Seems the adventures never cease. I am typing this up in my hotel in Chicago.
"The Windy City?", you ask.
"Indeed", I reply.
With a puzzled look you continue your questioning, "Why on Earth are you there?"
I'm so glad you asked. It seems somewhere over the Atlantic, as I was sitting uncomfortably, minding my own business, somebody in the back of the plane decided to have some sort of medical emergency. The announcement is made that a doctor of medicine is being sought. Briefly, I think about offering my services. Then I remember that I'm not a doctor of medicine...or anything else really. Seriously. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking for those brief moments of time. I had to mentally slap myself. So, no slapping will be necessary for this when I get back. I'll probably get slapped for things I do, say or insinuate at a later time though. I've made my peace with that.
At any rate, this goes on for a couple of hours. The curtained off area in the back and the occasional paging for a doctor of medicine. Like a doctor just *happened* to appear. Maybe the doctor was sleeping, you say. Yeah, right. When the lights come on in the plane and that announcement is called, it wakes the dead. So, we're about an hour and a half outside of Chicago (our ultimate destination) when the Captain comes on and tells us that due to a medical emergency, we are going to re-route the plane to Montreal. Lovely.
We land in Montreal and taxi our way to a gateway so the EMTs can come and rescue this person. I know that I shouldn't be thinking this way...but, she *walked* off the plane. What the hell was so life threatening that you force us to land in another airport, in another country that still allows you to walk off the plane under your own power. You couldn't wait the extra 45 minutes it would have taken to get to Chicago?
So, with the "guest that wasn't feeling well"...that's how it was announced to us...got off the plane we got to sit around on the tarmac to refuel and fill out paperwork before they let us take off again. Oh, and we got to watch the fantastic safety show again. We got into Chicago with perfect timing; I missed my flight by 15 minutes. Seems that 2 hour window just wasn't enough.
So, here I sit in the Wyndham Hotel awaiting the next flight to Austin...which is tomorrow morning, of course.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
Canterbury
Today I head to Canterbury. I'm going to see the Cathedral there. Again, it's to the South East and is about an hour and a half away. Today is much wetter than yesterday was. The navigation system has 4 entries for the cathedral, but, they are all in the exact same location. Stupid computer. Th drive goes fine and I'm in Canterbury without too much ado. Parking, however, seems to be a problem. I drive around for about 15 minutes trying to find a car park that isn't filled. Eventually, I park about a mile or so away from the center of town. I figure that I can handle a little walk and this way I'm guaranteed a free parking spot :).
The navigation system had told me that I had reached my destination, but, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I was a little bummed out until I was driving back towards the place while trying to find a spot and saw the bell tower. Amazing.
The walk is wet but easy. I get to the Cathedral expecting to get some outside photos only, as it is Sunday. Yes, I took that into consideration before I left this morning. Surprisingly, the cathedral is open to visitors during certain hours of Sundays. And sure enough, I'm here during those hours. How fortuitous! I pay my money and wander into the amazing cathedral.
I wander around amazed at the architecture and the stained glass wishing I could take photos. Eventually, I stumble into a guide who's telling another tourist that it's fine to take pictures in here, but, not down in the crypt. I made sure that I heard him correctly and went back through my self guided tour taking shots this time. They won't be up yet, however. And won't be up until I get back into the States. Sorry. A smattering of new photos of the Lovre, Paris and Leeds Castle have been posted though.
Many of you know that I'm not especially religious. But, being down in the crypts instills in me feelings of awe and a wonder. I can't describe it and really don't know what more to say about it. However, it was profound.
That being said, you all should know by now what I require after religion...yup, it's off to a pub. I head over to one called the Eleven Bar. Not especially thrilled with it's name. But, it has some decent beer on tap. Not many, mind you. Oh, and the decor looks fine. Old chewed up hardwood floors and thick wooden tables. I can't bring myself to drink many of the pilsners that they have on tap, so I move right to the Guinness. I also order a steak sandwich to wash the beer down with. I watch out the large front windows at the comings and goings of the people in this small area of Cantebury and smile.
My time is nearly up here in England. I've had a truly glorious time. And I want to thank all of you for coming along with me. If it weren't for you all, I may not have pushed on into all of the trips. Being out here away from home gets pretty taxing and many times I really wanted to just relax. But, I felt that I would be robbing all of you adventuring vicariously through me by taking a break. So, ever I pushed onwards trying to find something to see. Something to photograph. Something to experience. Something to describe. I've enjoyed describing my days and experiences to you all. Again, I thank you.
