When the leaflets about Swine Flu were published last month I happened to make a 'joke' to people about parents organising 'Swine Flu Parties'. Of course I was only joking and didn't think anybody would be so stupid as to actually do it.Well, BBC News this morning reported that people are organising such parties- the idea being that it is better for children to get the virus during the summer (rather than winter). Mmh, let's think of a...
So, it's Tuesday and I'm still without iPhone 3GS. I've decided that the most sensible option is to move over to a Business Tariff as this gives me the option to upgrade every 12 months. Of course I've been trying to figure out what to do for a week now and everyone at O2 I speak to gives me a different story about whether it is possible or not.3 calls in the past 28hrs and still waiting for 3 people to call me back. What an absolute joke...
At the airport at Dubai I was purchasing some reading material for the flight and picked up a copy of GQ (the British version- as the US version only has ads in it). At the time I didn't look too closely at the cover, so when I boarded the flight I pulled the magazine out of the bag and spotted this:I particularly like the comment 'Megan Fox will not be censored' - funny since that's exactly what has happened !I then started flicking through...
Slow week this week, weather in Cambridge has been fairly good so not the usual depression- managed to get to the waterside for some drinks a few nights during the week.BrightonSaturday in Brighton with friends. I liked Brighton- somewhat different from what I expected it to be. I guess the biggest difference was just how large it was. As usual lots of British style food, Pier, amusements etc. As I walked through the Brighton Pier I spotted...
Had dinner/drinks with one of my friends from school (secondary) last night. We live about 5 mins from each other, but only get a chance to meet up at the most twice a year (at the very most) due to work/family life.I took the following picture which summaries the atmosphere. Actually it's a pretty good picture for a 2G iPhone (as O2 are being difficult in making the upgrade to the 3GS):Work PatternsI've been suffering from significant...
d'Arry's: Excellent Food and ServiceLunch today at d'Arry's (King Street). As usual, the service was excellent and the food superb. Easily the best value for money place in Cambridge in my opinion. Staff are always fantastic- even in busy times.Only gripe being mint in the potatoes - why not actually tell people that ? I never order Lamb in the UK as I know that it's pretty much impossible to have it without being coated in Mint, but I though Potatoes+Mint was something that went out in the 1970's ? However, I had an alternative.iPhone...
So, back in the Sunny UK...As usual arriving back at Heathrow was the usual shambles, 30 mins or so ahead of schedule but of course needed to circle London for a while. It does make me laugh all the eco-intiatives that take place on the land at Heathrow (like towing 'planes out of the stands) when the amount of fuel that must get wasted in holding slots must far outweigh this. I really don't understand why they can't just manage the landing slots better ? I like Terminal 5 arrivals- far less walking than you have to do at Terminal...
Spent today relaxing, got bored and decided to go shopping. Given I've been eating restaurant food for the past 3 weeks I decided to try and find a supermarket to grab some basic food and not have to eat it at a table where someone was serving me (eat at my own pace). Low and behold a Waitrose ! Of course like any supermarket abroad (save for Germany) there was an amazing selection of food on display that you'd want to eat.Whilst browsing,...
..Spend like the Emarati's.. (Google tells me that's what you call people from Dubai).So far the trip has been good on the gadgets front (or bad on the wallet front). I always like to browse stores when I travel for techno gadgets. I also have a fascination (nice way of putting it) for stationery and random desk 'gadgets'- something I've had since I was a child as long as I can remember.British Airways in-flightOf course traveling on British...
Okay, so this location based web thing really is beginning to p*** me off. I want to login to Blogger to make some changes. I don't understand Arabic, so figured if I log into Google then maybe it might just figure out I am from the UK and so switch back to English.Yeh, great idea- apart from the fact that the dialogue boxes are Arabic friendly (well of course they should be) where everything runs from right to left - I can't figure out how to input text properly (aside from doing a complete transform of the text).I feel dumb...
Delicious Library available for the iPhone ! For anyone who hasn't ever seen this application (Mac only) it's a fantastic application written for Mac OS to allow you to catalogue all your media (Books, DVDs, etc.). The coolest thing is the input mechanism- it uses the iSight camera on the Mac to read the barcode and then goes off to Amazon to get the details. That way you get a nice image of your book/DVD/CD on a bookshelf (as well as not having to enter all the details). I've been waiting for the iPhone version for a while...
