Circling Toward Boston

Got up this morning bright and early, finished packing my bags, sent out a last email message and was ready to face the day. HA! Ha, I tell you. Ah, how naive and foolish I was.

I got to the airport the requisite three hours before my flight. (Okay, it's two in the UK, but what can I say, I was used to this in New York and in Boston. And I'm a morning person.) Only to find out that the airline overbooked the flight.

Now my first thought was that they had switched to a smaller plane. Because like Jerry Seinfeld, I couldn't understand the concept of a reservation that led to nothing to show for it. Nope, it's still the same plane. Basically, what airlines do is run sophisticated profiling systems that tell them how much to overbook their flight, so that they can fly out with an optimally full aircraft with a minimum of disgruntled passengers.

I was gruntled.

The profile was wrong. Not enough people got off the damned plane.

My 10:55 departure will be leaving at 16:55. The funny thing is that I told my friends that I'd be flying in at 19:40, because I misread which leg of my journey that I was on. I'll actually be flying in at 18:40. (Hopefully, anyway.)

What do I get to show for it? Nine quid worth of coffee vouchers and either $400 in cash or £550 toward my next flight with this airline. I fly enough that I went for the more money. Especially, as I have a year to use it.

Several more hours to kill. Hello, mp3 player and my book. They go nicely with uncomfortable chairs and more overpriced beverages.

(At the moment, I'm settled into the first class/business class internet cafe/business center recharging my electronic devices. Who says being polite and friendly won't get you anywhere in society.)

See everyone soon.

New Office

Work moved to our new offices by the Blackfriars tube stop. Coincidentally, much closer to my old apartment. And if we had moved offices months ago as planned, it would have really helped me. But no, I'm not annoyed about it.

The move over the weekend was hellish, but now it's over and the computers are set up and everyone is somewhat happy.

The new office is by the Blackfriars Bridge and here's a great statue of Queen Victoria on our end. Just around the corner is something that I like a little better than good Queen V. The woman with the grecian urn. I expect that she should be pouring water, but that remains to be seen.

Mass Rocks!

Since same-sex marriage has become legalized in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention brings anxiety and stress. First there are people that descend on Boston, the conservatives that rant about how same-sex marriage is a sign of the devil or worse. Then there are the news stories about where the amendments that ban same-sex marriage and where things stand.

I'm a single, gay man. I don't even have a boyfriend, never mind someone that I want to share my life with. So for the most part, the marriage equality issue affects me more theoretically than practically at the moment.

What does hit me is the arguments and the bile that some of those that oppose same-sex marriage use to make their case. It's just so damned depressing to hear all of that nastiness again and again. It brings up all of the guilt, alienation that I thought had been put to rest in my life decades ago. I can only imagine what they're doing to some closeted kid that's struggling to come out.

Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon with a window open to Bay Window's Blogging the Con Con coverage. I rushed home to find out how the vote went down.

I had been reading articles about how people weren't sure how it was going to go. And I'd read articles a few months ago about whether it made political sense to let the vote go to the public, so that Massachusetts would become a money sink in the culture wars which -- supposedly -- would have helped the Democratic party in the 2008 presidential election. Neither of which helped my anxiety level. No one wants to think that their rights could be thrown under the bus to help the greater good.

When I got home and found out how the vote went down, I couldn't believe how good it felt. I like to think I'm an optimist, but I had doubted and had given in to fear. To find out that the Commonwealth had done the right thing, when I was afraid that they wouldn't was a gift without price.

Thank you, Mass. legislators.

Update: Found out that there's a bit in the Mass. constitution that stops people from offering a constitutional amendment without a cooling off period. This would be able to go before the voters before the 2012 election. At best.

Best Cubicle Doodad

While I was home, I picked up a Philips Digital Picture Frame that I had my eye on. (I think I got a better deal than the listed price, though.)

I have it sitting on my desk, taking the place of the wall of pictures of friends, family and their kids that had been there before.

I should check to see if Philips will kick some cash back to me. At least three people in my office talked about getting them either for themselves or for gifts after they saw (and played with) mine.

So fire off digital pix, if you think I'd like them in rotation in my cube. (Of course, you know me, that would probably be any pictures of you guys.

I Love Living On The Thames

Another ship to gawk at on the walk home.

