Friday, April 23, 2004
Long Time...
Yeah, it's been a while since I last updated (and a pretty cheesy job at that), but I've been a little busy. I'm putting the finishing touches on 5 papers due on Monday, my group just finished and turned in our project report, and we're doing our presentation on Monday afternoon. Yeah, I know, my life is a burden. And I still have two big papers due next Thursday and the following Monday (11,000 words, in all). So I don't expect I'll spend a lot of time on this next week either.
I did get my new passport this week. It took less than two weeks to get it! It's supposed to have all these great new saftey features, but all I can figure out is they got a bunch of wavy lines across my picture and a holographic eagle is sticking his wing in my face. It also has a barcode, too. And they cheated me out of a month's eligibility - my old one expires in May but this starts in April, so I only get 119 of the 120 months I paid for. I blame Bush and his deficits. They're trying to chisel every dime they can get out of us. Five of 'em in this case.
As always, seeing Fort Embassy was a treat. They had one Met Police guy patrolling inside the fence(s) that must've been 6-8 (203 cm) and goes 275 or 300 pounds (136 kilos/18 stone)(or is that $165?). He was just as intimidating as his automatic rifle with laser and night scope. He would've looked silly carrying the Uzi-type machine guns like some of the other police. I wonder if they had to special order his flak vest?
On my ride back I got a bus that was driven by James Carville. Okay, he wasn't Carville. But he had that same reptilian head and face, and even that hunched shoulder look. That may be from being a tall guy driving one of the old-fashioned double deckers. The driver sits in a separate little cab up front, and gets in and out through a small sliding door on the side with fighter jet-style stairs built into the side of the bus. And with all the fun I've had with roller coaster bus rides, I had the single worst ride of my life this week (not Carville's bus). This guy wasn't just jackrabbit starts and quick stops. He was truly throwing people around on the bus. People were separated from their seats more than once.
Well I gotta get back to work. Need to add a few footnotes to my IS article.
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I did get my new passport this week. It took less than two weeks to get it! It's supposed to have all these great new saftey features, but all I can figure out is they got a bunch of wavy lines across my picture and a holographic eagle is sticking his wing in my face. It also has a barcode, too. And they cheated me out of a month's eligibility - my old one expires in May but this starts in April, so I only get 119 of the 120 months I paid for. I blame Bush and his deficits. They're trying to chisel every dime they can get out of us. Five of 'em in this case.
As always, seeing Fort Embassy was a treat. They had one Met Police guy patrolling inside the fence(s) that must've been 6-8 (203 cm) and goes 275 or 300 pounds (136 kilos/18 stone)(or is that $165?). He was just as intimidating as his automatic rifle with laser and night scope. He would've looked silly carrying the Uzi-type machine guns like some of the other police. I wonder if they had to special order his flak vest?
On my ride back I got a bus that was driven by James Carville. Okay, he wasn't Carville. But he had that same reptilian head and face, and even that hunched shoulder look. That may be from being a tall guy driving one of the old-fashioned double deckers. The driver sits in a separate little cab up front, and gets in and out through a small sliding door on the side with fighter jet-style stairs built into the side of the bus. And with all the fun I've had with roller coaster bus rides, I had the single worst ride of my life this week (not Carville's bus). This guy wasn't just jackrabbit starts and quick stops. He was truly throwing people around on the bus. People were separated from their seats more than once.
Well I gotta get back to work. Need to add a few footnotes to my IS article.
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Thursday, April 15, 2004
This Was Easy
I really don't have anything to write, but I just read Christina's Blog for 14 April 2004. This is what makes this place worthwhile. The facilites are adequate, at best. The physical plant appears to have been maintained by an English dentist. The course is not overly imaginative. For the second term-break in a row, the computer help desk has gone on a two-week holiday. And the weather ain't all that great either. But almost every day you can count on somebody saying something that made it worthwhile to get out of bed that morning. This stuff is so good that (even) I couldn't just steal it and post it here. However, if this is what Christina has in the margins of her notebooks, I may just steal those.