Easily becoming the best place I have ever been... Bank balance being severely hit by amazing shopping (gadget central and a Virgin Megastore you'd actually buy something from) and food. What's the most bizarre is hearing local people people speak with a Glasgow accent !- well I guess that's what direct flights, education, and an oil industry do for y...
.. I can actually post blog entries without understanding Arabic !I hate location based content. For example, on blogger all the text at the top menu is in Arabic. I didn't learn that at school (took woodwork instead) hence navigating the site is slightly difficult. I can't get onto the o2 website to order the new iPhone as it tells me they can only sell to UK customers :(. Sigh, as usual a pain to buy an Apple mobile product.There is some amusement- the BBC News website (which has ads outside the UK) has trailers for the BMW...
Why do I do this to myself ? Tuesday night I decided that rather than have the usual pre-holiday rush I'd just take my work ThinkPad with me (I always carry the MacBook Air for e-mail, blogging etc.). Of course it's 2AM and I've just been catching up on work (due to being woken up by people partying - that's tomorrow's blog !)...
So arrived at Dubai. Realised I was in the wrong immigration queue- due to the fact I was the only British person ! I guess it's one really good thing about being British is that you don't need visa's for most places.Hotel is superb. So far superb service from people (own butler). Clientele seems to be a mixture of British people and Russian models ! I reckon ranking of holiday destinations so far:* Dubai - though very limited experience so reserve the right to drop it in the ranking* Barbados - very relaxing but slow service...
My prediction was totally correct - 3hr delay on the flight. Strange arriving at the hotel to be greeted with 'morning' (as opposed to evening)...
Blogging in-flight (but not in-air)Thanks to British Airways, 'The Worlds Favourite Airline' but sadly 'Not the Worlds Most Punctual Airline' this post comes from in-seat whilst my BA flight to Dubai is stuck at gate A18 of Terminal 5. Yes no surprise, like every BA flight I have been on in my life, it's delayed ! 2 hours this time due to some problem with one of the tips on the wing. Of course the time it takes to do the Engineering work is 1.5hrs- but we still have to get the Engineers to the aircraft. No doubt they are stuck...
Flying out to Dubai on holiday Wednesday. Of course I've been in the office since 7AM this morning and at my desk at home still (10PM). I loathe summer holidays as there is always a deadline that needs to be hit before I go. I recall when I worked in Engineering I'd have to stay up most of the night before I went on hols just trying to get everything sorted. Even out of Engineering, it's no different !- just PowerPoint in place of Unix...
Rest assured I was already watching the keynote briefs. O2 tell me that the new iPhone will be available 19 June. I get back to the UK 20 June - guess where I'll be visiting first ?I'm glad Apple have finally realised that 32GB is a sensible capacity (been messing around with playlists for as long as I can remember just trying to get everything to fit in). Love the idea of Internet tethering - although I'm sure UK users will pay a premium for it. Still, if it gets me away from messing around with an external USB modem stick...I...
Stuck in the Virgin Lounge at San Francisco Airport. Flight is 4hrs delayed. Actually, I can't moan too much as I think this is the first delay I've had on this leg (which I have on average done every 6 weeks for the past few years). I'm sitting near the bar looking at the selection on offer and contemplating the thought of trying some classic 1980's middle class dinner party drinks - like Cinzano or Malibu. Of course I got the airport (already in a bad mood) only to be told of the delay. The Virgin checkin staff at SFO are...
Well, not quite, but it's my last night here in San Jose. Overall, it's been a good trip. Managed to get lots of stuff cleared up. As well as have some drinks/dinners in the evenings with people (always a good thing). The downside has been jetlag. Normally it isn't a problem, but this week has been average 3hrs sleep per night - not ideal. Rest assured the day was filled with plenty of cups of coff...
Day 2 of the San Jose trip. Hotel HasslesWhen I checked in yesterday, I got to the room and did the usual check everything worked etc. At the time I thought there was a fairly loud noise of aircon from outside (one of the big vents). However, decided to keep the current room.After dinner I went straight to sleep. At 1AM I woke up (presumably as my exhaustion from lack of sleep had passed) and of course the aircon outside was going at full blast. I let it got for about 30mins and decided I couldn't stand it any longer. Went down...
