See You Next Wednesday
Friday, July 3
...I'd love to contradict you
But my life's a joke...
Sydney was good. I had fun catching up with Mikey, Jo, Nils, Koko and Noly, and saw some Sesame Street (Old School) and Twilight on Thursday before Supanova. At the convention I saw many seminars and two movies with Alex, Emma, Gavin, Gavin, James and Morgyn, Liz, and Mark. All the seminars had their moments, Transformers 2 was horrible, Fanboys was hilarious.
Linda is out of hospital with an ursine sore head and has a follow up appointment in a week or so. She seems to have stopped investigating "subarachnoid hematoma" on the Internet since she found this: up to half of all cases of SAH are fatal and 10–15% die before reaching a hospital, and those who survive often have neurological or cognitive impairment. (Hers is not any of the cases mentioned in that sentence.)
But my life's a joke...
Sydney was good. I had fun catching up with Mikey, Jo, Nils, Koko and Noly, and saw some Sesame Street (Old School) and Twilight on Thursday before Supanova. At the convention I saw many seminars and two movies with Alex, Emma, Gavin, Gavin, James and Morgyn, Liz, and Mark. All the seminars had their moments, Transformers 2 was horrible, Fanboys was hilarious.
Linda is out of hospital with an ursine sore head and has a follow up appointment in a week or so. She seems to have stopped investigating "subarachnoid hematoma" on the Internet since she found this: up to half of all cases of SAH are fatal and 10–15% die before reaching a hospital, and those who survive often have neurological or cognitive impairment. (Hers is not any of the cases mentioned in that sentence.)
Saturday, June 20
[Insert disparaging comment about Internet service provision.]
Two weeks ago I went to Phenomenon. It would have been pretty average but I played in a team which made it pretty good fun in the end. I would have written it up but we changed our ISP plan. Which required us to get a cable installed. Which required us to change our phone carrier. (It also required us to bundle our electricity and gas - I don't know why but it did.) Which disabled our Internet account. Which was required to activate the new plan.
Last weekend Linda went to hospital. No fun.
Next weekend I'm going to Supanova. But first I'm going to visit folks in Sydney on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago I went to Phenomenon. It would have been pretty average but I played in a team which made it pretty good fun in the end. I would have written it up but we changed our ISP plan. Which required us to get a cable installed. Which required us to change our phone carrier. (It also required us to bundle our electricity and gas - I don't know why but it did.) Which disabled our Internet account. Which was required to activate the new plan.
Last weekend Linda went to hospital. No fun.
Next weekend I'm going to Supanova. But first I'm going to visit folks in Sydney on Wednesday.
Wednesday, June 3
TW3
Last Wednesday I flew home. I passed over Townsville, twelve kilometres up, at 4:28am on Friday, which the hostesses agreed was pretty cool. When I got back I developed a cold* so mostly I have been fuzzy-headed and listless since then. Fortunately I don't need to feel well to enjoy seeing friends again, which is nice. Also, I have Wrath of the Lich King and a new Wii to play with.
*Not swine flu.
Last Wednesday I flew home. I passed over Townsville, twelve kilometres up, at 4:28am on Friday, which the hostesses agreed was pretty cool. When I got back I developed a cold* so mostly I have been fuzzy-headed and listless since then. Fortunately I don't need to feel well to enjoy seeing friends again, which is nice. Also, I have Wrath of the Lich King and a new Wii to play with.
*Not swine flu.
Tuesday, May 26
Bigpond performs poorly.
I logged into my Bigpond e-mail account. While it was loading I checked my Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and wrote this Blogger entry. Twenty-five minutes later Bigpond still hasn't loaded.
The story continues with Bigpond reporting spurious errors (error: this warning has been displayed incorrectly), screens lacking scroll bars and sign out buttons, and so forth. I hope there wasn't anything important being kept from me.
I logged into my Bigpond e-mail account. While it was loading I checked my Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and wrote this Blogger entry. Twenty-five minutes later Bigpond still hasn't loaded.
The story continues with Bigpond reporting spurious errors (error: this warning has been displayed incorrectly), screens lacking scroll bars and sign out buttons, and so forth. I hope there wasn't anything important being kept from me.
