Flickr Stats

Got this from here. Interesting with the iPhone. I'd be fascinated to see what other "flickr labs" stuff they can do. Google NLP and wonder at the possibilities. Nice weather today: sunny but colder than it looked, with a very blustery wind from the North.

Weekend Thoughts

Surprised by how good some of the "Seal does Motown" tunes are from his
latest album. Some is rubbish as well, of course. Weekend flew by with
Sunday spent at a nice wedding. Some funny games and good food. This
week contains a lot of admin (!) Exciting news regarding some online
purchasing and some progress in the motorbike arena. I think there will
be changes in my shed soon. Oh, another thing worth mentioning is the
BBC F1 coverage -it's great to have a useful website with real-time
content! Nerdy I know, but there is something cool about having a
console of useful info and text reporting open (or indeed an in-car shot
that never cuts away) on the laptop while you're watching the race on
telly. Speaking of laptops, the Samsung NC10 I got recently proved
itself invaluable on a recent trip away. I didn't have a work computer,
so I ended up using the netbook (in fedora, natch) for everything,
attracting envious looks from the contractors with their leaden Dells!
In 40 days there was nothing it couldn't do. It even accompanied me on
some pretty gnarly off-road driving days without any complaining.
Awesome. And brilliant value for money as well. Sunny here so I'll be
going to work on the bike, yee ha.

Ewe Kay

Back in the UK.
Trip back fine, not slept a lot.
More photos online.
More stuff to say, but it can wait.

Cheapo Transfer Bus

With the exception of the very cheap, very poor and very late transfer
service we used, the trip to the airport was OK. We flew through
customs and security, with everything working exactly as it doesn't with
BAA. I have a letter to write to British Airways about the outward leg
of my trip, but that can wait for another time. Found out we have a
larger aircraft on the way home, so I requested (and got) an upstairs
seat. Yeha. Movies and wine and sleeping and movies on the way!
Bangkok in T-9hrs and Heathrow tomorrow AM.

Trip Home!

Leaving hotel now, actually looking forward to the long trip home.
Some movies, some fine wine and lots of sleeping, especially on the
Bangkok > Heathrow leg. Sydney hasn't ben as photogenic as I expected
and the cosmopolitan lifestyle has taken some adjustment after the
outback. Best way to put it? Nice place but I won't be rushing back.
Next time the plan is to travel Melbourne > Darwin via a couple of
the old stock routes (off-road). More, including some new photos from
the departure lounge.

Sydney

Well, 1200km closer to home and in a new city. Comedy situation with
the cars leaving the outback meant that we were frantically cleaning
dust out and swapping wheels up to the last minute. Once they were in
the city we realised how filthy they were. Actually it was an
enjoyable 6hr cruise down to Adelaide in great weather, followed by
brilliant Japanese meal. Wagyu beef fillet cooked on the hotplate in
front of me and served with sweet soy and wasabi. Mmmm!
Just a 2hr internal hop this morning from Adelaide to Sydney, to fit
in some time for touristing. Very odd to be surrounded by concrete
and towering buildings. I think I had just about calibrated myself
for open spaces and very few people, so there's a slight culture
shock. As we flew in I got a brilliant photo of the harbour (you can
search in the photos for it 'sydney_harbour' or I might link) - who
needs postcards anyway?! Actually quite looking forward to being back
in the UK now. This evening we're being battered by a little cyclonic
storm so loads of rain and dramatic lightning. Hope the weather's
better tomorrow for Bondi Beach!