Tony's Down Under Blog

Autism and Amateur Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 17:25:00 +1000

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post on another blog about "Technology Mediated Communication" and autism, using my experiences with a range of technology based communication systems, ranging from today's computer driven social media back to technologies which pre-date computers. One of those technologies is Amateur Radio, which dates back to the first days of radio communications, in the 1890s.

So what is amateur radio, and what is its relevance to autism? Firstly, the what - Amateur radio is a a hobby involving the experimentation with and use of radio technology by persons licensed by their government to do so. Because of the formal licensing requirement, and the need for international regulation, there exist a formal definition, which is: "A radiocommunications service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorised persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.". In other words, it's a radio based service for people who want to learn about, experiment with and use radio for personal interest, without any financial motive. The part about "duly authorised persons", refers to the fact that radio amateurs are licensed by their country's regulatory body to use the amateur radio service. In practice, this means demonstrating (typically through examinations) appropriate knowledge in radio theory, amateur radio regulations pertaining to one's jurisdiction and possibly one or more practical elements. In the past, this involved the sending and receiving of Morse Code, but many countries no longer require Morse today. In Australia, there is a practical exam, which involves basic radio operation, such as initiating and ending contact with another station and tuning an antenna. For more information, there are many pages, such as that produced by the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) that explain amateur radio in more detail (http://www.wia.org.au/introduction/about/ ). It is well worth going through all of the links on this page.

So, how is this all relevant in the age of the Internet? Probably more than most people could ever imagine. If you've ever heard about amateur radio, you might have been given images of someone sitting in front of a big shortwave transceiver full of glowing valves, listening to crackling noise and talking to all sorts of exotic places. Sure, amateurs still do these things (often with a much smaller and more sophisticated radio!), but amateur radio is much more than that. Furthermore, we live in an age where radio is all around us, but we are not aware of it and take it for granted. Examples range from broadcast radio and TV, to mobile phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the remote key for your car, basically almost anything that is "wireless" relies on radio to work (even infra-red remote controls use electromagnetic waves similar to radio, just a much shorter wavelength). Yet how much of this technology, do we actually understand?

This brings us to autism, and that's an area I have a lot of personal experience. As many know, I am on the autism spectrum. What many don't (yet) know is that I have been fascinated by communication systems since childhood. This turns out to be a side effect of my interest in connecting with people. As a kid, I was fascinated by the radio, in that out of this box could come voices sent "magically" from distant places. Two way radio, where one could talk back to the person on the other end, without wires held even more fascination for me, and the greater the distance, the more the fascination. I dreamed of the day when a little handheld radio could talk to the world. Back then, I had no concept of the physics required, or the technological solutions that would make this possible (you're using one of them - the Internet, to read this blog! :) ). I also never dreamed that I would not only bear witness to this sort of technology, but actually play a minor part in making it a reality, through amateur radio. More on that later. :)

My autism gave me the drive to understand this mysterious radio thing, so I could learn how to send my own messages across the void. I wanted to know what made radio work, and how to make it work for me. In my teenage years, I discovered "FM bugs", miniature transmitters that worked on the FM broadcast band. I experimented with different designs and antennas, and managed to get them to work over several hundred metres. Back then, in the early 1980s, there weren't a lot of FM stations, so there was plenty of room to experiment. Today, one would have to be much more careful, there are stations all over the FM band. I also suspect that regulations have been tightened to minimise the risk of interference from unlicensed FM transmitters. I did learn a bit about building better antennas, as well as interfacing different audio sources, such as microphones and cassette players to the transmitters.

