President McPouty

Some images are just too good to not turn into memes.

I'm also extremely curious about what exactly is that box of medals behind him in the first photo.  Certainly not for military service.  Strange.

Shalom

In the last week or so, I can't seem to avoid Israel tourism adverts.  It’s bizarre, they're always on – it doesn’t matter what I’m watching; it could be sports, it could be a gritty drama, it could be a repeat of the Big Bang Theory, it could be local news, whatever, the advert inevitably appears.  And frankly, I just don’t see the appeal of Israel and it’s certainly not somewhere I’ve thought of or am particularly interested in going to.  I’m not going to go all Jeremy Corbyn, but I’m no fan of the country and its actions in the Middle East.  And I’m not religious – which has to be the main reason why you might want to go – so it just doesn’t have any specific appeal to me.  I’m sure it’s safe – probably a lot safer than you think.  And it probably has a lot of great things to see and do.  But I’m not sure of the reason why the sudden and rapid increase in number of adverts, especially in the Seattle area which is a long way away from Israel and with a likely small target demographic for the ad.  Tourism adverts for San Diego, Oregon, even Idaho (even though there is absolutely no reason to go to Idaho – there is very little to see and do there, it is the US equivalent of Lincolnshire!) I understand, but not Israel.

Lodge 49

A TV recommendation – I’ve been watching Lodge 49.  It’s a very strange show – featuring a beach bum protagonist who is like “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski, and a slow and somewhat surreal tone and pace.  Very offbeat, it’s unlike most other shows currently on TV and that is definitely a good thing.  And, at least so far, it’s very watchable.  A perfect accompaniment to the polar opposite show that I’m also watching at the moment – Sharp Objects.  Now that is a dark and brooding show – not an easy watch, but clearly high caliber cast and production.  Good stuff. 

The Rumblies

I have not been feeling well since coming back from the UK.  It has taken me ages to readjust my body clock, and I'm still not sleeping well and waking up way too early.  But worse than that, I have been having some bad stomach troubles since coming back.  I'm not going to go into disgusting details, but suffice to say that it feels like I haven't passed a solid bowel movement for ages, that I'm going through toilet paper like nobody's business, and there have been times where I've had to get outside the office to release copious amounts of gas since it's been building up to potentially uncontrollable levels.  I don't know what's going on - is my diet in the US that much different, and that much unhealthier, than how I was eating in the UK?  Have I ate something that has really disagreed with me, or that had gone off?  I've never had this problem before to this extent.  And it's got worse the last few days - I would take some time off work if I wasn't so busy and had deadlines this week.  That is probably not helping things either.  It's Labor Day this weekend and I'm supposed to be going down to Oregon, but frankly I'm not sure I really feel up to it as things stand.  Which is a shame. 

Respect, respect, respect

There are few footballing pleasures better than Man United, and particularly a Man United managed by Mourinho, struggling.  Except perhaps Arsenal struggling - but even that has lost some of it's luster now that Wenger has gone.  For all the money that Man United have spent in recent transfer windows, they really looked like a distinctly mediocre team against Spurs.  They are not one of the teams that are going to challenge Man City this year.  And I am one of many who get a lot of enjoyment from that fact.  And Mourinho's comments afterwards, as always when he loses, were ridiculous - I hope they lose a few more, and we get to experience more of his antics, before he gets sacked. 

Stars and Stripes

Oh boy, where to start with this:

A meeting of the presidency leadership team?  The hardest I've ever seen Trump concentrate.  No Mr President, the American flag does not have a blue stripe - check your lapel pin.  If any athletes who kneel during the national anthem are not respecting the flag, what about those who don't color it correctly?  The Russian flag has a blue stripe.  Etc etc.  Reminds me of the Dan Quayle "potatoe" incident.  What has been a pretty bad week for the President probably ended on a good note for him with the sad death of one of his most outspoken critics in John McCain ("I like people who weren't captured" - jeez).   

Rivalry Week

It's rivalry week in the MLS, with games like the New York derby, the LA derby and culminating in the Cascadia derby tomorrow night between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers.  This is, by far and away, the oldest and best rivalry in American "soccer".  If I'm going to watch an MLS game - which I'd really rather not because the standard of play is really not that good - then this would be one to watch.  Good atmosphere, good intensity, big crowd, subpar quality.  But I like the idea of having one week of fixtures consisting of some of the biggest rivalries, and I think the Premier League should consider doing the same thing.  Imagine a weekend with Man City vs Man Utd, Liverpool vs Everton, Spurs vs Arsenal, Palace vs Brighton, etc.  That would make for an epic weekend of football.   

Bond 25

A James Bond update – sad news that Danny Boyle has dropped out.  I think Bond needs a visual and inventive director like that to ensure that the films don’t get too staid and repetitive.  The fact that he dropped out due to “creative differences” is maybe an ominous sign that the producers don’t want the film to be too “out of the box” – which is a shame.  The fact that this news was announced with Daniel Craig’s name attached also implies that there was probably a fall out between Boyle and Craig.  I’m not sure how I feel about that – the fact that this is probably Craig’s last Bond and that he is being paid an absolute ton of money and that he clearly has a lot of power in the production could turn this film into something of a vanity project.  I’ve read various rumors about the departure – disagreement over casting choices for the film’s Russian villain, or that the “modern-day Cold War” script that Boyle wanted to film was not approved by the producers and Craig.  Instead they wanted to go with a script they already had from Purvis and Wade, who have penned something like 6 previous Bond films, which would probably mean Bond 25 wouldn’t be anything too original.  I’m not going to speculate about possible replacement directors – I think there are some good choices, I think there are some bad choices, so we shall see.  Likewise for who should be the new Bond after Craig.  But instead of trying to rush through the film development to meet the 2019 release date, I’d rather the film get delayed if it means it will be better. 