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Friday, April 09, 2004
Oh, Bother!
Well, there were a few days that I wasn't getting to sleep until 5AM at the earliest, but it was all worth it at the end (see old banner). I spent Monday night/Tuesday morning at the Sports Cafe on Haymarket, between Trafalgar and Picadilly. I got there at quarter 'til midnight, and there was a line. At midnight. On a Monday. I went up to the doorman, and asked what the deal was. He asked if I was there for the ball game, so I showed him my UConn '99 Championship shirt. He told me to wait there. Then two other guys came up and tried to slip him £20. His boss came out, so he told us to go wait in line, and he'd come get us later. So we started to chat, and it turns out these were Steven and David Bond from Madison, CT! They were in Sussex for Grandma's 90th birthday.
One of them was concerned that they'd miss the start of the game at 12:15. I told him to relax, that it didn't start until 2:15. He was happier, though the other was a little perturbed that he'd be out until 5. After about 10 minutes the doorman came back and took us to the door, letting us jump the line! And he didn't even take the tip. We all got a pint of bitters, and I went to stake out a place in front of the giant screen. About 30 minutes later David came by, and he was already feeling quite good. He asked if I was still drinking my first pint. I explained that pints were 20 ounces here, not 16, and that beer wasn't 4 or 5% alcohol, but about 9%. That means that 2 of the locals is about the same as a six-pack at home. He was on his third...
The game was great, and the room was full of about 20 shrill UConn coeds with homemade midriff jerseys (though I would have looked better in one than most of them did), and a total of 60 to 80 people. The guy sitting next to me turned out to be an Industrial Engineer doing OR work for a finance company in Paris. Too bad for him he was from Georgia. But we had a nice talk. David had recovered (with a quick nap) to minimal operating status by the end of the game, and his brother was starting to catch up to him. They were staying at the Regent Hotel, just up the street, so I walked them home and then took the bus back to Great Dover. I got in just before 6. On Tuesday I did the same thing as Saturday and Sunday. I was able to listen to the games on the UConn Radio Network and WHUS over the Internet. The thing is that my UConn polo shirt stinks of cigarettes, and I just did my laundry on Sunday. So it'll be a while before I can wear it again.
I also did a bit more local touring the past week. I took a trip up to Hyde Park on Wednesday. I walked the length, including down the Serpentine. It was a great day, about 55 and Sunny. I got to take the scenic route to Hyde Park Corner again. I started at Park Lane and walked East to the Albert Memorial which is just inside Kensington Garden. But I'm warning you, if I see one more of those stinking, raised 18-inch diameter "Princess of Wales Memorial Walk" plaques sticking up from the walks (like a giant brass car cloisonne, bit without the enamel), I'm coming back with a pick-axe to dig it out. You don't need one every 100 metres.
I got to the Serpentine, and sat down to enjoy the sun, and that's when the wind started (of course). About 20 m.p.h. with gusts to 30. It made it feel like about 35 degrees out. The power boat had to come out on the water to help people in paddle boats get back to shore. But it was still a nice day. Better than most in the last month. So I walked the rest of the way through the park, and stopped at the tennis/lawn bowling centre. Turns out anyone can play, and they say they have the equipment. Of course they weren't too sure about what it actually was. It was just a walk across a park street to get to the entrance to Kensington Garden.
Al was obviously a very popular prince. There's a rather grand memorial, with statues at each corner for Europe, Africa, India, and The Americas, the corners of the globe covered by the British Empire. And the Prince is up about 30 feet on a podium covered in gold. And there's a big church-like spire that went up another 20 or 30 feet. And he has a perfect view of the Royal Albert Hall just across the street. I was thinking about going over to Kensington Palace, but it was only getting colder, and I decided to save it for another day.
On Monday I went to renew my passport. Never get it done in the US if you can do it overseas. Other than waiting in line for about 40 minutes, it was great. And instead of taking 60 days, I'll have it in two weeks. I even got to keep my old passport, even though they don't like to do it that way. They wanted to mail it to the US, cancel it, and send it back with a new one. I didn't have quite the same faith in the system they do. Since it has a UK stamp that would cost £250 to replace, I wasn't willing to chance it.