The navigation system had told me that I had reached my destination, but, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I was a little bummed out until I was driving back towards the place while trying to find a spot and saw the bell tower. Amazing.
The walk is wet but easy. I get to the Cathedral expecting to get some outside photos only, as it is Sunday. Yes, I took that into consideration before I left this morning. Surprisingly, the cathedral is open to visitors during certain hours of Sundays. And sure enough, I'm here during those hours. How fortuitous! I pay my money and wander into the amazing cathedral.
I wander around amazed at the architecture and the stained glass wishing I could take photos. Eventually, I stumble into a guide who's telling another tourist that it's fine to take pictures in here, but, not down in the crypt. I made sure that I heard him correctly and went back through my self guided tour taking shots this time. They won't be up yet, however. And won't be up until I get back into the States. Sorry. A smattering of new photos of the Lovre, Paris and Leeds Castle have been posted though.
Many of you know that I'm not especially religious. But, being down in the crypts instills in me feelings of awe and a wonder. I can't describe it and really don't know what more to say about it. However, it was profound.
That being said, you all should know by now what I require after religion...yup, it's off to a pub. I head over to one called the Eleven Bar. Not especially thrilled with it's name. But, it has some decent beer on tap. Not many, mind you. Oh, and the decor looks fine. Old chewed up hardwood floors and thick wooden tables. I can't bring myself to drink many of the pilsners that they have on tap, so I move right to the Guinness. I also order a steak sandwich to wash the beer down with. I watch out the large front windows at the comings and goings of the people in this small area of Cantebury and smile.
My time is nearly up here in England. I've had a truly glorious time. And I want to thank all of you for coming along with me. If it weren't for you all, I may not have pushed on into all of the trips. Being out here away from home gets pretty taxing and many times I really wanted to just relax. But, I felt that I would be robbing all of you adventuring vicariously through me by taking a break. So, ever I pushed onwards trying to find something to see. Something to photograph. Something to experience. Something to describe. I've enjoyed describing my days and experiences to you all. Again, I thank you.
Leeds Castle
It's Saturday. My last Saturday here. I decided to spend the day lounging around in my room. Yeah right! I'm off to Leeds Castle in Kent. It can't be more than an hour drive. Most of the trips I've taken here are in the South of England. Many of them in the South East. Not once did I head North...another time, perhaps. At any rate, I tell the pesky Navigation system to find Leeds Castle and it, remarkably, complies with my request. Off I go. It's a wet and windy day. Again, not pouring down rain, but, enough to make people carry umbrellas with them.
Pulling into the carpark of the castle grounds I can't see any castle. Not like Dover Castle, which towered over the city on a hill. I gear up and head towards the entrance. I walk through the gates and around a corner and am confronted by a peacock in the middle of the pathway. I quickly snap a shot of him, but, he shows no sign of moving. I easily got within two feet of him without him minding what-so-ever. I snapped a couple more shots of this lovely bird and decided that I better push on and let the family that is rounding the corner have their turn with this fearless bird. The family has young kids. It will soon learn fear :).
The grounds of this place are wonderful. Seems that a previous owner of the castle, Lady Baillie, loved birds of all types. So, there is a huge amount of waterfowl here. Ducks, geese, swans. Matter of fact, the black swan is the symbol of the castle. They encourage you to purchase some feed from the shop and feed the birds. I guess it helps make sure the birds are fed well so they don't fly away and makes sure that the birds are fed with a proper type of feed instead of people dropping "people food" for them to eat.
It does take some time before I get my first glimpse of the castle. It looks a bit smaller than I thought. From this distance it looks more like a castle built for grand living and not for defence like Dover Castle. I take the tour through the castle and find out that I am correct. This castle was never built as a fortification, but, a large stone home befitting the nobles that lived here.
This place must look stunning during the spring or summer when everything is in full bloom. The birds, having been fed by visitors for so long, have no fear of humans and will walk up to you. They usually stop a couple feet away from people. If you enjoy the company of birds, or the pleasure of just watching them, this is the place. Beyond the waterfowl around the grounds, there is an aviary to walk through. All kinds of colorful birds are here; Parrots, Mccaws, Tucans, uh...and...other birds. The Tucans were really very pretty.
Wandering out of the aviary I find a hedge labrynth. I can see people standing on a mound in the center of the maze looking out. I figure that the sun is currently out and I've got nothing else pressing...into the maze I wander. There are a couple ways of being able to navigate in a maze. I decide that I don't mind getting lost and start wandering. Sure enough, I succeed in getting lost :). After enough time has passed, I decide to use the right hand rule. Basically, you place your hand on the wall to your right and never take it off as you walk. Theoretically, this will eventually take you out of a maze. I don't actually put my hand on the wall physically. But, off I wander. And presto! I'm out of the maze.