Things I've Seen In The Docklands

Here are some of the sights around the new place that I've seen now that I'm there...

A three-mast ship from Sweden. It was only there for a few days while I was there, but it was neat to be able to see it. (Even if I was too cheap to pay to go aboard.)

We've also got the obligatory guy with a kite on a beautiful day.

Lastly, we have rampaging sheep. Seriously, that's got to be cheaper than having to mow the whole field. And it is kind of nice to walk through a field beneath the big towers of Citi-Bank, Lehman Brothers and the like and see sheep. So far, I haven't seen them cavorting, just eating, but I assume that may be happening too.

It is kind of weird to pass crowing roosters on the way to the train in the morning, though.

Firmly in Mac Country

I totally want one of these. :)

At the Apple Store now.

Update: Okay, I did it. It'll be at my brother's house in a week or so and hopefully I can pick it up in 3 weeks when I get back to Boston.

Moving Toward the Dark Side

I've actually be thinking of going Macbook or Macbook Pro for the next laptop. I've been a PC person since college, but what can I say, it's a beautiful powerful machine.

Comments always appreciated.

Laptop Dying By Inches

Okay, my Dell laptop is dying by inches. So far the parts replaced have been:

• Screen (within weeks of first getting it back about 7-8 years ago)
• Battery (just a few months ago)
• Internal keyboard (just a few weeks ago)
• Hard-drive (waiting for parts)

I'm torn between trying to get the damned thing fixed again or getting a new one and tossing in a new hard drive, so that I can try to use the old laptop to install Linux or something.

Lord only knows what's going to die next.

My New Neighbors

I've told people that my new flat is near a farm. The Mudchute Park & Farm to be exact.

Here are some pix of my neighbors that I took last night and this morning.

That's right. I live near cows and goats. There's also foxes and horses. (Though this is London, which has foxes like other cities have wild cats and dogs roaming free.)

London Time Adjustment

Unfortunately, not a friggin' problem.

My last night before I head back to London and suddenly I'm awake and sitting up in bed. I'm wide awake and totally friggin' hostile about it. It took me a moment to realize what the hell was going on. A glance at the clock by the bed confirmed that it was about one in the friggin' morning. If a noise had woken me up, it certainly hadn't been repeated.

Then it hit me. It was six o'clock London time. The time I normally wake up to go to work.

Almost an hour later, I'm still awake. Still pissed off about it.

If nothing changes, I'll go see if there's an all night diner in the area or something.

Leavin' on a jet plane....

Apologies as always to the Mamas and the Papas. In a few hours, I'm heading back to Mass. to visit family and friends. Woo! Had a nice few days with a friend from New York, wandering around. We saw the Lord of the Rings show in London's West End. It was really impressive. More about that when I get some time.

(And today, the fact of the day is that Leavin' on a Jet Plane was by Peter, Paul and Mary, not the Mamas and the Papas. Their single was California Dreamin'. Sorry.)

Zoom! (Not to be confused with Zoom.)

Silly New Gadget

Over the holiday weekend, I picked up a silly little toy - the wifi rabbit. I saw it on ThinkGeek and wanted it instantly, but I held out.

It reads me the headlines from RSS feeds, can play podcasts, can let me know about email, weather, etc... Can play various internet radio stations and it's just so gosh darned cute.

Breakfast you can blog about...

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/05/ctrlaltdeliciou.html

CTRL-ALT-DELicious. The Corona-Matic Keyboard Waffle Iron

What do you do with a junked Corona typewriter? If you are designer Chris Dimino, you use it to make breakfast. This beautiful typewriter/waffle iron hybrid looks like it actually works, although if you study the picture you'll see the waffle has been spun 180º for the product shot.

I don't really know what else to say, other than that I really, really want one. And make sure you hit the Gizmodo post, where I found this. Some of the comments are hilarious.

Product page [Chris Dimino via Gizmodo]
Credit for the post title [Spybreak on Gizmodo comments]

Posted by Charlie Sorrel 10:37:03 AM in Food and Drink, Hacks
Reddit It | Digg This | Add to del.icio.us

Update on the Flat Situation

As of Wednesday afternoon, we had water in the flat. (This is why this was important.)

