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Change of Direction

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

Ok, so let’s try something new. I travel a great deal for work, and am constantly amazed by the almost constant wave of crap that washes over me as I try to get from A to B. This is where I’m going to keep track of it all…

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Pig Metamorphosis

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

Give your pet dog it’s freedom and it’ll just sit on your doorstep looking miserable. Release it into the wild and it will become a pretty effective predator, but it will take generations for it to physically adapt to it’s new environment. The Dingo was introduced to Australia about 3500 years ago. It’s about as wild as a dog gets, but it doesn’t look all that different to my brother’s dog Sam… …and that’s pretty common for most animals. In their wild (or rather, feral) state, they’re just a thinner,…read more

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The Critical Role of Olive Oil in Pasta Sauce

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

Eat spaghetti or penne for the first time in Italy and you’ll be struck by the difference in the pasta’s texture compared to the soggy, overcooked shapes that haunted the dinner plates of your childhood (sorry Mum…). But stay long enough to look past the surprising bite of the pasta itself and you’ll notice there’s something else going on that’s going to make recreating this bowl of heaven pretty difficult when you get home. The sensation is the creamy, buttery, sensual pleasure that seems consistent present from the egg-based Carbonara,…read more

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Freediving Part 2 – Hyperventilation

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

In Part 1 I briefly explained that the urge to breathe is regulated by a build up of CO2 sensed by the body, rather than an actual lack of oxygen (that the body cannot directly determine). In this post I look at an example of the complex interactions that occur within the body during apnea and what happens if you try to disturb the balance. One of the ways in which a freediver is able to hold his breath for an apparently impossible time (the current record is over 10…read more

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The Running Man Part 3

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

Inspired by my recent reading into running I will join my friend Paolo on the annual Villa Gentile – Monte Fasce race in 2 weeks time. The distance is only 7.31km, but the change in elevation is 795m, which makes it a vertical slog for which I’m little prepared. Deciding for the baptism of fire approach to training I kicked off my campaign yesterday with a half marathon at 2000m : It was a roundtrip with several hills, but this was the biggest climb : The result is predictably that…read more

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Freediving Part 1

Posted by in Nugget from Alastair

In 2001 I moved to a coastal town in Northern Italy and was instantly captivated by the mystery and majesty of the neoprene clad freedivers that frequent the rocky shoreline in search of the tranquility, beauty and fish that await below the surface. A quick internet search clarified that I was in one of the historical epicenters of the sport, and the waters around Portofino had been used for decades for record attempts. Altavista also brought Luc Besson’s 1988 epic The Big Blue to my attention, and I was instantly…read more

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