I wanted to go back in and make my way towards the center...but, my eye catches a small sign ahead of me. It says that there will be a Falconry demonstration up ahead in 7 minutes. That sounded wonderful to me. They flew a Spotted Eagle Owl and a Falcon. I'm sorry that I can't remember which type of Falcon it was. Let me tell you that getting pictures of a Falcon on the wing was not easy. They can easily reach speeds over a hundered miles an hour. We then moved on to see another bird that I'm sorry to say I don't remember the name. This bird is a ground runner. A flightless that can run quick and jump meters into the air. It hunts snakes and kills them by grabbing the snake behind its head and slamming it onto the ground, breaking it's neck.
After the demonstration I wander back into the maze and eventually find my way to the center. It, of course, begins to sprinkle while I'm in the maze this time :). There is a passageway down into a grotto underneath the maze that leads directly out. I spend about an hour wandering the grounds and enjoying the atmosphere.
It's said that it is the most beautiful castle in the world. I guess if you take it all into account, the interior of the castle, the picturesque views of it on the lake and the grounds themselves, I could see why they say that.
On the drive home it really starts raining. Not too much longer and I'm out from under those clouds and can see a crystal clear rainbow. Of course, I've placed the camera in the trunk of the car. Good thing, I guess as the rainbow was back over my right shoulder. Getting a shot of it would probably killed me while driving :).
Dinner was had at the restaurant next door to the hotel. I tried to order myself a beer that I'd seen when coming in, but, the waitress assured me that they didn't serve it. I kept asking for Websters Bitter (which I assumed was wrong). I even described where it was on tap. From the right hand side looking into the bar, there was Guinness, Carlsberg and then this one. Starts with a 'W' and is a bitter. She tells me once again that they don't serve any bitter starting with 'W'. So, Guinness would have to be the beer of the evening. On the way out I saw the name, Winston's Bitter and asked the bartender if, indeed, they served it. She, of course, said yes and looked at the tap. I thanked her, smiled and left.
Pulling into the carpark of the castle grounds I can't see any castle. Not like Dover Castle, which towered over the city on a hill. I gear up and head towards the entrance. I walk through the gates and around a corner and am confronted by a peacock in the middle of the pathway. I quickly snap a shot of him, but, he shows no sign of moving. I easily got within two feet of him without him minding what-so-ever. I snapped a couple more shots of this lovely bird and decided that I better push on and let the family that is rounding the corner have their turn with this fearless bird. The family has young kids. It will soon learn fear :).
The grounds of this place are wonderful. Seems that a previous owner of the castle, Lady Baillie, loved birds of all types. So, there is a huge amount of waterfowl here. Ducks, geese, swans. Matter of fact, the black swan is the symbol of the castle. They encourage you to purchase some feed from the shop and feed the birds. I guess it helps make sure the birds are fed well so they don't fly away and makes sure that the birds are fed with a proper type of feed instead of people dropping "people food" for them to eat.
It does take some time before I get my first glimpse of the castle. It looks a bit smaller than I thought. From this distance it looks more like a castle built for grand living and not for defence like Dover Castle. I take the tour through the castle and find out that I am correct. This castle was never built as a fortification, but, a large stone home befitting the nobles that lived here.
This place must look stunning during the spring or summer when everything is in full bloom. The birds, having been fed by visitors for so long, have no fear of humans and will walk up to you. They usually stop a couple feet away from people. If you enjoy the company of birds, or the pleasure of just watching them, this is the place. Beyond the waterfowl around the grounds, there is an aviary to walk through. All kinds of colorful birds are here; Parrots, Mccaws, Tucans, uh...and...other birds. The Tucans were really very pretty.
Wandering out of the aviary I find a hedge labrynth. I can see people standing on a mound in the center of the maze looking out. I figure that the sun is currently out and I've got nothing else pressing...into the maze I wander. There are a couple ways of being able to navigate in a maze. I decide that I don't mind getting lost and start wandering. Sure enough, I succeed in getting lost :). After enough time has passed, I decide to use the right hand rule. Basically, you place your hand on the wall to your right and never take it off as you walk. Theoretically, this will eventually take you out of a maze. I don't actually put my hand on the wall physically. But, off I wander. And presto! I'm out of the maze.