The 1989s were also the years when the electronics store Dick Smith were heavily into selling components and other products for electronics hobbyists (today, they are just another electrical retailer :( ). The Dick Smith catalogue contained a large electronic reference section, which included Australian amateur radio information. At the time, I didn't understand what it meant, but I was fascinated and wanted to know more. That knowledge would come over the next several years. Firstly, in Year 12, the father of a girl in our class was an amateur. I was able to visit his "shack" (amateur speak for where the radio gear is setup) and he showed me what his gear did and how it worked. I found it fascinating and wanted to do similar myself. Next, I got involved in CB radio and became a serious hobbyist there, chatting to both local stations and others long distances away, when conditions permitted. I gained a lot of knowledge on CB, but within a year, I knew amateur radio was my future. Only on the amateur bands, could I legally experiment with transmitters and do more than just talk.

I was at university at the time, studying electronic engineering. This meant that one element of my amateur licence was pretty much covered - the theory component, and I could study for the highest level of theory, which was relatively straightforward compared to third year university engineering. That left regulations, which were a combination of rote learning with a bit of common sense. I decided to have a go at the Morse Code exams (which were required back in 1989 for access to the HF bands, but no longer are now). I passed all of my exams - theory, regulations, 5 WPM Morse send and receive, and about a month later, received a shiny new call sign in the mail, after paying the appropriate fees. Now I had the (radio) world at my feet! :). However, it would take me a number of years to really get established and on the air on my terms, because of the cost of radios back then (no $50 Chinese radios, like you can buy today on eBay). But I did get myself going over the years, and learned a lot about many aspects of radio, such as:

HF radio.

VHF and UHF radio.

Repeaters - even built a couple myself.

Communicating through satellites.

Amateur television - transmitting full motion video over the air, which can be received on standard TVs usually with the help of a simple converter.

Bicycle mobile operation - combine a great hobby with exercise. I am currently involved with an active bicycle mobile group locally.

Fox hunting - no furry creatures here, the art and science of finding hidden radio transmitter - and something for which my unique processing style is especially suited.

Voice over IP/ Radio over IP (VoIP/RoIP) - using the Internet to carry voice traffic and link distant sites.

Politics and conflict resolution - yep, things can get political, people disagree!

Interoperability - making incompatible systems work with each other.

Data transmission on various frequencies.

Digital voice on radio.

Networking - various voice and data protocols. I learned the Internet Protocol (IP) hands on, on radio, before using it on phone modems or local area networks, unlike most today, who start on a LAN.

Software Defined Radio and Digital Signal Processing. This is the 21st century way of doing radio, using powerful computers to process signals, instead of traditional circuitry. These software defined systems also have a side effect of providing metaphors for my own processing issues - sensory, social, etc. my understanding of these systems is more a broad overview, rather than detailed.

Emergency/remote/self sufficient communication - getting the message through without any local infrastructure.

Remote bases - remotely controlling radios in another room or half a world away. I have even built my own remote base to a unique design (yes, there is only one of its kind in the world! )

These are just a selection of fields that I have been able to explore through amateur radio. Suffice to say, it's been far from boring, and despite demographics (most amateurs being elderly men), and stereotypes suggesting amateur radio is a thing of the past, it has been a way to explore cutting edge technologies, as well as learning to adapt to a changing world. Once the amateurs were the only hobbyists who had independent global communications. Today, anyone with an Internet connection has global connectivity. Amateur radio has evolved to suit these changing conditions, but it's becoming a "best kept secret".

So, getting back to autism and amateur radio, there is an obvious attraction for those whose interests lie in a technical realm, especially for people who want to make social connections through a medium that encourages talking about a shared special interest. That was certainly one of the attractions for me. I recall before getting my own licence, listening to technical discussions on a scanner, wishing I could join in. Amateur radio suits those who like to explore technical subjects in detail. For me, that has been getting a system to behave _exactly_ how I want, writing scripts that can adapt to slightly different environments or user preferences, and the like. And in a number of ways, amateur radio has helped me develop skills for dealing with the typical world around me. Many years ago, in the early days of VoIP technology, two systems emerged with two different philosophies - one emphasised "pure" radio access, all access points were via a linked radio system, and used the Linux operating system. The other system put an emphasis on convenience, allowing people to access the system directly from a computer, without a radio, using Windows based software. Neither approach was right or wrong, just different. However, the two groups largely disagreed and some serious conflict emerged. I, along with a few others came up with a range of solutions to allow the systems to coexist. For me, what mattered most was being able to communicate with whoever I wanted to, regardless of what system they were on, and also creating spaces where people using different systems could freely mingle. Initially, we had a lot of resistance, but once people saw what we were really trying to achieve - flexibility for users, while giving system owners the control they desired, people came on board very quickly.