Backson.
Nearly done here. Tomorrow the cleaning lady comes, so I have to pack everything up and be out of the apartment until six. On Wednesday I fly back to Australia, so I have to pack everything up and be out of the apartment indefinitely.
Libby gave me a cat, called Charlie, for my birthday. He's staying here on her bookcase.
Nearly done here. Tomorrow the cleaning lady comes, so I have to pack everything up and be out of the apartment until six. On Wednesday I fly back to Australia, so I have to pack everything up and be out of the apartment indefinitely.
Libby gave me a cat, called Charlie, for my birthday. He's staying here on her bookcase.
Tuesday, May 19
Vacation level five.
I went to Scotland. Polly came too. There are many photographs displayed here (which Blogger won't upload).
We started in Edinburgh and rode around on bus tours for a while. Then we walked down the Royal Mile and up Radicals Road. We took a five day tour to Oban and Portree. From Oban we visited the islands of Mull, Iona and Staffa. There were puffins at Staffa. At Portree on the Isle of Skye Polly took a day off while the tour went to Neist. Back in Edinburgh there was a mix up with the hotels, which was pleasantly resolved, and we rented a car. We drove to Ullapool where we stayed for two weeks. The first week there was a folk music festival. We also drove down to Inverewe and up to Inverpolly. Libby visited for a weekend in the middle and we climbed Ullapool Hill (300m - nearly a mountain). The second week there was a writing festival. We also drove up to Durness, where there were more puffins. We got the car back to Edinburgh on empty, climbed Scott Monument and the morning before Polly returned home we visited the zoo - which was nice.
I went to Scotland. Polly came too. There are many photographs displayed here (which Blogger won't upload).
We started in Edinburgh and rode around on bus tours for a while. Then we walked down the Royal Mile and up Radicals Road. We took a five day tour to Oban and Portree. From Oban we visited the islands of Mull, Iona and Staffa. There were puffins at Staffa. At Portree on the Isle of Skye Polly took a day off while the tour went to Neist. Back in Edinburgh there was a mix up with the hotels, which was pleasantly resolved, and we rented a car. We drove to Ullapool where we stayed for two weeks. The first week there was a folk music festival. We also drove down to Inverewe and up to Inverpolly. Libby visited for a weekend in the middle and we climbed Ullapool Hill (300m - nearly a mountain). The second week there was a writing festival. We also drove up to Durness, where there were more puffins. We got the car back to Edinburgh on empty, climbed Scott Monument and the morning before Polly returned home we visited the zoo - which was nice.
Wednesday, April 22
Museum Mile.
Thirteen museums between Euston Road and the Thames River.
(I only went into five, many weren't open.)
I went to the Bankside Gallery with Libby on the weekend and she bought a picture for her bedroom. I also went to another fun science fiction meetup - which was nice. Tomorrow I'm going to a real science meetup.
Thirteen museums between Euston Road and the Thames River.
(I only went into five, many weren't open.)
I went to the Bankside Gallery with Libby on the weekend and she bought a picture for her bedroom. I also went to another fun science fiction meetup - which was nice. Tomorrow I'm going to a real science meetup.
Saturday, April 18
Wednesday, April 15
Arthur, King of the Britons.
I went to on a tour "In Search of King Arthur" - there isn't a lot of him to find. He was conceived at Tintagel Castle; Camelot was at South Cadbury; the Round Table is at Winchester; and his grave is at Glastonbury. To fill in the rest of the four days we visited:
Avebury - the "superhenge".
Cerne Abbas - to see the Rude Man chalk picture.
Cheddar - to see the gorge, but we missed out on the caves.
Chesil Beach - to see the beach (the Fleet Lagoon).
Dartmoor - to see the tors on the moors.
Dorchester - for lunch one day.
Dorset - to see Thomas Hardy's cottage.
Lyme Regis - to see the port (The Cobb).
Port Isaac - where Doc Martin is filmed.
Postbridge - to see the clapper bridge.
Stonehenge - to see the sheep.
