Back in the States and Heroes...

Let's see — made it to the States without a problem.

Well, I was a little late, an hour or so, but not the end of the world and I was able to spend the evening with my friends. The perfect response to a long and arduous day of travel.

The hotel that we stayed at has high speed broadband access. Which means, I can watch the episodes of Heroes online.

Everyone that said that I would love the show wasn't kidding. This is friggin' incredible. AIGH! And I'm in the UK.

Still Foggy

It's still foggy today.

I'm hopeful, but still have no idea whether I'll fly out on time.

Update: Made it out — relatively on time. We were about an hour late after sitting on the tarmac for close to two hours at Heathrow.

Worries About My Holiday Plans...

BBC News story: Fog causes more UK flight delays

Thick fog has forced British Airways to cancel all domestic flights from Heathrow and many European ones.

I'm hoping that this will be sorted before Saturday at 4pm, but to be honest, I have no idea.

Worst case, I'll see about having myself a holly jolly London Christmas and see what it'll take to mail presents from Western Mass. (I really hope that doesn't happen.)

Update: I forgot to add how bad it was this morning. I walked by the Putney Heath on my way to the doctor's office . The fog was so thick that from across the street, I could barely see the shapes of the trees bordering the roadway. If Heathrow was half that bad, I can understand the delays and cancellations.

Foggy Morning in London

As I walked to work this morning, I wanted to take a picture of the dark and foggy street. It's nowhere near the horrible pea soup days of Jack the Ripper, but then again, there's less coal and gas smoke in the air now.

I also learned an important lesson about taking pictures in fog with a flash. They were horrible, but they did look kind of cool, though. The invisible water in the air is reflective:

Damp Room Redux

Thank you to all the people that offered ideas or recommendations on how to fight the damned mold and mildew.

I spent last night, after work, scrubbing the walls with a bleach solution. Unfortunately, I found that the corner of the room is only the tip of the iceberg, the black yuck has spread behind the headboard and also all over the window behind the curtain. I got the walls last night. The window will be tonight.

Yuck.

An evening of scrubbing. And I don't even have a DVD of Battlestar Galactica to distract myself afterwards.

Just When I Can Be More Appalled...

Saw this article in the Times this morning.


Former US Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment

While that's appalling enough, this is from a US citizen. A US citizen that called the Embassy about what he thought was not on the up in up with the company that he was working for.

Karaoke—Japanese for delusional drunken singers

Last night was supposed to be the office triathalon: snooker, darts, and karaoke. It was for team buiding, morale building and a spot of fun.

The pub didn't have a dart board.
The other pub didn't have an open pool table (though they call them billiards tables here).
But the karaoke bar was open.

It was a mad house with a bar full of drunks, a miserable sound system, and a forgetful staff. Nonetheless, it was a blast. All of us sang. And I even got the others to enjoy it.

We chatted up some of the regulars, sang over the really bad ones, which is probably why it was a good idea that they had a lousy sound system.

The Joy of a Damp Room

I knew my room was damp. Which is why I started taking my clothes to the laundrette rather than letting it hang dry. (Well, that and the line of mold or mildew that crawl the corner.)

I hadn't realized how bad it was until this morning. Yesterday, my shirt had a spot in it. I thought it was from something I'd bumped into. Today, I noticed that this dress shirt had a spot on it as well, in about the same location. I tried to wash it off and realized that it wasn't dirt. It was mold or mildew and it doesn't wash off.

Sonuva... And the more I hear about this — the better it friggin' sounds. Yay.

Update: Added the photo. Initially, it started as a small mark by the headboard, that I assumed was from the wood scrapping the wall. Then it started climbing. Now it's all over.

You know when a technology has arrived...

It begins with a crackly connection from a mobile phone in the rain, moves to the local cell tower, is shunted to routers, where depending on the load and the end result, the call is routed over satellite, cables or radio where a network of repeaters carry my words across the Atlantic, ending when my friend hears my voice as "Is your refrigerator running? You better catch it."

Intercontinental ballistic prank phone calls. Is there a better use for technology?

Flat mate back

My brief foray into living alone is over, my flatmate is back from his ski holiday for another few days before he heads to the States.
It's funny, I missed having someone else in the flat. I'm kind of glad that he's back.

Documents to Go v9.0

I just upgraded to DataViz's Documents To Go 9.0, this is really kind of slick.

One thing that I like is that it's a got a great data entry tool, TextPlus &tm; from Smart Cell. which basically works like the text entry tools for your cell phone, where a letter or two will kick up a handful of possible words, so that you can click on it and save more keystrokes as you try to write the longer words.

We'll see how it works as I go back to writing on the Palm.

Socialized Medicine

Okay, I'm sure a big part of this is that it's working in my favor, but to be honest, I have to say that some of the nationalized health care is a good thing.

1. Certain medical conditions allow you to get your medicine for free. One of them is hypothyroidism, which is what I have.


2. Your GP (General Practitioner, I think) is always in your neighborhood, so you don't have to schlep all the way into the city itself when you're sick.


3. They actually put you at ease and take a moment to chat with you when you come in, rather than giving you the precise four and a half minutes of face time, followed by a few minutes with a nurse.

The not so good, the waiting, etc... I haven't really had to deal with yet. We'll see what happens next. I'm just happy that I have a 3 month supply of my meds.

You can't make this stuff up...

Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week - washingtonpost.com

Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week - washingtonpost.com

Scariest Swiss Army Knife...

I saw this article online and just had to share it. Who would want something like that in their backpack or back pocket?

Going to Harrods

After work today, I'll be girding my loins for retail and going to Harrods. I shudder at what I'm going to find. But hopefully, I can find some Belleek or Waterford tree-toppers for my sister.

Here's hoping I find something nice and get out of there quickly.

Update: Well, I survived. I found something nice for my sister and it wasn't anywhere near as crowded as I feared. I could have come back on Saturday and gotten a Waterford engraver to personalize whatever I got for my sister, but just the thoughts of Harrods on a December Saturday brought out a cold sweat. *Shudder*

Christmas in Covent Garden

I can't wait to see what this looks like at night. It does kind of look like stage dressing for a West End show, though, doesn't it?