Day 29

Distance Run: None
Total Distance Run for January: 52.65 miles
Other Exercise: Wii Fit Plus - 20 minutes

  The down side to having a Sunday to recover is that, whilst wounded, I don't want to do the majority of the things I really need to get doing when moments of spare time come around.
  This blog entry is a little more "heroic" than usual, as the Janathon challenge was almost brought to an end with the finishing line firmly in sight. Today's exercise option was limited to Wii Fit. I couldn't run for 20 minutes even if I wanted to, and my foot injury meant the exercise bike would be pretty stupid to attempt as well. Luckily there are several muscle and yoga exercise on Wii Fit which needn't put any strain on my foot - starting with 100 jacknifes! A challenge I hadn't completed since approximately August, and that I'd sensibly built myself up for throughout the month. Before I could tackle that, however, I had a more serious issue: I coudn't get Wii Fit to load up...
  I've had my Wii since Dec 07 - it was a Christmas present that I hadn't really asked for, but was happy to accept (I think my brother had something to do with it as he fancied having one in the house, but not necessarily under his "ownership"). All my other gaming consoles still work fine, or nearly fine, and I know technology these days is increasingly advanced and sensitive. It still came as a surprise to see that my Wii worked perfectly fine, except for no cursor appearing on the screen. I knew the Wiimote was ok as the buttons worked, but I needed the small, movable hand icon to show up in order to select my game of choice. What to do?
  Google is my first port of call for a technical enquiry. I wouldn't be that bothered if it weren't for Janathon - I had other stuff to do - so my frustration was doubled to find the likely problem was a broken Wii Sensor Bar. Wtf? It had worked just fine on Friday, and now it doesn't? There was a trick for seeing if it was still functioning - the bar should have 5 LED lights on either side, visible through a camera. Of course, some cameras will filter the LEDs out, and I don't know if my HTC Desire HD did or not - either way I saw no lights. Hopes were dashed, until a YouTube video proposed an alternative, makeshift Sensor Bar could be created using the power of darkness...and two lit candles?!
  I can't explain the science behind it, but two candles placed at the right distance apart could be used by the Wiimotes to correlate position, and produce a cursor on the screen. The video demonstrated this, but could I replicate it (I wasn't even sure if the sensor bar was the problem, although it seemed plausible). Owning no candles I asked my mum, and avoiding a fairly lengthy inquisition (one of the annoying character traits of my mum is to respond to any question by trying to work out why you're asking it in the first place, if you get what I mean), she deduced it wasn't due to an "upstairs only power cut) and found two tall candles. Some further searching found two smaller, but still big candles in large wax stands. I was only after two of the tiny, "float on water" type candles, but would give these a go. Moving the tv and furniture to reduce the likelihood of setting my room (and the house) on fire, I placed the candles on top of the tv, then on  the cabinet infront of the tv, and on the floor. Nothing. No cursor. The left candle was burning fairly faintly in comparison to its partner, and whilst I wondered why this was I felt the Wiimote judder slightly. It took a few seconds, but I realised that judder could only have been caused by the makeshift sensor working - so I began frantically dowsing for signs of electronic life. Persistence paid off, as a cursor flicked on the screen briefly, before disappearing again. Realising I only needed the cursor to load the game, and that the Wiimote buttons and Wii Balance Board would suffice for the rest, I repositioned the candles to the right of the TV and managed to gain access. This was enough exercise for one day, but now the real workout began.
  Fifteen minutes after the above, I lay strewn on the floor, exhausted. 100 jacknifes were done, and they weren't much fun. I followed it up with 10 more painful press-ups and sidestands, and some yoga exercises for my back muscles (which have been neglected of late). 20 minutes complete, and I completed the body test ok as well, despite the foot pains. Another day of Janathon complete, and a sense of achievement at overcoming adversity was my reward.

Injuries: Hoping the left foot improves overnight, rather than hinder sleep again
Mood: Sunday night blues

  I almost forgot that Djokovic won the tennis with a terrific effort (especially in the final set, where he looked battered), Andy Thomson won the bowls (a sport I'd love to play regularly, but that can wait until I can't physically play other sports to a reasonable degree), and Liverpool's win against Man Utd yesterday (woohoo) has earned us a home draw against Brighton in Rd5. Liverpool are 5 wins away from a cup double now - that would be a fantastic season. Meanwhile, I hope to be fit for football tomorrow, but I have a feeling I won't be. Two more Janathon days to go...