I wanted to go back in and make my way towards the center...but, my eye catches a small sign ahead of me. It says that there will be a Falconry demonstration up ahead in 7 minutes. That sounded wonderful to me. They flew a Spotted Eagle Owl and a Falcon. I'm sorry that I can't remember which type of Falcon it was. Let me tell you that getting pictures of a Falcon on the wing was not easy. They can easily reach speeds over a hundered miles an hour. We then moved on to see another bird that I'm sorry to say I don't remember the name. This bird is a ground runner. A flightless that can run quick and jump meters into the air. It hunts snakes and kills them by grabbing the snake behind its head and slamming it onto the ground, breaking it's neck.
After the demonstration I wander back into the maze and eventually find my way to the center. It, of course, begins to sprinkle while I'm in the maze this time :). There is a passageway down into a grotto underneath the maze that leads directly out. I spend about an hour wandering the grounds and enjoying the atmosphere.
It's said that it is the most beautiful castle in the world. I guess if you take it all into account, the interior of the castle, the picturesque views of it on the lake and the grounds themselves, I could see why they say that.
On the drive home it really starts raining. Not too much longer and I'm out from under those clouds and can see a crystal clear rainbow. Of course, I've placed the camera in the trunk of the car. Good thing, I guess as the rainbow was back over my right shoulder. Getting a shot of it would probably killed me while driving :).
Dinner was had at the restaurant next door to the hotel. I tried to order myself a beer that I'd seen when coming in, but, the waitress assured me that they didn't serve it. I kept asking for Websters Bitter (which I assumed was wrong). I even described where it was on tap. From the right hand side looking into the bar, there was Guinness, Carlsberg and then this one. Starts with a 'W' and is a bitter. She tells me once again that they don't serve any bitter starting with 'W'. So, Guinness would have to be the beer of the evening. On the way out I saw the name, Winston's Bitter and asked the bartender if, indeed, they served it. She, of course, said yes and looked at the tap. I thanked her, smiled and left.
Movies
I headed back to the Portuguese place to eat spicy chicken with my hands. Very tasty! I ordered the chicken hot this time. I was right, that stuff can build on you :). I had a Sagres Beer from Portugal with dinner (Cheers Josh). I also tried a Savanna Dry Cider from South Africa.
Right next door to the place is the movie theater. I figured, what the hell. I queued up for Hot Fuzz. I loved it! Oh, and it only cost me a total of 10 pounds for the ticket and a medium soda. Remember the conversion; $20 for a movie! Even more shocking than that was one of the first advertisements in the theater; It was for Southern Comfort. It blew me away. We don't have commercials for liquor anymore.
It looks like there's not going to be a football game in my trip :(. John said that he'd see what he could do, but, it seems that it just couldn't be done. Maybe next time. I did find out something I found rather strange. Apparently you are not allowed to drink beer and watch the football live. You can sit in the stadium bar and drink beer and watch it on the monitors. But, you can't take your beer back to your seat with you.
Right next door to the place is the movie theater. I figured, what the hell. I queued up for Hot Fuzz. I loved it! Oh, and it only cost me a total of 10 pounds for the ticket and a medium soda. Remember the conversion; $20 for a movie! Even more shocking than that was one of the first advertisements in the theater; It was for Southern Comfort. It blew me away. We don't have commercials for liquor anymore.
It looks like there's not going to be a football game in my trip :(. John said that he'd see what he could do, but, it seems that it just couldn't be done. Maybe next time. I did find out something I found rather strange. Apparently you are not allowed to drink beer and watch the football live. You can sit in the stadium bar and drink beer and watch it on the monitors. But, you can't take your beer back to your seat with you.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
I hate laptops
It seems something in my personality, attitude or code has an adverse affect upon laptops. I've so far had two laptops crap out on me and had to replace one hard drive. Now, the laptop that is internal to the network here (the one I can use to test the conversions on) crashes hard when I compile one of my conversion programs. I'm not talking a nice "Something has happened, would you like to notify Microsoft so they can ignore the problem" window...No, no no. I mean a kernel page error, a hard physical memory dump and complete system lockup and reboot. I never have these kind of problems with desktops.
Yup, after the couple of reboots, the system is in a constant crash, reboot cycle. Pulling the drive and using it as a USB device helps nothing. Seems it's eaten my source code. Well, at least I have a backup from earlier today... Only several hours of work lost and not days.
Yup, after the couple of reboots, the system is in a constant crash, reboot cycle. Pulling the drive and using it as a USB device helps nothing. Seems it's eaten my source code. Well, at least I have a backup from earlier today... Only several hours of work lost and not days.
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