Vaseline (and Scud)'s worst.

Those of us who feared that Vaseline was going to go out on his own with a bag of paper and randomly wander around the hills behind Nam Noi in the hope of eventually ending up back where he started were proved wrong. He went out with Scud and randomly...

And actually there was nothing very random about the process. They had obviously and quite sensibly decided to follow an old run as the old shreddy we kept seeing bore witness.

But things have changed up there; some things have grown and some things have been knocked over. If the pictures (below) of Hatyai two weeks ago lead you to believe that's all that happened in the great storm of '10, think again. Trails which we've run for years are now strewn with fallen trees and sections of the hillside yesterday resembled a scene from The Great Chainsaw Massacre meets Big G Goes Mud Wrestling. The result was that this little 4.6k tour took an hour and 20 minutes to slog round with almost no opportunity to stretch our legs and prove what we are capable of until we actually hit the flat near the run site.

But we all got back; eventually. A chastened Off T having miraculously not got lost on Saturday took his new GPS with him and stuck closely to Moo Sahb just in case, and Gogo Pock alias Tuttee Fruity having escaped the clutches of Chao Kuay was assisted round by Sofar and Ouab-Im as far as the Wat before they escaped to the road and were assisted home by a passing Sawng Tao.

This month's storm is going to affect the way we do things for a while. Bits of 'our' countryside have been devastated and some of 'our' trails are going to be difficult to use for a while until either the debris is cleared or more likely until it gets eaten by the bugs. The moral is that until we work out what's changed, unrecced runs are unwise if not positively dangerous ... but then some of us worked that out a long time ago!

Run 1536: Was this what the hares meant us to do?

'cos it sure wasn't what this hound did. But a process of guesswork and editing out the numerous extra bits and diversions suggests that this may have been approximately where the paper went. 4.7k of hashing in the raw (red) and 2.7k of road running (blue) , or, if you were sensible, being ferried home by Kii Leum in Stick Insect's limo.

But look at it this way: Vaseline? Give us your worst son; you're on a winner today!

An ominous weekend

The compass Khii Leum is planning to use to set tomorrow's run, assisted by the directionally-challenged Stick Insect.


U.S. President Barack Obama speaking in Jakarta last week warns of the dangers of Vaseline.

Yes, dam that Beaver!

He was atop Beaver Manor and here's what it looked like. That's chin-high water in most places, and probably about five meters deep in the center of the photo, which normally is the Mae Rian Klong.

In his defense, Beaver was reported to have said, "I always thought bio-degradable dams were a good idea."

Where's a Beaver when you need one?

Wikipedia says:

Quote Beavers are known for their natural trait of building dams ... also build canals ... Beaver dams are created as ... protection ...and to provide easy access to food ... Beavers always work at night and are prolific builders…Beavers can rebuild ... primary dams overnight…unquote

So where was the Beaver last Tuesday then?

Did we have fun?

I don't remember; but these guys seemed to have enjoyed Saturday night.

But on the assumption that it was fun, thanks to everybody who braved the stone age conditions and came and helped me to celebrate hitting 60 last Saturday.

Thanks in particular, to :

Buk Toy for the gift of electricity courtesy of his generator, Rocky for the Indian food which was almost cooked to perfection and arrived just when Only a Yolk's feast seemed to be in danger of running out, Hand Job for the arm power in the som tam factory, Softcock and Temporary Relief for the PGS (Pussy Guidance System),

City Tits, Ram It In & Tutti Fruity for the gift of Beer,

Solong and Safe Sex, Eightball, Giraffe Whisperer and Chris for the gift of wine,

Chao Ngor, Meals on Wheels, Freehand (alias Homey) and M for breaking the embargo on birthday presents in general, and to anyone else who I haven't mentioned including everyone who filled the icebox which never ran out.

Who's next then?

Run #1536: A proposition from Wittgenstein?

Basil tells Manuel how to get to Saturday's SH3 run

Manuel: Hhwater Tank?
Basil: It's not difficult Manuel.This is not a proposition from Wittgenstein.Go to Ko Yo intersection, turn left; go 6 kilometers; turn left; go up track - 150 meters; park near water tank.

(Ok, Ok! here are the official misdirections:
SH3 run #1536, Saturday November 13, 2010; 4:00 p.m.
Hares: Stick insect and Kii Leum
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the new Yala road for 6k and turn left up the track for 150 meters. Park near the water tank.)
On! On!

P.S. Sunday's HH3 run is from the Old Hatyai road, 9k on the left near the former gas station and is being set by Vazzerlean.

Mine is longer than yours

"In 2004, the most recent year for which there are final figures, life expectancy at birth in the United States was 77.8 years. That’s 75.2 years for males and 80.4 years for females. But if you’ve made it to sixty your life expectancy is 82.5 years: 80.8 for men and eighty-four for women."

-- from Mine Is Longer Than Yours, by Michael Kinsley, New Yorker magazine

(OK, these figures are for Americans, whose lifespans have been freakishly extended by diets of milk and honey and gold dust, not to mention fluoride and other anti-Communist drugs put into their water supplies. But still, they suggest that, despite people like Egghead insisting on having birthdays normally consistent with decrepit geezerhood, we probably still have a few decent years left in us. Kinsley's article is worth a read, especially if you have hopes of still hitting the ski slopes and rogering young women into your 70s and 80s.)

Cracked but unbroken

You would have thought that the Biblical tempests and floods, power and water outages, plagues of locusts, etc. descending upon all of us this week would have suggested to Egghead that maybe the heavens were aligning against his birthday celebrations tomorrow. But no, he claims it's all going ahead as scheduled. With one special request: BRING BEER! We'd hate to run out while celebrating such an august occasion.

Songkhla Hash House Harriers Run #153-something or other
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Hares: Egghead (& dogs & relatives?)
Misdirections: Chez Egg (from Koh Yaw intersection take the Old Hatyai Rd. 4km, turn left and go 5.2km, turn right and follow the curvy road around the righthand side of the wat)

It's an A-to-B run, with transport to the A site leaving Egghead's at 4 pm. sharp.
From Songkhla you can catch a ride on the beer truck, leaving the Hot Bread Shop at 3 pm.

Birthday pix