Another thing amateur radio, along with Computers and IT have given me is a range of metaphors to help express my own thoughts, feelings and experiences. These metaphors have been vehicles of self discovery, giving me tangible concepts to relate to, when trying to delve into the inner workings of my own mind, so concepts such as "social protocols" - the unwritten rules of social interactions, and "sensory processing/filtering" - the techniques I've developed to cope with the world around me, could now be expressed.

And what would someone on the spectrum be likely to do on amateur radio? Well, if you're very introverted, you may not talk at all, but you might like trying out new ideas - building circuits, writing software to do new things, just to see "if it works". If you're one to collect lists of information, well, DXing (contacting distant and rare countries) and chasing awards might be your thing, collecting proof of contact (usually by exchanging postcard sized "QSL cards" with details of the contact on them, and a picture relevant to you on the front).

If pure science is your thing, you might do some sort of propagation studies, to further understand the complex behaviour of radio waves in various conditions, or you might try and find better ways to send data or digital voice over the air. There's even room for some friendly competition in several ways. The first is contesting, contacting as many stations as possible in a given time, to try and get the most points (there are many contests and sets of rules). Or you might try fox hunting, using your ability to build equipment to help find where a signal is coming from, and your own knowledge to locate a hidden transmitter before anyone else. Or if you want something a bit more physical, Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), a cross between orienteering and fox hunting, where skill in locating hidden transmitters and navigation (map reading, compass use) combine with cross country running for success.

As an aside, I suspect there a lot on the spectrum (whether diagnosed or not) already among the ranks of licensed amateurs, because of the detailed technical nature of the hobby, and the depths to which one can explore the various facets.

Modern amateur radio is closely aligned with computer / information technology. If you're good at writing code, and have an interest in communication systems, this might be a way to express your interests. In the past, home construction meant building things out of physical components. Today, much "home development" is purely software. Hardware is often only needed to get the signal into a form that the computer can work with, and from there, the rest is all code. Sadly, amateur radio could do with a lot more coders, there is so much room for experimentation and development in this field. If a script hacker like me can do clever things with a handful of open source programs and several hours, imagine what someone proficient in programming could achieve.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on the subject. I've gained both a lifelong interest (licensed for over 26 years at the time of writing this), as well as vast amounts of technical knowledge to further my own interests, and occasionally solve real world problems with some consumer gadget. I've also gained insight into myself and people in general, and learned some valuable skills for working with others. Amateur radio may or may not be your thing, but until now, you may not have even heard of it. I hope this blog post has been enlightening, even if it's not your thing.

My first autism conference!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 13:57:00 +1000

Recently, I attended the Asia Pacific Autism Conference (APAC) 2013 in Adelaide. This was the first time I've ever attended an autism conference. The experience was very profound and successful - profound in the connectedness I felt with others on the spectrum and the new friends I've made since, and successful in that I achieved what I set out to do - to participate and to network with other people on the spectrum and further my advocacy skills. No need to go into detail here, as I have written a separate blog for APAC related activities. You can find a link in the sidebar or use the link below.

Tony's APAC2013

Can Amateur Radio still impress in the age of the Internet?

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:31:00 +1000

I recently had the privilege of 4 nights staying and working at Scotia Sanctuary in far western NSW. This site is one of many run by the Australian Wildlife Conservatory, a private conservation group. I was there as part of my conservation and land management course, along with 2 teachers and my fellow students. We were there to map the locations of Mallee fowl nests and learn about the ecosystems of the arid Australian interior and their unique flora and fauna, which are quite different what most of us are used to.

