I’m in Ireland at the moment for work — I’ve been here a couple of days now (which might explain why I am online at 4am local time, I am having some trouble sleeping). Anyways, it’s nice here. I wasn’t really expecting to like it after how much I disliked London the last time I…
Category: Travel
Dentist
I went to the dentist for the first time in the US last night. It was a pretty odd experience. 19 xrays (apparently that’s standard here), a TV set on the wall where they showed me the tooth which needs a filling, and then showed me the filling after it was done, photos of my…
I am sometimes amazed by the childlike political discourse in the US
It amazes me that the best political argument Ann Coulter can come up with is that John Edwards is a faggot. While it is true that Ann specialises in a particularly vile form of hate politics, I guess she’s sufficiently lame that she can’t even think of good insults any more. It’s a bit like…
Summing up Santa Monica
The office stocks vegan jelly beans. Say no more.
Santa Monica
I’m currently waiting as part of boarding group A for my South West flight to Santa Monica. I should be there by lunch. So, any last minute suggestions for things to do in Santa Monica apart from drink a lot?
More bomb shelters!
People who visit here (of which I assume there are none) will know that I occasionally rant about how cool bomb shelters are. Dad put me onto this excellent article about the Swiss: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6347519.stm Under Swiss law, local governments are required to provide shelter spaces for everyone, and in the early 1970s Lucerne was short…
There is a reason Ikea is crowded on the weekends
It only just occurred to me the other day, but I now know why Ikea is so crowded on the weekends. Sure, the cheap furniture is attractive, but I think it’s also go something to do with: Free child care Free nappies and baby change facilities! Bathrooms which are actually designed to be the right…
Reactive economies?
The other day while in Costco (for the foreigners, think Bunnings or some other hardware warehouse, but for food), I was graced with this conversation at the checkout, between two Costco employees: e1: Where the hell is e3? e2: Oh, we didn’t meet our sales target yesterday, so they cut hours today. e1: So he’s…
When in San Diego, visit the aircraft carrier
Just a note to myself to remember to visit the USS Midway if I ever find myself in San Diego.
Tempe, AZ to Mountain View, CA in a day!
Andrew’s sick, Catherine’s tired. So we’re driving home in one day. That’s 733 miles.