2015-01-28: Better than expected? sure why not

This is the bit where I looked like I knew what I was doing. First 5 seconds.

I expected to be defeated by a Lady in Warsaw.
I did not get defeated by a Lady in Warsaw.
The only reason for this is that I misread the draw and so I was defeated by a Man instead.

Not a Lady

No helmet and still an intimidating fellow

I don't know if this really counts as an achievement.
Especially as the Lady would have beaten me as well.

The one strike I did which I felt was pretty good. I even moved fast by my standards.

On the bright side I did win a match, get some encouragement regarding my kendo and got to play naginata against 3 guys; one a member of the Polish kendo team, one just your everyday Polish (i.e. strong) player and one sneaky bastard that didn't mention he had played against naginata before. Apparently the sneaky bastard is half Scottish which probably explains things.

It makes me look bigger and scarier if I hold the stick high.

In case my sensei sees any of these photos, this one looks sort of close to what we are meant to do

Between Białystok and Warsaw the freeway is undergoing upgrades. About half of it is now dual carriageway with a speed limit of 120km/hr (i.e. 140 is standard). The bits that aren't are 90km/hr and are terrifying. In these bottlenecks traffic is packed pretty tight and people overtake with limited visibility and squeeze into gaps which are only large enough by a couple of feet.

My Do matches the crash pads. You didn't even notice. This is how style works people! Subtle and Elegant. You have to plan for hours but make it look effortless.

I would recommend the train instead. Except the train line is undergoing upgrades as well and so it is half train / half bus. I hate buses.

I can run away so fast no camera can catch me.

I still recommend the train, at least a bus is big.

Sneaky bugger knew to lift his leg! My favourite tactic gone! Aside from my posture I love this pic though.

On the return journey the magnitude of trucking here was brought home. For the first 100km or so the slow lane was effectively a wall of trucks moving at about 100km/hr.

Food and Beverage Review: Petrol Station HotDog

It's cold, you've been awake for ages, you haven't eaten in ages. Petrol Station HotDogs (in any country) are still just not very good. But you eat them anyway.

You have to wait in the cold for your hot food, makes you appreciate it more.

All countries have unique elements to their form of "hot sausage with bread for eating while walking"
The Polish version of the Petrol Station HotDog has as it's unique element "Bread which is truly astoundingly bad by Polish standards".
I would go so far as to say that it is as bad as McDonalds buns, just in a different way. And McDonalds comes from a country with no real bread culture. Poland loves bread and takes it seriously.

Just holding it makes you feel better.

The bread is one of those par cooked dinner rolls you can finish cooking at home but you undercooked. Then toasted it a bit in a panini press for crispyness. Kind of crispy with a gluggy interior. Very white bread.
Serving this bread in a location which, by definition, has lots of petrol seems a deliberate Incitement to Riot.

Rating: 6/10 (I will do it again but will plead necessity)