However, I also took the opportunity to take along some HF amateur radio gear, mostly to test some systems for emergency and public event use, and to provide a basic email link back to home. On the third day I got to setup the radio and computer interface, and exchange a few messages. A couple of the other students and one of the teachers watched with interest, as I explained what was happening at each stage. However, more was yet to come. I tuned across 20 metres (14 MHz), and heard a Scottish station (GM) talking to someone in Western Australia (VK6). The VK6 signed off shortly afterwards. While he was signing off, one of the other students asked if I could talk back to these guys.

When the western Australian station signed off, the Scottish station put out another call. I answered, and he acknowledged. We chatted for several minutes about the weather, where we were and what each of us were doing for the day, as well as the usual signal reports and details of the stations at each end. During the conversation, I noticed I had a few people nearby listening in, as well as some "oooh wow" comments from further away. A few people asked me where the other guy was. In an area where Internet has to be provided by satellite, a number of people were blown away at being able to talk to someone on the other side of the world with nothing more than a bit of wire strung across to a nearby tree!

Yep, there's still something magic about being able to communicate vast distances without the help of modern network infrastructure, and some people still recognise that magic when they see it. The vastness of the Outback tends to emphasise that magic.

Back to school

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 3 May 2012 21:15:00 +1000

I've been a bit remiss in updating some parts of my life. One thing I hadn't mentioned is that I decided on a mid life career change. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, IT had pretty much run its course for me, and being a sole trader with few support networks was starting to tax my executive functioning. Also, after a bit of career research, I realised that I'm very much an outdoors nature person, and I wasn't going to meet that need in a server room, or even working from home. Conservation, forestry or some similar environmental occupation seemed to meet both this outdoors need and my values. However, to change careers meant returning to full time study, something which I hadn't done for 20 years, and which has a number of potential pitfalls.

I enrolled at the local TAFE in Certificate IV in Conservation and Land Management, and started studies in early February this year. 3 months later, and early in the second term, I have a number of observations:

Firstly, the course itself has proven to be very interesting. It has broadened my interest in the natural world, and given a lot of food for thought. Some subjects have proven to be relatively straightforward. The chemical unit and its combination of short test and practical assessment suited me well. First Aid was similarly straightforward. The unit on mapping specifically tapped into my spatial abilities, as well as my previous IT experience and skills.

As expected, there have been a number of challenges. A few of the units require diaries to be kept. My history with diaries has not been good, despite many attempts over the past 30-35 years. However, these diaries were more about what was done during practical work, and my thoughts on the day - what worked, what didn't, what I learned, and any other relevant thoughts. There is also the issue that trying to take notes by hand does tend to conflict with learning itself. However, these days, the advent of tablets like the iPad has made note taking vastly easier for me. I can now take notes, whether in class or in the field, and take in information or participate in practical activities, without compromising either. There's still some issues like integrating photos and drawings, but these are more a function of available software.

Some of the bigger challenges are the major assignments and reports. I'm extremely sensitive to work/life balance, and my executive function issues make it difficult to keep track of out of hours assignments. So far, most of the work has been able to be done in class time, but there will be some overflow. However, Fridays are mostly free, and there's study sessions available then, which will come in handy. The jury's still out on these ones.

A couple of subjects and activities are particularly problematic. The units are the ones that deal specifically with "people issues". They are interesting in their own right, I have taken a big interest in people and what makes them tick over the last 20+ years. However, that does still come with some limitations. Creating a "park ranger guided tour" style of activity is going to be, umm, interesting. :)

Work placement is also another issue. While I have some ideas of the sort of work I'd like to be involved in, or try out, the whole process seems to rely on cold calling various employers, something that is problematic for me. I'm also not clear on some of the paperwork.

