Easy money - SkypeOut credit expiration scam

Well well well. This is one of the Terms of service that has passed under my radar. In the last couple of days, I noticed that my SkypeOut balance had dropped to 0.00. After a quick google, I discovered that it was happening to a number of people. Apart from the already galling fact that credit actually can expire from your account, the point that rankles the most is the lack of any warning message or email in advance. Would love to know how lucrative this little scam is for Skype/ebay...

In any case, I suspect this is not the last we'll hear of this.

Link to Skype forum thread

This is a test!

Web 3.0?

Stephenson's Metaverse coming shortly to a device near you:

Croquet is a combination of computer software and network architecture that supports deep collaboration and resource sharing among large numbers of users within the context of a large-scale distributed information system. Along with its ability to deliver compelling 3D visualization and simulations, the Croquet system's components are designed with a focus on enabling massively multi-user peer-to-peer collaboration and communication.

Croquet is built on top of Squeak, and Alan Kay is one of the head honchos running the show. This could be one to watch.

www.croquetproject.org

Podcasting the Truth

We do truthout for three reasons: Far too often, the mainstream television news media act as little more than commercial advertisers for their parent companies. This is not journalism, and we desperately need journalism in this day and age. We also do truthout because the mainstream print media, while retaining great credibility, requires an enormous amount of time to sift through properly. Our editors, who read between 10 and 30 newspapers a day, do that for you.

Finally, the English philosopher John Locke said, "It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth." Tonight, tomorrow, and for as long as we are able, truthout will be in the business of putting you in possession of the truth.

Still no sign of an RSS feed let alone enclosures for Truthout.org's excellent nightly overview, presented by William Rivers Pitt. So, until I see one, herewith a handrolled podcast-ready feed:

Truthout Overview RSS feed (with enclosures)

ipodder.org - basecamp for the podcasting revolution

Marathon Monks

No, not a new Shaolin Soccer targetting runners, but something far more bizarre:

The monks, known as Kaihigyo, are spiritual athletes from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, based at Mount Hiei, which overlooks the ancient capital city of Kyoto.
snip
The final two years of the 1000-day challenge are even more daunting. In the sixth year they run 60km each day for 100 consecutive days and in the seventh year they run 84km each day for 100 consecutive days. This is the equivalent of running two Olympic marathons back-to-back every day for 100 days.

Read the full story
Humbling stuff.

Days 4 & 5

Been a little slack in regular updating, so here's a "compilation" entry
Day 4: (week 2, Tue) 10 x (200m in 58 secs + 200m recuperation trot)
These "fractions" (AKA Fartleks) are always the first session of the week, and I'm happy to get them out of the way for the week. They're over quickly, but
Day 5: (week 2, Thur) 2 x (3000m in 17 mins + 1200m recuperation trot) followed by 1000m in between 5 mins 20 secs and 5 mins 30 secs.
We sort of worked out a street course corresponding to the distances involved - not sure how accurate it was. In any case, I didn't make the target times - in particular, the final 1000m. I thought I was going to be ill after the 2 3000m circuits, but thankfully that feeling passed.

Tomorrow, more pain.

Training Day

Continued roadrace training coverage...

Day 3: (week 1 - Sun) 4km @ 8km/hr + additional 30 mins at increasing pace to finish at 11km/hr
Surprisingly, though the guts of 10km, this was not as difficult for me as the 5km two days previous. Could this be progress already??

0 to 20 in 6 weeks

I've signed up for the Paris 20km road race (20km de Paris) and as I write this, there's a little over 36 days left until the starting gun. I went for a couple of ice-breaker jogs (30mins - very easy going) last week, but last Wednesday was the first day of the training program. I'm going to document my progress here over the coming weeks.

The program (actually intended for a semi-marathon, but let's not quibble about 1.095km at this stage) is based on 3 training sessions per week. The fiancé's no stranger to jogging, having completed her first marathon earlier this year, so I'm really glad to have her as personal trainer and motivator.

I've just completed Day 2, and it was tough.

Completed to date:
Day 1: (week 1 - Wed) 8 x (200m in 58 secs followed by 200m walk/easy jog)
A gentle enough start - tiring for sure, but doable.

Day 2: (week 1 - Fri) 5000m in 28 mins 30 secs
This was daunting, and it took willpower to "keep it together" for the final kilometer or so. I was a bag of jelly when I finished. But it was definitely an achievement.

More anon...