Ireland day 0322. Tuesday 16 August 2022- Technofail

Ireland day 0322. Tuesday 16 August 2022- Technofail
Today’s summary Val was at work so I did my induction session at the gym with “Ben”.  Noticed afterwards that my Apple Watch touchscreen had stopped working.   Spent all afternoon fiddling around trying to fix it but couldn’t.  Really irritating
Today’s weather Cool and cloudy but dry.   Blustery northwesterly wind.   About 17C
Today’s overview location
(The green mark shows the location of my route)
Close-up location
(The orange line shows where I walked)
(Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected):
Short demesne walk
Commentary

Technology can be fantastic when it works properly but when it doesn’t work, it suddenly becomes very un-fantastic indeed.   That is what happened to me today and indeed shaped the course of my afternoon.

But first things first.   Today marked a major milestone in my gym career- it was my induction session with Ben (well it could only have been a Ben, a Brad or a Matt after all).  So I duly pitched up at the gates of hell at 10:30 this morning, anxious to find out how humiliating the experience was going to be.

Actually it wasn’t too bad.   Ben first off asked me why I wanted to join the gym.  That was simple.   It was because I wanted to get more aerobic exercise without trashing my hips and knees in the process, and because I want to lose some weight (readers cannot fail to  have noticed the double chin in yesterday’s blog).   Then he asked me if I’d ever been in a gym before and that was a bit more difficult to answer.   Because I had in fact been in one – temporarily – about 15 years ago.   But I gave it up, basically, because I hated it.  Particularly the sense of intimidation I experienced  as a result of being surrounded by men who could lift 50kg weights above their heads with one hand (which, basically, was everyone in the gym except me), and also by the horrible training machines which I could never remember how to use properly.

So against that backdrop, Matt did a pretty good job of giving me a workout programme which wasn’t too terrifying and he assured me that if I came mid-mornings there wouldn’t be too many people around to scrutinise my manifest failings.

Anyway I fiddled around a bit on the various bits of equipment while he showed me what to do.   Then, when it was all over, I thankfully headed to the pool for a quick swim then got into the sauna (its very posh there) to unwind after all the tension and anxiety of the morning.

On reflection, that might be where my technology woes started.   I have an Apple Watch which is quite good in a three-out-of-five sort of way.   Now – I’m not sure what the maximum operating temperature of the watch is but I’m pretty sure it’s less than the 85C that the sauna was this morning.   I first noticed that there was a problem when I tried to switch on one of the apps on my way home after the gym, but found that nothing happened no matter how hard I prodded and poked the touchscreen.

So I retreated to the flat to see if I could effect a repair.   I did all the usual things – charged it up, shook it vigorously, and rebooted it.   Nothing worked.   The one thing I couldn’t do was switch it off and then on again because to turn it off you have to press a button on the touchscreen but – because the touchscreen isn’t working – you can’t do that.  I googled and tried every remedy suggested online, but I was no better off.   I even resorted to contacting Apple Support and they said that they could try to repair it for me – no guarantees of course – but I’d have to pay the flat fee of €308 even to get them to try (and yes, you did read that right – €308).

So I decided to leave it alone to reflect on its behaviour for a bit while I went on a quick walk round the demesne.   It still didn’t work when I came back so now the only thing I can think of is to leave the watch switched on without recharging it until the battery runs out.   Then I’ll charge it up again and see if a prolonged rest might sort the issue out.   I do hope this will fix it because if it doesn’t I might have to resort to using a sundial instead.   But at least it would be sauna-proof.

 

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Now that the weather has cooled, the outdoor diners have abandoned the alfresco experience in downtown Malahide’s New Road.   A bit of a shame, really, as it did give the place a bit of a “laid back vibe” as the holiday brochures like to say In the castle woods today.   No need for cool shade, unfortunately
The castle looking impassive as always A friend of mine who’s an expert scout leader always reminds me that you should never camp under trees after a prolonged period of dry weather as they are apt to drop branches off with no warning.   It looks like this may have happened here.   Although this tree is an oak, apparently it’s beech trees that are most disposed to exhibiting this unfortunate tendency
I do have a bit of a thing about buddleias even though I know that they can be a bit of an invasive weed sometimes.   This brilliant white flowered example, growing near the castle courtyard, particularly caught my eye today.   The white ones do have a bit of an alluring purity about them, although they don’t last long before they go brown.   A bit like lilacs, in this respect. Lovely white Agapanthus.   A bit rarer than the blue variety, but like the white buddleia, it does have a special allure.   Agapanthus flowers remind me of happy holidays in the Scilly Isles, off the coast of Cornwall, UK
“More sacred than a church” is how Mr Price, our rather terrifying PE teacher at school used to describe the cricket wicket.   Woe betide anyone who should be foolish enough as to step on this hallowed turf.
Interactive map

(Elevations corrected at  GPS Visualizer: Assign DEM elevation data to coordinates )

Total distance: 4570 m
Max elevation: 26 m
Min elevation: 10 m
Total climbing: 70 m
Total descent: -71 m
Total time: 00:54:08
Download file: Short_walk_round_the_castle_grounds_ corrected.gpx

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