Monsoon?

Toronto at the moment feels like either it's monsoon season or we have been relocated to New Guinea. We seem to have slipped into a pattern of unremittingly high humidity, temperatures which range from uncomfortably warm (given the humidity) at night to downright hot during the day and rain just about every day, some of it torrential. I think I'm growing webs between my toes.

For illustration, at 0600 today it's 21C and 94% humidity with a forecast high of 31C. We've had 37mm of rain in the last 24 hours.

Left right left

Just as I think I am making splendid progress rehabbing my separated, right shoulder I have a recurrence of the problem with my left shoulder from May. I had a bad night and the damn thing still aches despite several analgaesic experiments. My left hand is also notably more weird than it has been lately which strongly suggests it is pinched nerve related. I am not impressed. I do not wish to resemble the mythical well balanced Australian.

Funding elite sport

Governments all over the developed world pump tax payers money into elite sports, or at least those that nobody wants to watch and are thus not financially viable. They typically measure success by such criteria as Olympic or World Championship medals. I don't get it. I really don't see what public policy purpose is served by funding people to win medals in synchronised swimming or the 5m air pistol. I fully understand and accept the value of government funding for participatory amateur sport, especially for young people. There is plenty of solid evidence to support that investment in terms of population health outcomes and reduced crime. The only rationale I can think of for funding elite athletes is that their success rubs off in terms of government popularity. In other words it's one more way of bribing us with our own money.

So a poll:

[Poll #781008]

For "unding" read "funding"