Geeky Ramblings

Did a 6 mile walk around the area of Stowe on the Wold today.

Weather wasn’t great, but we’ve walked in worse. Saw a number of nice landscapes, hopefully some of the pictures will be nice.

Only problem was the fact that we neglected to walk much before the trip so our feet hurt when we got back.

For lunch we stopped at the Golden Ball Inn. Nice place PLUS the had wifi available. The only gave us a half hour free, but that was enough to download mail to our iPhones and send my last blog post.

Tomorrow were going to Oxford for the day. I’m not sure what the weather is going to be like though.

Were on the next leg if our journey. Currently on the train to Morton on Marsh … Where we’ll take a cab to Stowe in the Wold.

We’ve been there before and enjoyed it greatly. We’ll be doing some hikes, and day trips via train to Oxford.

London was enjoyable, although we didn’t have enough time (as usual). Spent some time at the national gallery and the horse guards area. We tried to get to greenwich again, but got delayed and arrived after they closed the entry.

We did connect up with Ginny’s friend Jette for dinner. We had a very nice sushi dinner and chatted fir quite a while.

The hotel we stated at was marginal, but clean. The room was a glorified closet. The had Internet availble, but it cost £9.99 / day. Not great, but less than some. They apparently were having problems, because we only got billed for one day.

Because we don’t have cell phones here, I tried Skype to make outgoing calls for the first time. After one wasted call to Jette, I figured out how to configure my microphone, we were able to make the call. It was a lot cheaper than getting a cell phone for the two weeks or paying the hotel phone rates.

Today we’ll probably explore Stowe and figure out what to do tomorrow.

The train just left Oxfird and the countryside is beautiful although it’s kind of hazy and overcast.

Well, here we are again … on a plane going to Maui. It’s Ginny’s birthday in about a week and we’re going to celebrate. I’m not going to say how old she’s going to be, but I’ll give you a hint … it starts with 5 and ends with 0. You do the math.

Our flight was entirely reasonable … leaving at 10am, so we only had to wake up at 6am so we could be on the road by 7am. As usual, the cab arrived about 20 minutes early … but we didn’t try to rush. Riley wasn’t happy, but that was to be expected.

I checked us in using United’s website … seemed like a good idea. The only problems occurred when we checked our bags. First we had to hike down to the other end of the terminal to get to the “United.com bag check” area … and the barcode scanners at the bag check stations couldn’t read our boarding passes. I think they were broken though … as two other people had trouble using the scanners.

Once our bags were checked, we went through security. I really hate the security check … even though I know and understand the need for them. I wish they had a longer run-out after the x-ray machine. If people are the slightest bit slow getting stuff off the table, things get jammed up. It would also be nice if you didn’t have to take off your shoes.

Because we arrived at the airport so early, we had some time to kill. We picked up some coffee and muffins for breakfast and I wandered around a bit and picked up a book and a copy of Wired magazine (I only read Wired when I’m traveling).

I did see something interesting in the airport terminal … so sponsored kiosks that were nothing more than really small carrels with power outlets. One was sponsored by Verizon (advertising their wireless broadband service, but there was no wireless broadband service available there) and another sponsored by Principal Financial Services. They both were basically just billboards. Nice idea though. I also noticed a distinct lack of available power outlets in the terminal seating area. Ginny ran out and picked us up some sandwiches for the flight. I’m not sure what’s better, buying in flight or before we leave. The meals they have in flight are only $5, but I suspect the fare you can buy in the terminal is better quality.

No big problems boarding the plane … Ginny asked if there was any possibility of getting upgraded to economy plus, but the flight was completely booked. Considering how many open seats I saw when I checked us in, I was quite surprised they weren’t asking for people to volunteer to take a later flight.

So far no big problems on the flight … it’s a little bumpy, but nothing too bad. Sometimes Ginny gets nervous when the flight is bumpy, but she’s fine.

We’ve been feet wet for a while … it’s 11:47 HDT (4:48 CDT) … so we have about 2 hours of flying time left. The flight crew reported we may arrive a little early, so that’s nice.

About 3 hours ago I realized I had forgotten my camera tripod at home … I always forget something. I’m going to see if Steve can send it over. Not sure what the cost would be, but I suspect it would be cheaper than buying a new one. Of course our walking sticks (which I didn’t forget) have camera mounts in the head … but that’s only good for short term stabilization … not enough for long exposure. Of course there’s always the option of asking Steve to just get it to my mom & dad, since they are joining us in 5 days. That would probably be harder to manage than just having Steve ship it to us.

Ok, I just found another nice feature of this laptop (Dell Latitude D630) … the screen is a little shorter than my Inspiron 600m was (because it’s a wide screen), so it fits better on the airplane tray without bumping into the seat in front.

I must go down to the seas again,
   to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship
   and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song
   and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face
   and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again,
   for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call
   that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day
   with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume,
   and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again
   to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way
   where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn
   from a laughing fellow rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream
   when the long trick's over.

– John Masefield

More on this later.