Jim McGovern's Personal Blog

For many who visit Nice, Lido Plage and similar bathing areas along the Promenade des Anglais are a little piece of heaven. My wife Stephanie and I stayed nearby for two weeks from 6th July 2010. We enjoyed Lido Plage greatly, but it is probably fair to say that Stephanie belonged to those who experienced Lido Plage as a piece of heaven far more than I did. The pleasure of Stephanie’s company ensured I was in the category of ‘experiencing a little piece of heaven’ too. I made this watercolour painting on 250mm×250mm paper shorly after having visited Musée des Beaux Arts de Nice. I was a little shocked by the extent to which the picture seemed to capture my ambivalent feelings about the ‘plage’. Art should be freely available, so I have linked a high-resolution version to the image above in case anybody likes it. They are free to print it out for non-commercial use.

In today’s England vs Germany match in the World Cup an English goal was disallowed by the referee and match officials, even though millions of viewers around the world could see that the ball had clearly entered the goal. Would it not make sense for FIFA to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that decisions are seen to be fair?

A somewhat special experience I currently enjoy happens when people who know me (more or less well) refer in one friendly way or another to the fact that I have returned to being a senior lecturer—a true academic and practitioner—in my field of Mechanical Engineering. Very often the exchange begins with the person, of whom I am an acquaintance or friend, commenting that I seem far more relaxed or happier since I returned to the lecturing role. Judging from what people say to me, it sounds as though I appeared uncomfortable, unhappy, or both in the role of Head of School. Overall, this would not capture how I actually felt generally while I was in the role, although I am sure I felt like that on occasion. I felt proud and honoured to be in a role of serving learners and colleagues. I do not regret the time that I spent as Head of School and there are many memories that I cherish from that period.

My office is not the most pleasant place to be right now. Yesterday there was a serious water leak nearby (from a downpipe coming from the roof). I understand that this has been dealt with. Unfortunately water came into my office and wetted the carpet. It caused quite an unplesant smell, which will probably remain until the carpet has dried out. Together with the ongoing rumbling noise mentioned in Thinking Space (which is not serious enough to have merited quick action) the working environment is far from ideal.

Further to my previous blog on the topic, I heard on TV that FIFA is to have two extra goal line officials in the World Cup to help detect incidents such as the Henry hand ball goal in the Ireland France World Cup qualifier match of 2009. I am not sure that the lesson has been learned, although I hope it has.

On the way to a conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on 18th May 2010 I flew with US Airways. Owing to a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, the departure of my outgoing first-stage flight, Dublin to Philadelphia, was delayed by three hours. This would have made it impossible to make my original connecting flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix, but I was efficiently provided with a boarding pass for a later flight to Phoenix. However, while the first flight arrived in good time, at Phoenix there was a waiting period of more than an hour for checked baggage to arrive at the baggage hall. Many of my co-passengers had been transferring to connecting flights and a number, like me, missed them because of the excessive wait in the baggage hall. I was sorry that I had not compressed my baggage into one carry-on case. For the return trip I did so.

As a kid I enjoyed reading Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, but even then felt a certain revulsion at some of his antics. I was never big into swinging cats.
 
I get great satisfaction from doing things well, sometimes even too well, hyper-well, better-than-necessary. This has to be one of my raisons d’être. Because of that I can also feel frustrated if circumstances prevent me from doing my job well. To a certain extent I have adapted to the exigencies of reality; I realise I have an inclination towards certain types of work and a disinterest in certain other types: I call on willpower. In relation to things that interest me I like bringing together diverse threads and teasing out linkages in a painstaking (but it is not pain) way. I came across an article recently that suggested confined spaces favoured concentration on detail. Mind you, I love open spaces. Perhaps the open spaces provide the inspiration and confined spaces allow for ideas to be refined and distilled.

Life is a game! Games are part of life! Soccer is only a game and I’m not a big enthusiast, but I enjoy watching it from time to time. Like many, I feel bothered by Thierry Henry’s hand ball incident in the Ireland versus France match. All the world saw that the referee and officials made a wrong decision and that France’s win depended on cheating. I don’t in any way blame Thierry Henry. In the heat of the moment he reacted instinctively. All the players in the match were highly fired-up and that is normal in sport. I, like so many others, am bothered because FIFA has effectively condoned cheating as a means of winning football matches. The implication is that if the cheating is not detected by the referee and the officials at the time it occurs, then it is perfectly acceptable to win on that basis. The message is cheat! go ahead, it’s a valid tactic and you might get away with it. What is more, there is huge money involved in international football and the incentives to cheat in all sorts of ways are huge. Of course the rule book supports the FIFA decision, when read selectively! In any set of rules there is a hierarchy of principles, but which principle is the primary one? Is it the principle of fair play? If FIFA’s highest principles were applied to athletics then athletes who were found to have cheated retrospectively through using drugs would not be deprived of their medals. Effectively they would be congratulated for having gotten away with it!

I made some quick pencil sketches in my spare time while attending an Irish language course at Oideas Gael in Glenn Cholm Cille (Glencolumbkille) from 19th to 26th July 2008.