The Embassy is right by Hyde Park, coincidentally, so I took my favorite ride once more. However, I got off in front of Green Park, where I should have just crossed Picadilly Street and walked straight up about 8 blocks. Should have. Not only is there a fence running about a half mile from Hyde Park Corner toward Picadilly, but there's no subway across the street. There's a huge circus at the intersection of Picadilly and Park Lane, about 200 metres up. So there's a subway to get there. And then you walk about 150 metres across the park. And then there's a crosswalk to get over to Hyde Park. And then you walk all the way to a crosswalk on Park Lane (doubling back 100 metres). This is better than more than one cross walk to Green Park every quarter mile? I guess the Science Museum map should have been a clue.
The walk back was easier - I got on a bus on Park Lane. But it was also eventful. It's another blustery day, but around 50 degrees. So I've got a polo shirt on under my jacket and scarf. It gets too hot in long sleeves, but it's too cold for sleeves and no jacket. Then it starts to rain, and it's a cold rain. So I button my jacket to the collar (making it even hotter), I put on my ball cap, the wind and rain are biting my cheeks, I've got my hands buried in my pockets, and I've got my sunglasses on (it's still sunny, even though it's raining).
And then it hails. Really. Hail. Very small - I thought it might be sleet at first. But since it didn't melt in my hands, and looked like big granules of salt (calcium chloride, actually), I'm going with hail. That's when I actually decided to take the bus. But none of the buses went where I needed to go, so i had to switch at Hyde Park Corner. And, of course, the bus stopped back on the other side of the circus (see above). When I got home it started to thunder.
My final weather treat for you was walking to the library today. A couple of tourists on the bus to school needed to get a bus over to the Tate Modern. Since the stop they needed was one past the one I usually take - and only about a minute further away, I took them to it. And then, of course, it starts to rain. No good deed goes unpunished. So I'm walking through Aldwych by the BBC and it really starts to rain. And then sleet. No, not hail. Though this did confirm that it was hail the other day. So in just over eight months (including the week in August) in London I've experienced 100-degree heat, a minor drought, rain (of course), thunder, hail, sleet, and snow. I'm hoping that's about it, because besides lightning, the only thing left is Frogs.
Only two weeks left to get my work done. I better get to it.
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One of them was concerned that they'd miss the start of the game at 12:15. I told him to relax, that it didn't start until 2:15. He was happier, though the other was a little perturbed that he'd be out until 5. After about 10 minutes the doorman came back and took us to the door, letting us jump the line! And he didn't even take the tip. We all got a pint of bitters, and I went to stake out a place in front of the giant screen. About 30 minutes later David came by, and he was already feeling quite good. He asked if I was still drinking my first pint. I explained that pints were 20 ounces here, not 16, and that beer wasn't 4 or 5% alcohol, but about 9%. That means that 2 of the locals is about the same as a six-pack at home. He was on his third...
The game was great, and the room was full of about 20 shrill UConn coeds with homemade midriff jerseys (though I would have looked better in one than most of them did), and a total of 60 to 80 people. The guy sitting next to me turned out to be an Industrial Engineer doing OR work for a finance company in Paris. Too bad for him he was from Georgia. But we had a nice talk. David had recovered (with a quick nap) to minimal operating status by the end of the game, and his brother was starting to catch up to him. They were staying at the Regent Hotel, just up the street, so I walked them home and then took the bus back to Great Dover. I got in just before 6. On Tuesday I did the same thing as Saturday and Sunday. I was able to listen to the games on the UConn Radio Network and WHUS over the Internet. The thing is that my UConn polo shirt stinks of cigarettes, and I just did my laundry on Sunday. So it'll be a while before I can wear it again.
