Time for an update!

It’s been a long time since I updated this blog, mainly because little has happened with regard to cycling. I’ve not raced since the end of June and, to be honest, I haven’t missed it. Life has been hectic enough to mean time for training has been limited – I’ve still been doing plenty of riding, but not really training (by training I mean hurting myself on the bike). So last night was the first time in a long, long time that I went on a hard ride – the Dynamo early Wednesday night ride, from Richmond Park to Chertsey and back. I’m only going to say two things about it – firstly I lasted in the main group for about two-thirds of the ride, and secondly ‘ouch’! Much fitness to gain over winter, and a few kilos to shed.

I awoke this morning to find out that Steve Jobs had died. What sad news – as someone who is not even an Apple evangelist it struck me that he has done more for personal device technology than most in this world. I struggle to think of someone who’s image is so closely associated with the products he helped develop and bring to market. He had become and will continue to be the face of Apple.

As a student of Ergonomics and Human Computer Interaction I had early exposure to what Apple innovations meant to users of technology, in particular the innovative approach of the GUI. I remember grappling with HyperCard at college, sitting around a Mac with several other students and actually doing rapid app development, not just reading about it. It was a fantastic way to learn about the intricacies of programming a user interface that would mean something to the end-user. When I started work in my first consultancy there was a ‘legacy’ Macintosh 512k that sat in the corner of the office that was still occasionally used. The 512 must have been produced at around the same time as the Apple ‘1984’ advert (that no one really understood) and yet here we were still using the device to play around on in 1995!

Bringing things up to date, I think I am one of a small number of people who doesn’t own an iPhone, an iPad or an iPod (I do have a Nano though). I’m sure that will change in time!