There is support available, in theory. However, in practice, there have been a few issues. Firstly, the support officer is severely overloaded. Sounds like education funding cutbacks have taken their toll in this area. Secondly, a lot of my issues fall foul of the assessment criteria for the affected units. Because these are derived from industry demand, the issue goes back to the one size fits all model of modern society, and the same old brick walls. :(

Anyway, there's most of the year left. It will be interesting to see where it leads.

Another competition season just around the corner!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:24:00 +1100

Well, summer's coming, and that means another competition season is about to start. We've been in training of some sort since July, with the main pre-season training starting in September. I've been mostly training well. I feel stronger on the cart, but there have been some injury issues, which I'm working on resolving. So far, the casualties have been left hamstring, which compression tights seem to be helping to prevent a recurrence. Now I have a strained calf, which will require some thought on how to prevent. At this time, recovery is the order of the day, with hydrotherapy and physio ahead, while I ponder how to prevent it happening again.

Good news is the groin strains seem to be a thing of last season, with no sign of weakness there this year.

Autistics Speaking Day 2011 - Back to where it all started

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Tue, 1 Nov 2011 07:23:00 +1100

Today, November 1, 2011 ia Autistics Speaking Day. Instead of writing something new, I've decided to revisit my past as one of the first gay Aspies to come out online and resurrect my original posts from the mid 1990s. I have recreated parts of my original website and have tidied up the content to remove dead or outdated links, and extraneous material, keeping my autism related posts, which detail my thoughts during the mid 1990s.

Check it out at http://firstgayaspie.com/autism.htm

I passed!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:40:00 +1000

I had my assessment for my Bushfire Firefighter course on May 22. All went well, and I'm now qualified to turnout to incidents. However, this is only the start of an ongoing learning process. There's many more courses to attend, as well as gaining experience on the fireground to do.

As for the course itself, the course was interesting. There were both theory and practical components. The theory included some basic fire science, fire behaviour, navigation, communication, means of controlling and extinguishing fires, as well as the various tools and materials used, and of course, basic pump theory and operation. Last, but not least was health and safety, both on the fireground and in general.

The practical side covered most of the above areas, with particular emphasis on draughting water from a static source, and most importantly (the drill we had to get 100% right to pass), the survival procedure to follow when trapped by fire. The practical exercises also covered various firefighting techniques, both using a tanker and water, and hand tools with no water involved.

This past Sunday, our brigade organised some practical training which built on from the course.

Back to school

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:05:00 +1000

Last ngiht was the start of my bushfire firefighting course. The course material was interesting - we covered fire behaviour. Much of the material was revision, due to my previous firefighting experience, and my interest in severe weather came in handy when dealing with weather factors that influence fire behaviour.

Looking forward to next week's installment.

Now for the serious stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Fri, 1 Apr 2011 17:11:00 +1100

Over the last 6 months, readers might have gotten the impression that the fire brigade here is a glorified sporting club. This is certainly not the case, though for reasons of time pressures, I've only focused on competition work over the last summer. Now that the season is over, and I'm no longer out for a few hours 2 nights a week, I can now focus on the serious business of handling fire and other emergencies that we have to deal with.

Since I was last involved in the fire service, much has changed, with a totally different communications network, new equipment, new training and new standards. This means I have to start again from scratch. On Sunday, I'm back to the station to take part in regular training, testing and maintenance activities.

State Championships 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:04:00 +1100

What an awesome weekend! The VFBV State Championships are a series of events run over the Labour Day long weekend every March (second Monday in March here). I had 5 events to run, which were the Ladder Race, Hose, Hydrant, Pumper and Ladder, 2 Man Marshall, Hose and Reel 8s, and the Hose and Ladder 5s.

