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the regular crowd shuffles home...
Bit of a late day at work, so I am only now riding Ye Olde Oxford Tube back home. Indeed, it has been a rather busy week! Productive and fun, so I canst complain, but it has resulted in no daily updates this week. Tsk, tsk -- bad Nomad! Y'all know what that means, though, don't you, gentle readers? That's right -- I am quite likely to subject you to another "Week-In-Review" post tomorrow! Better start running the other way soon... but, first, here is a collection of randomness, direct from my head to your computer screen!
- Triathlon: My plan to attempt a triathlon next year is taking definite shape! I am rather excited about this! Of the five available distances, I am choosing the middle one, known as an "Olympic Triathlon." It consists of a 1.5 km (just under 1 mile) swim, followed by a 40 km (25 mile) bicycle ride, followed by a 10 km (~6.25 mile) run. I can do the swim now, as my standard exercise swim is longer than this. I should still work on improving my speed, though. As for the bicycle ride and the run? The former is probably a bit more than I can do at present, and the latter definitely is. Yet that's the whole point of a "challenge", now isn't it? If I could do it all already, I would be looking at tackling the next level up, the half-Ironman[*].
I am planning to start training in either November or January, so that I can attempt a race next Spring or Summer. If anyone is interested in accepting this challenge with me, the company would be most welcome! For anyone local to Oxford, we could train together. For anyone on another continent, we could set days to complete specific training programmes and compare notes after. For people in-between, we could do a little bit of each. So far, I have one taker -- the fabulous![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
josington -- who, as a Glaswegian, fits into that hybrid category. Any other takers? The more, the merrier! - New Year's Eve: I am tentatively thinking of ushering in 2011 by shivering my cute lil butt off in Times Square, watching the legendary ball drop. Anyone want to join me? This is not yet a plan but, rather, more of an idea. Consider this to be me putting out feelers. If there is not a lot of interest, I will put it off for another year and find alternative entertainment.
- Shakespeare: After well over three years, the Royal Shakespeare Company's main theatres are coming back! Huzzah! The massive overhaul done to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and its smaller housemate, the Swan, are nearly finished and will re-open in November for a series of special events before the repertoire of Shakespeare begins in February. Both my beloved cheshcat and I are rather excited about this and quite eager to see the new theatres! Tickets went on sale yesterday for the new season, which includes a theatrical adaptation of the Bard's narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrese. This is a rarity and, with only four scheduled performances, we have already snatched up tickets before all the good seats vanished! We also have tickets to a couple of the special events that are designed to introduce the public to the new space.
- University rankings: For several years now, I have paid some modest attention to the global ranking of universities that was conducted by the Times Higher Education Supplement, in conjunction with Quacquarelli Symonds (i.e., the THES-QS rankings). Indeed, I have even blogged about it on occasion, such as when Oxford University made it to the number two spot.
Interestingly enough, this year THES and QS have gone their separate ways. QS kept the original ranking system, whilst THES developed a newer model which is more transparent and, according to them, much improved. Both sources published their 2010 listings this month -- QS last week and THES today. According to QS, my current university affiliation, Imperial College London, ranks seventh in the world -- just one step behind my previous affiliation, the University of Oxford. According to THES, we come in at number nine... with a ranking score (90.6) that comes in just a smidgen behind my old place. With a ranking score of 91.2, the University of Oxford ties for sixth place with its age-old rival, the University of Cambridge.[**]
I am rather amused by the situation and do not know which ranking system should be considered more reliable. There are certainly some interesting differences, as Cambridge unambiguously tops the QS list -- rather than tying for sixth place! In the end, of course, these things matter not for any real purpose. Still, they are somewhat fun to think about! - Books: Finished the fifth and [currently] final of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels this week. I thoroughly enjoyed First Amongst Sequels. Not as brilliant as Something Rotten... but those were rather enormous shoes to fill! FAS is an excellent book, both clever and amusing. I am rather looking forward to the publication of the sixth in the series next year!
- Autumn and P**T***: Last, but most definitely not least, is the fact that Autumn has well and truly arrived. The equinox is still six days off, to be sure, but the air has that cool, crisp sense of Autumn-ness about it! Tis rather refreshing and invigorating! As the days grow noticeably shorter, I have already sketched out some goals for this year's sojourn into the Dark Times. The usual pulling inward will happen, of course, but I expect to emerge with certain milestones passed.
In the meantime, I find that the triggering of my Autumn SenseTM has brought with it an increased yearning for the Sooper Sekrit October Pagan Festival, P**T***. This will be my fourteenth time at the gathering -- I've not missed a single one since I began attending in 1997[**]. Of course, we are running the festival this year, which adds some extra excitement! Still, I believe that I would be feeling this yearning and anticipation even without that twist. This feels very much like the reaction I get at the very start of Summer, when I start longing for my annual week to romp skyclad in the woods at Brushwood. Summer makes me want Brushwood; Autumn makes me want P**T***. Only three weeks left, then I will be on my way there![***]
Almost back in Oxford now, so I shall put this pensieve of an entry to rest. I hope that you are all having a Thursday most awesometacular, my dear friends!
[*] Consisting of a 1.9 km swim, followed by a 90 km bicycle ride, followed by a half-marathon.
[**] Nor has
cheshcat missed any since she first went in 1995.[***] Which, of course, makes the part of my brain that has been handling the festival organization go: "EEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