Widecombe - to see the village green (sans fair).
I went to on a tour "In Search of King Arthur" - there isn't a lot of him to find. He was conceived at Tintagel Castle; Camelot was at South Cadbury; the Round Table is at Winchester; and his grave is at Glastonbury. To fill in the rest of the four days we visited:
Avebury - the "superhenge".
Cerne Abbas - to see the Rude Man chalk picture.
Cheddar - to see the gorge, but we missed out on the caves.
Chesil Beach - to see the beach (the Fleet Lagoon).
Dartmoor - to see the tors on the moors.
Dorchester - for lunch one day.
Dorset - to see Thomas Hardy's cottage.
Lyme Regis - to see the port (The Cobb).
Port Isaac - where Doc Martin is filmed.
Postbridge - to see the clapper bridge.
Stonehenge - to see the sheep.
Widecombe - to see the village green (sans fair).
Friday, April 10
New Doctor Who tomorrow.
I went to Cardiff and Newport, in Wales.
In my experience hotel's which say "Free Wi-Fi Internet" mean "if you already have an account with the Internet service provider we use then you can use the hotel wi-fi connection at no extra cost". If you don't have an account you can purchase Internet time for £5-£6 per hour (~$1 for five minutes). The clock will start ticking instantly and continue whether or not you are connected. Most cafés with free wi-fi are offering the same deal except you can't purchase an Internet connection, but you can purchase an account with the ISP. Free Internet access at public libraries is filtered so heavily you may not be able to access your e-mail because of other services your e-mail provider has, such as games.
I went to Cardiff and Newport, in Wales.
In my experience hotel's which say "Free Wi-Fi Internet" mean "if you already have an account with the Internet service provider we use then you can use the hotel wi-fi connection at no extra cost". If you don't have an account you can purchase Internet time for £5-£6 per hour (~$1 for five minutes). The clock will start ticking instantly and continue whether or not you are connected. Most cafés with free wi-fi are offering the same deal except you can't purchase an Internet connection, but you can purchase an account with the ISP. Free Internet access at public libraries is filtered so heavily you may not be able to access your e-mail because of other services your e-mail provider has, such as games.
Monday, April 6
Lazy Sunday afternoon.
B7 on Friday was good, including beer; Saturday was a bit of a fizzer though. I went to see a debate in Camden, but it didn't happen. So I went to a D&D meetup instead, which did happen but quite poorly unless you were in one of the pre-arranged games. Last night I went to dinner with Libby and her ex-minion Justin in Chinatown; everybody ate too much yummy food.
I've put up photographs from Greenwich and Bristol on Flickr. I finished my laundry this morning. Tomorrow I'm off to Cardiff.
B7 on Friday was good, including beer; Saturday was a bit of a fizzer though. I went to see a debate in Camden, but it didn't happen. So I went to a D&D meetup instead, which did happen but quite poorly unless you were in one of the pre-arranged games. Last night I went to dinner with Libby and her ex-minion Justin in Chinatown; everybody ate too much yummy food.
I've put up photographs from Greenwich and Bristol on Flickr. I finished my laundry this morning. Tomorrow I'm off to Cardiff.
Friday, April 3
Happy birthday, Emma-Jean.
I went to Bristol yesterday. It was more interesting than I was lead to believe. If you ever go I suggest staying in Clifton, which is up the hill and has great views, rather than in the city, which is down the hill and has great industrial areas. You can easily get down to the interesting bits of the city, but it's much nicer to eat and sleep in the green space and fresh air (I expect).
I couldn't find the RPG meetup group at the venue, even though ten people attended. I should have better luck tonight as the Blake's 7 meetup has a room booked.
I went to Bristol yesterday. It was more interesting than I was lead to believe. If you ever go I suggest staying in Clifton, which is up the hill and has great views, rather than in the city, which is down the hill and has great industrial areas. You can easily get down to the interesting bits of the city, but it's much nicer to eat and sleep in the green space and fresh air (I expect).
I couldn't find the RPG meetup group at the venue, even though ten people attended. I should have better luck tonight as the Blake's 7 meetup has a room booked.