My only event on the Saturday was the ladder race, which is basically a 25 yard sprint to the ladder, then 20 feet straight up. I started well, but had a slip on the way up, which put me behind in the first heat. Here's a photo from the local paper. :)

Sunday was the busy day. First was the pumper and ladder event. We scored a clean run, but it wasn't enough for a place. My role was to couple my hose to one of the pump outlets on the truck, then climb the ladder and hit the second target. The next event for me was the 2 man marshall, which is a dry (i.e. no water) event that requires speed, skill and precision in laying out hoses in a specific sequence. We had a good clean run, but again, not enough for a place. The final event for the day was the hose and reel 8s. This consists of running down the track with a habd drawn hose reel, laying out one hose, hitting the target, then coupling on a second hose and hitting the target a second time. In this event, I had to push on a side arm on the reel, helping to give it an initial push away, then adding some speed down the track. Once past the hydrant, I had to leave the reel and assist the first branch (with the nozzle) get his hose over the line to hit the target. Had a great run, but unfortunately, something went wrong elsewhere, which messed up our run.

On Monday, I had my final run for the competition. This was the hose and ladder 5s, which again used the hand drawn hose reel. This event involves running down the track with the hose reel, with the aim of sending someone up the ladder (me!) to hit the target at the top. In this event, I had to take the coupling off the reel, then the branch, couple them together and place them in the harness I was wearing to carry the hose. From there it was a sprint of over 100 metres to the ladder, climb the ladder and hit the target. I had a good run, except when I went to get the coupling, the rubber band holding it on wouldn't break! It took 3 attempts to break it (any other time, they break when you don't want them to!). Knowing I was a bit behind, I gave it everything down the track and made up the lost time. Unfortunately, one of the others had some problems down below, which affected our time. It was one of those things.

Anyway, that was my weekend. In between, I was helping out with preparations for the guys, and taking videos of the events I wasn't in. It's been 20 years since I was last involved, and I am glad to be back. Bring on 2012! :)

3 Days to the State

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Wed, 9 Mar 2011 18:31:00 +1100

I've been a bit slack with updates lately. Well, the competition season is almost over. A short summary:

I missed the Jan 30 meet in Castlemaine, to give more time to recover from injury. However, the following week in Bendigo, I hit the track with a vengeance. At the last minute, I ran the ladder race, literally the first attempt in over 20 years. The climb was a bit rough, but I made it. A run in the pumper and ladder 5s followed a bit later, as well as a couple of 4s. Unfortunately, I inflamed a groin injury catching the reel in the 8s, which affected my performance the following week.

Jan 13 saw us in Mooroopna. This time around, I got through the first round of the ladder race and ran the final with a solid climb. I also had a good climb in the pumper event, though we had a hiccup elsewhere.

January 20 was at Echuca. Knocked another half second off my ladder time, but didn't make the final round, happened to be up against the guy who eventually came third. Was pleased with the improvement though. Another good run in the pumper and ladder event. Unfortunately, messed up our best chance at a place in the C section 4s, due to a combination of a bad break and a basic screwup on my part. :(

Since then, we have been busy training. I worked on my ladder technique, and have the potential to take considerably more time off my climbs. I've also learned (more correctly, re-learned!) the ladder part of the hose and ladder 5s, and have that going well. Unfortunately, another injury (this time a hamstring) a week ago has slowed things down, but I have already almost healed and should be 100% by Saturday. I was able to manage a reasonable run last night.

This weekend is the real comeback, literally 20 years in the making. Even as late as this time last year, I never thought I'd be back on the track. Things certainly can change in a short time. :)

Anyway, I'm going to give it my best shot and put it together as best I can this weekend.

First competition back!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:08:00 +1100

Well, things are finally in order, thanks to my physio and some mineral and protein supplements. Had a couple of good training sessions this week, and I'm set to go. Have a competition in Castlemaine tomorrow. The weather is going to be tough - 40C and sunny, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem - I won't mind if the hydrant leaks! :D

Everyone's set for a good day of competition and we plan on taking a few trophies home! :)

Christmas Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:36:00 +1100

Formal training with the fire brigade has paused over the Christmas-New Years period. This has given me an opportunity to take a rest and focus on rehab using the gym, hydrotherapy and swimming. My right leg is feeling much better, and I'm confident it will be 100% by the New Year.

