                 890.94

Saturday, August 27, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 27/22

 Start time  9:50 pm 

Temp 18.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           15.73         
Trip Distance                          35.08 km            
Total Distance                       12,800 km                         
Time                                       63:42             
Av. Speed                               32.50              
Trip Wh/km                             22.00                   
Trip Wh                                 770.52

Friday, August 26, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 26/22

 Start time  10:30 pm 

Temp 18.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           13.00         
Trip Distance                          30.84 km            
Total Distance                       12,765 km                         
Time                                       56:51              
Av. Speed                               32.50              
Trip Wh/km                             22.9                   
Trip Wh                                702.28

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 24/22

 Start time  10:40 pm 

Temp 22.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           14.67         
Trip Distance                          33.17 km            
Total Distance                       12,734 km                         
Time                                       61:41              
Av. Speed                               32.20              
Trip Wh/km                             21.6                   
Trip Wh                                714.41


Tuesday, August 23, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 23/22

 Start time  1:30 pm 

Temp 24.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           20.83         
Trip Distance                          40.40 km            
Total Distance                      12,701 km                         
Time                                       73:30               
Av. Speed                               38.1    (pretty fast!)               
Trip Wh/km                             27.0                   
Trip Wh                               1086.00

Today's ride was made during the day.  What a difference! My eyes were not the least bit tired and my sense of balance was perfect. (It should come as no surprise that the eyes are essential to balance and when your eyes are very tired you get a bit wobbly)

Monday, August 22, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 21/22


Start time  10:40 pm 

Temp 21.7 C                                                 

Ah                                           20.73         
Trip Distance                          50.96 km            
Total Distance                      12,660 km                         
Time                                       98:18               
Av. Speed                               31.90                   
Trip Wh/km                             21.90                   
Trip Wh                               1103.60 

Saturday, August 20, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 19/22

I will be so glad when I reach 13,000 km. I am well and truly done with bike riding. 29 days left to ride another 390 km. That's only 14 km per day.

Start time  10:50 pm 

Temp 21.5 C                                                 

Ah                                           20.61         
Trip Distance                          59.60 km            
Total Distance                      12,610 km                         
Time                                      114:10               
Av. Speed                               31.30                   
Trip Wh/km                             18.00                   
Trip Wh                               1071.60  

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 17/22

 

Start time  9:50 pm 

Temp 24.9 C                                                 

Ah                                           14.40          
Trip Distance                          40.30 km            
Total Distance                      12,550 km                         
Time                                       76:22               
Av. Speed                               31.60                   
Trip Wh/km                             18.60                   
Trip Wh                                 745.71  

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 16/22

 

Start time  9:30 pm 

Temp 22.5 C                                                 

Ah                                           16.35          
Trip Distance                          41.95 km            
Total Distance                      12,510 km                         
Time                                       73:37               
Av. Speed                               34.10                   
Trip Wh/km                             19.90                   
Trip Wh                                 832.61  


Sunday, August 14, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 14/22

 Start time 10:00 pm 

Temp 21.4 C                                                 

Ah                                           14.70          
Trip Distance                          42.81 km            
Total Distance                      12,468 km                         
Time                                       81:19               
Av. Speed                               31.50                    
Trip Wh/km                             17.90                   
Trip Wh                                 764.16  

You will note a big saving in energy by my slowing down. Three months ago (on May 13) I used 25.9 Wh/km @ an average speed of 38.4 km/h. Slowing down to 31.5 I used 17.9 Wh/km which is 8 Wh/km less. That's a 30% saving!

As a side note, I rode 1,025 km since May 13. Not bad considering the bike had three weeks of downtime.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 13/22

 

Start time 10:00 pm 

Temp 19.8 C                                                 

Ah                                           16.08          
Trip Distance                          41.32 km            
Total Distance                      12,425 km                         
Time                                       73:02               
Av. Speed                               33.90                    
Trip Wh/km                             19.90                   
Trip Wh                                 818.48  

Thursday, August 11, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 11/22


 Start time 10:00 pm 

Temp 20.4 C                                                 

Ah                                           16.17          
Trip Distance                          42.95 km            
Total Distance                      12,384 km                         
Time                                       77:19               
Av. Speed                              33.30                     
Trip Wh/km                            19.30                   
Trip Wh                                827.65  

BIKE DIARY AUG 10/22

 

Will definitely reach 13K by Sept 18!

Start time 10:30 pm 

Temp 21.5 C                                                 

Ah                                           15.05          
Trip Distance                          40.94 km            
Total Distance                      12,341 km                         
Time                                       75:28               
Av. Speed                              32.50                     
Trip Wh/km                            19.10                    
Trip Wh                                777.62   

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 09/22

 

Will definitely reach 13K by Sept 18!

Start time 10:00 pm 

Temp 21.2 C                                                 

Ah                                           16.67          
Trip Distance                          46.19 km            
Total Distance                      12,300 km                         
Time                                       87:27               
Av. Speed                              31.60                      
Trip Wh/km                            18.60                    
Trip Wh                                856.66   

Monday, August 8, 2022

BIKE DIARY AUG 07/22

Will definitely reach 13K by Sept 18!

Start time 10:30 pm 

Temp 23.5 C                                                 

Ah                                          24.63          
Trip Distance                         61.21 km            
Total Distance                      12,254 km                         
Time                                     105:01               
Av. Speed                              34.90                      
Trip Wh/km                            20.50                    
Trip Wh                              1253.30    

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