The downside is that we need a new boiler or the boiler fixed. The boiler can be fixed on 24-May. (I do not know why everything takes so long in this country. It was weeks before we had broadband switched on in the flat after my flatmate changed providers.)

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In other news, I may have found a new flat with my friend, Zeke. Here's a map of where it is. I may be moving there on Saturday. (And our office is moving this weekend as well.)

Don't Mess With London Pigeons

This morning, on my tube ride to work, I saw an odd sight:

a pigeon flew onto the train. Pecked at some crumbs, walked the length of our train car. And at the next stop, it flew out the open door.

No word on whether it was able to make it's bus connection to get to the zoo.

Mayday! May Day!

I couldn't resist the pun. Especially after the last few days.

The hot water heater had been dripping for weeks. I chalked it up to condensation and would blot up the few drops every day. On Saturday, the hot water died. Sunday, I took a cold shower before heading to volleyball and decided that that would be the last time that that happened.

Yesterday, my flatmate let me know that he contacted a plumber. The bad news is that it wouldn't be fixed until Wednesday afternoon. (I got a day pass to a gym last night, so I could take a shower on the way home.)

I thought I was set and looked forward to a wonderfully relaxed evening of an engaging book, maybe some writing, and a podcast or two or a DVD. Au contraire. I got home to a torrent of water splashing out of the hot water heater onto the floor in the kitchen. There was already several inches of water there and it had spread to the living room. There was no knob by the heater, so I pounded on the door to my neighbor's flat. I hoped he'd have an answer as his place was a mirror of ours. No answer.

Upstairs was the only other neighbor that I knew in the building. I lucked out. Not only was she there, but there was a board meeting for the three buildings in the complex. My flatmate was even there. He came downstairs with me, rolling his eyes at my call of a 'flood'.

He opened the door and saw that I had downplayed the problem. The good news is that he knew where the water valve was. And after initially turning off our neighbor's water, was able to turn off the water to our flat. That left us with clean up.

(As an aside, when I buy shoes for work, I tend toward waterproof, warm and comfortable. Usually that means that they aren't very pretty. After last night, I say 'ha!' to the women in my life that are trying to reform me.)

An hour and a half of alternately blotting and wringing four very absorbent towels, we ended with a extremely clean kitchen floor, a damp living room rug, a pile of dry furniture that gave the stacking ghosts in Poltergeist a run for their money and my confirmation that we didn't have a mop.

Brushing your teeth, washing your face or hands with bottled water is just a joy.
I feel more than a little grungy this morning and I'm really looking forward to a shower after work today.

In other news, looking into other flats. Saw a hovel that I could move into immediately: 13' by 18' studio with an incredibly small bathroom and a kitchen that consisted of a mini-microwave, dorm fridge, and four burners — no oven. The bonus was that it was reasonably priced.

You Know It's Not Good, When *I'm* An Expert

On Sunday, a friend from work had us over to his flat for celebrate his and his wife's birthdays, as well as to watch the London Marathon pass by underneath us as they crossed the Tower Bridge.
He's American, his wife is Australian. So the brunch was full of ex-pats of various stripes as well as many locals.

One of the women that I chatted with was from Boston (okay, Winchester). I think the funniest thing was when we were commiserating about what we miss from home. We waxed poetic about Dunkies.

I also got to share some of the knowledge that I picked up about getting local credit cards as well as sending money home via PayPal. I guess I'm getting settled here.

Homeland Security Wants TRON

Just when I thought the Bush administration couldn't do anything more stupid, I'm surprised anew.

Homeland Security Classified The 1982 Movie Tron 'Sensitive'.

Reports are emerging from members of the movie industry that the Department of Homeland Security has designated the 1982 film TRON as "sensitive", and ordered Walt Disney Studios to turn over all copies of the film in its posession. Retailers are also receiving notices to remove all copies of the film from stock shelves and turn them over to Federal officials. The reports have industry insiders bewildered and outraged.

What the hell?

WTF?!

For the second night in a row, I was awakened by a dream (I think) a couple of hours after I went to bed. And once again, I can't get back to sleep.

I vaguely remember someone shouting and then when I woke up, the flat was silent. Last night, may have been the same, but I'm not sure.

Oh well, I futzed around for an hour. Back to bed to try and wrestle Morpheus into submission.