Christmas is almost here, it's looking like another quiet Christmas home with Mark ( :-* ). It will make for a peaceful end to 2010.

Don't you hate it when you do something stupid?

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:20:00 +1100

My left leg recovered fully in the first week of December, and I had a very successful training night running 5 poles (pulling the hose reel the length of the track) in a row. This is second only to a straight sprint in stressing the leg, and all was well, even after the 5th run. With 10 days to go, I was looking forward to competition.

Then last Monday, I managed to trip down the front steps at home and pulled my right quads. I don't know how I managed to do that, I doubt I could if I tried. With only 6 days before the competition, there was no time to recover and balance that with final practice.

Yesterday was the day of the first competition. A quick test run first thing yesterday morning confirmed that I would be on the sidelines for the day. Knowing that it was unlikely I would be running, I prepared the video camera, and made plans to record our team's runs. The result is now on YouTube. Enjoy! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ITDeTSJjo

The good news is that without the pressure of training, the leg is healing rapidly, and I should be back to 100% in 2-3 weeks. Today was a good day at the gym. Unfortunately, I've also had success with the video camera, so I might have to train someone else to shoot video when I'm running.

P.S. I'm now totally hooked on using a Mac for video editing. The software design makes it a lot easier. The only tricky part was the picture in picture, because I had to manually synchronise the two videos for it to make sense. Shooting those runs was an interesting exercise too, as I had a camera in each hand pointed in different directions! :)

Almost there!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 11:51:00 +1100

After a month of massage, targeted weight training and some work in the hydrotherapy pool, my troublesome left leg is almost back to normal, and I have gained some strength over what I what I had before the injury in the affected area. Here's hoping for a couple of weeks of full training.

First competition of the season is in exactly 2 weeks from today, and I want to be 100%. Let's hope this is the last of the niggles. :)

Training ups and downs

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:54:00 +1100

Well, slightly over a month into training with the fire brigade, and things are progressing. So far, we've done mostly general fitness, from distance running to intervals and circuit work. Most of the training hasn't been too bad. The hardest part has been some middle distance work, which has never been a strong point for me, while the general strength and fitness has been my strong suit so far.

The hamstring I pulled last month is now fully healed, and I have had some good speed sessions, but last week during interval training, I pulled a different muscle, in the upper leg above the quads. Guess it had to happen, as I haven't needed to run at those speeds for close to 20 years, so something was bound to break, as I pushed things hard! Back to the massage therapist in a few days. He's been a great help with recovering from the previous injury. Still it's a bit frustrating, I was just starting to show what I can do, when it went.

Just under 2 months until our first competition. Hoping I'll be 100% ready for it. I'm looking forward to getting back into it. :)

The comebck starts... and an early setback

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:54:00 +1000

Yesterday, I went down to the fire station for a working bee, as well as to sign up to become a member. Met the other guys in the team, while we worked to get the gear ready for the coming competition season.

Today, I had my first speed session at the gym. In the early stages, things looked very promising. Unfortunately, I pulled a hamstring during my second set of short sprints. Doesn't feel too severe, and with care, I should be back upand running fairly quickly.

A 20 year comeback!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Wed, 8 Sep 2010 18:00:00 +1000

We recently moved from Melbourne to Bendigo, a regional city of about 85,000 people. One of the side effects of this change is that outside the inner Melbourne suburbs, there is a different fire service, the Country Fire Authority, which is composed mainly of volunteers. In my distant past, I used to be a member of the local fire brigade in the small town that I lived in. That was up until nearly 20 years ago, when I moved to Melbourne.

The volunteer fire brigades not only put out fires and deal with other emergencies, but many brigades also compete against each other in a competition that involves the use of firefighting equipment, particularly older forms, such as manually pulled hose reels. This becomes a challenging test of skill, strength and speed. Back in my former CFA days, I was very active in this form of competition.

