Happy New Year

We are back from Skye, and had a great time. It was a wonderful trip (apart from The Boy's car sickness). Father Christmas was kind to the family. I got a new winter outdoor sport coat. Waterproof, windproof, warm and light. I also got a new jumper and some Dalek cuff-links. The cuff-links are cool. I got out and did a bit of hill walking on Christmas day.

The best way to imagine what it was like is to see the photos. They will be up on Flickr shortly. There are a couple of panoramas that I stitched together using Autostitch. Below is one.



At 57 N (and a bit), the days are short. It's further north than the southern shores of Hudson Bay, about as far north as the northern tip of Newfoundland or the southern tip of Greenland. It would get light about 8:30 or 9:00 and then get dark about 3:30 or 4:00. So you really only had about 6 hours of usable daylight. Even then the sun didn't get very high in the sky and when it wasn't raining, the low sun created spectacular rainbows in the mist (which was perpetual). We saw probably two or three double rainbows. One rainbow was so bright, you could clearly see it in front of the hills in the background. Very much gave the illusion that it was touching the ground.

The best thing to do to get a feel for our holiday is browse the photos. A lot of them need digital manipulation to improve the color. Most of the scenic vistas are quite soft in appearance because of the constant mist and rain. I'm still learning how to get good results from the camera. I think my skies are getting better now that I consistently shoot -0.5Ev.

This was a great year overall. I'm looking forward to coming home soon though.

Back in the UK

I'm back.

Last week I was in the US. My flight over was on Air France. It is so cliche, but the French are rude. Actually, the better way to say it would be that attitude which is perfectly acceptable for the French is seen as rude by Americans. For example, on an American airline, the flight attendants would pace the cabin seeing if you need anything. On Air France they just hang out in the kitchen until you page them. Also, the starter course for dinner (both out and back) was foie gras. I've tried to like foie gras in the past, and I tied again this time. I just can't; the flavor is too strong and the texture is like dry mud. Lastly, I got altitude sickness on the flight over. It was no big deal, I just felt like crap before landing. A bit queasy and the start of a headache. Then, as the plane started to descend, I suddenly started to feel better again. Probably a bit dehydrated because the flight crew didn't bring water around. Damn French.

In DC I had a great time. I had dinner with Alix and Kevin a couple of times. On Tuesday night we went to see Avenue Q at the National Theater. I haven't seen puppet sex like that since Team America, World Police. I laughed until my voice was hoarse. A great time.

On Wednesday night I had dinner with the COO of the company that I was there to see. We started talking about his business ventures in the past and he said he made a great success of moving Baskin Robbins around the country. He would find a failing store, buy out the assets for about 25 cents on the dollar, and then rebuild it in a more profitable location. Turns out the first one he did this with (with great success) was the Baskin Robbins in Kewanee in 1986. Small world.

After DC I flew into St. Louis for the night to attend the ATF reception. I had lunch with my family which was great. My nephew has grown a lot. Every time he sees me he hopes that I am bringing the kids back. Next time, Gavin. I also briefly saw Merl, Kristi, and Charlotte. I think being home for just one night made me even more home sick.

On Friday I flew back. I had a five hour layover in DC, so I took the 50 cent shuttle bus to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum which is right by the airport. If you are at Dulles for more than about two hours, take the time to see this place. It was very cool.

And now I'm home again.