I also did a bit more local touring the past week. I took a trip up to Hyde Park on Wednesday. I walked the length, including down the Serpentine. It was a great day, about 55 and Sunny. I got to take the scenic route to Hyde Park Corner again. I started at Park Lane and walked East to the Albert Memorial which is just inside Kensington Garden. But I'm warning you, if I see one more of those stinking, raised 18-inch diameter "Princess of Wales Memorial Walk" plaques sticking up from the walks (like a giant brass car cloisonne, bit without the enamel), I'm coming back with a pick-axe to dig it out. You don't need one every 100 metres.
I got to the Serpentine, and sat down to enjoy the sun, and that's when the wind started (of course). About 20 m.p.h. with gusts to 30. It made it feel like about 35 degrees out. The power boat had to come out on the water to help people in paddle boats get back to shore. But it was still a nice day. Better than most in the last month. So I walked the rest of the way through the park, and stopped at the tennis/lawn bowling centre. Turns out anyone can play, and they say they have the equipment. Of course they weren't too sure about what it actually was. It was just a walk across a park street to get to the entrance to Kensington Garden.
Al was obviously a very popular prince. There's a rather grand memorial, with statues at each corner for Europe, Africa, India, and The Americas, the corners of the globe covered by the British Empire. And the Prince is up about 30 feet on a podium covered in gold. And there's a big church-like spire that went up another 20 or 30 feet. And he has a perfect view of the Royal Albert Hall just across the street. I was thinking about going over to Kensington Palace, but it was only getting colder, and I decided to save it for another day.
On Monday I went to renew my passport. Never get it done in the US if you can do it overseas. Other than waiting in line for about 40 minutes, it was great. And instead of taking 60 days, I'll have it in two weeks. I even got to keep my old passport, even though they don't like to do it that way. They wanted to mail it to the US, cancel it, and send it back with a new one. I didn't have quite the same faith in the system they do. Since it has a UK stamp that would cost £250 to replace, I wasn't willing to chance it.
The Embassy is right by Hyde Park, coincidentally, so I took my favorite ride once more. However, I got off in front of Green Park, where I should have just crossed Picadilly Street and walked straight up about 8 blocks. Should have. Not only is there a fence running about a half mile from Hyde Park Corner toward Picadilly, but there's no subway across the street. There's a huge circus at the intersection of Picadilly and Park Lane, about 200 metres up. So there's a subway to get there. And then you walk about 150 metres across the park. And then there's a crosswalk to get over to Hyde Park. And then you walk all the way to a crosswalk on Park Lane (doubling back 100 metres). This is better than more than one cross walk to Green Park every quarter mile? I guess the Science Museum map should have been a clue.
The walk back was easier - I got on a bus on Park Lane. But it was also eventful. It's another blustery day, but around 50 degrees. So I've got a polo shirt on under my jacket and scarf. It gets too hot in long sleeves, but it's too cold for sleeves and no jacket. Then it starts to rain, and it's a cold rain. So I button my jacket to the collar (making it even hotter), I put on my ball cap, the wind and rain are biting my cheeks, I've got my hands buried in my pockets, and I've got my sunglasses on (it's still sunny, even though it's raining).
And then it hails. Really. Hail. Very small - I thought it might be sleet at first. But since it didn't melt in my hands, and looked like big granules of salt (calcium chloride, actually), I'm going with hail. That's when I actually decided to take the bus. But none of the buses went where I needed to go, so i had to switch at Hyde Park Corner. And, of course, the bus stopped back on the other side of the circus (see above). When I got home it started to thunder.
My final weather treat for you was walking to the library today. A couple of tourists on the bus to school needed to get a bus over to the Tate Modern. Since the stop they needed was one past the one I usually take - and only about a minute further away, I took them to it. And then, of course, it starts to rain. No good deed goes unpunished. So I'm walking through Aldwych by the BBC and it really starts to rain. And then sleet. No, not hail. Though this did confirm that it was hail the other day. So in just over eight months (including the week in August) in London I've experienced 100-degree heat, a minor drought, rain (of course), thunder, hail, sleet, and snow. I'm hoping that's about it, because besides lightning, the only thing left is Frogs.
Only two weeks left to get my work done. I better get to it.
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