Fast forward to about a month ago, I assisted a passing traveller who had car trouble. There were other people helping out, including one guy from a local fire brigade. This sparked a conversation about the fire service and I mentioned that I used to be involved in the competitive side. Not long after, he had to go somewhere else, and the conversation was forgotten. However, last night, there was a tap on the window. It was the guy from the fire brigade. He had come to ask if I was still interested in joining their team this summer. I took some contact details, and will be calling the team coach later today. Good thing I keep myself fit, I may be rusty in the skill department, but I'm physically in top shape. I workout most days, and walk or cycle everywhere.

Fingers crossed for a place on the team this summer. :)

Now, most readers probably have no idea what these competitions look like. Well, I've just uploaded some videos to YouTube. Check these out for some samples.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI1O9lic0AE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJNSYKGdBk

GPSed Track "Bendigo frontrunners 1"

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:04:00 +1000

View my new track "Bendigo frontrunners 1" started in Australia, Victoria, Bendigo.

GPSed Track "Storm damage June 17-2"

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:31:00 +1000

View my new track "Storm damage June 17-2" started in Australia, Victoria, Melbourne.

GPSed Track "Storm damage June 17 2010"

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:54:00 +1000

View my new track "Storm damage June 17 2010" started in Australia, Victoria, Melbourne.

GPSed Track "R4K 2010"

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Wed, 7 Apr 2010 21:25:00 +1000

View my new track "R4K 2010" started in Australia, Victoria, Melbourne.

Developing my artistic side.

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Wed, 2 Sep 2009 20:14:00 +1000

I have been taking some photos over the years, and from time to time, people have suggested I sell them. I've finally taken them up on that advice and have put them up for sale. You can check them out here.

Aussie autism advocacy organisation locks out autistics!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:27:00 +1000

Seems some people can't let go of power for their own good. A4 is aupposed to be an autism advocacy organisation, which represents the views of both people on the autism spectrum and their parents and carers. There have been simmering issues for sometimes between some of the committee members, and this resulted in all the autistic members being locked out. For more information on this unacceptable situation, here is the public statement from ASAN-Australia.

AUTISTIC SELF ADVOCACY NETWORK

AUSTRALIA

20/5/09

A4 LOCKS OUT AUTISTIC MEMBERS

STATEMENT CONCERNING A4 – AUTISM ASPERGER ADVOCACY AUSTRALIA

ASAN AUSTRALIA understands from its members that as of today all Autistic members have been exclude from the Steering Committee of A4 (Autism Asperger Advocacy Australia) which has now been renamed the A4 Advisory Group. Convener of the A4 Advisory Group Bob Buckley states in an email to all A4 members:

"A majority group decided to separate itself from a minority dissenting group (formerly in A4 SC) who do not accept and object to long-standing polices and practices of the A4 SC."

This minority dissenting group just happens to contain all of the people with a diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder that sat on the A4 Steering Committee up until 18/5/09. This minority group has long been battling to be part of the national voice that is A4 and now finds themselves excluded from the very group that once claimed to represent them.

ASAN AUSTRALIA finds this situation unacceptable, reprehensible in fact. We suggest that in light of this move A4 not be seen as a legitimate voice for those on the autism spectrum who can speak for themselves.

An ASAN AUSTRALIA Convener can be contacted for comment via autisticadvocacy@gmail.com

We're hitched! :D

noreply@blogger.com (Tony) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:42:00 +1100

2009 got off to probably the best start possible. On January 27th, Mark and I became officially a couple, as our relationship registration became valid. As same sex marriage is not yet legal here, this will have to do for now. It at least allows us to access our legal rights without having to "prove" a relationship exists.

The new Register doesn't provide for any form of ceremony. It's a straightforward process of legally completing the application, then signing it in front of the Registrar. However, we had our own celebration yesterday with family and friends. :)

So anyway, 2009 will be our first year of "wedded" bliss. :)