Not Enough Holidays

Been giving a lot of thought about how best to use the remaining company holidays I have this year.  We have Labor Day coming up in early September, Thanksgiving in late November, then the holiday shutdown between Christmas and New Year.  Labor Day weekend – I’m planning to drive down to Oregon and see some sights there.  Already booked a hotel, however wildfires and the smoke from wildfires is a big concern – so I’ve made sure that I booked a hotel room that I can cancel nearer the time (next week!) if I’m concerned by the forecast and visibility.  There is no point going to Crater Lake if I can’t even see the fricking lake due to smoke.  Thanksgiving – I think I’m going to drive up to BC, Canada.  I thought about doing that last year, so unless the weather forecast is truly horrific then that is what I want to do this year.  Then it comes to Christmas – which is a real dilemma.  I think my first choice was Hawaii – but been looking at prices for flights and hotels and they are just too much, and it seems like you need to book the best places (I would love to stay in a beachside cottage) a year in advance.  It is the most expensive, and busiest, time of year to go out there – so I think I’d rather save a trip to Hawaii for a different time of year.  There is the option to go back to the UK again – even though I’ve just been there.  Not ruling that out yet – was checking some flights, and found some not unreasonably priced return flights with Virgin Atlantic (I’m not flying BA again).  Then there is also an option of going somewhere in the US – I would consider places like Arizona, New Mexico, South Carolina, Georgia or Florida.  Maybe an opportunity to go somewhere I haven’t been to before and should be able to get relatively cheap flights, book a car, then plan a road trip.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  As long as I do something rather than just sit on my ass, especially over the Christmas period, I’ll be okay.   

Air Pollution

Still horrible air quality here.  This is the view from the Space Needle webcam today:

Without the smoke, it would be a clear cloudless day and you should be able to see Mount Rainier looming over Seattle in the background.  As it is, you can’t even see beyond the downtown skyscrapers.

And this is a photo of the Space Needle from the Lake Union shoreline near where I work.  You can hardly see it.  That is not good.

I read that we are currently experiencing air pollution twice as bad as Beijing.  Yikes.  I hope it clears up by the weekend, as I need to get out and do some hiking.  A quick check of my weather app shows a weekend forecast of cloud and showers.  That sounds a lot more typical, if also quite disappointing, for the Pacific Northwest!

Showers

My recent trip back to the UK has reminded me of a few things that I miss – notably food, friends and family – but also one quite innocuous thing.  A decent shower.  My current shower is perfectly adequate – and, surprisingly for an American shower, is handheld which is definitely my preference for optimal showering.  But nothing beats a good powerful shower with high water pressure and perfect temperature control.  And that is something I experienced and appreciated a lot in my trip back – and heightened my awareness of the fact that my shower here is lacking ideal water pressure.  A good long shower can be really soothing and relaxing if the pressure is high enough to make it feel like a decent massage – and I miss that.  I don’t know if fitting a better shower head might make a difference, but that might be something I need to investigate.  Simple pleasures for simple people. 

DVR Emptying

With the new TV season starting sometime in September, I want to make sure I have plenty of space on my DVR.  So one of my priorities since coming back has been to watch as much as I can that I recorded when I was away.  I think my DVR went from about 5% to 35% full whilst I was in the UK.  I've got it down to about 30%, so still a long way to go.  So I need to watch or delete series that I haven't started watching yet (Preacher, Sharp Objects, Outcast, The Sinner, Better Call Saul, The Tunnel), finish off those that I have (The Pacific War in Color, Elementary, Roast Battle, Yellowstone, Shooter, Who is America?) and watch the films that I've recorded (Darkest Hour, Murder on the Orient Express, Three Billboards, Call Me by Your Name).  A lot of these films and shows are relatively mediocre, but some are not - so I might have to be very selective about what I bother watching.  I already deleted a load of stuff that I just wasn't getting round to watching before I went away - including a lot of good TV and films - and I suspect I will probably have to do the same again before long.  So much (too much) to watch, so little time.

Severe Weather Warning

Our region currently has an air quality alert in effect, from today through Wednesday.  The alert states "unhealthy air will become common across the area due to smoke from large wildfires in British Columbia and on the east slopes of the North Washington Cascades".  And when you go outside, you can unquestionably tell things are weird - hazy and smoky, and strangely dark with the sun and sunlight getting filtered out by the smoke.  My outside light turns on when I step outside, even though it is the middle of the day.  The air quality is so poor, and getting worse, that I don't even want to spend much time outdoors - should make for a good sunset tonight (which I won't see!).  Apparently it was worse whilst I was out of the country - if this is the new norm for summers in the Pacific Northwest, then that sucks.

Does this count?

I can't decide if this TIME cover counts as yet another one of Donald Trump or not.  Even if it doesn't, he must clearly have set a record for the number of covers over such a short period of time that someone has featured in.  I think TIME must have taken it personally when they discovered Trump was displaying a fake cover of himself at all his golf clubs.

Jet lag

A long day today - thanks to jet lag.  I'm still operating on UK time - which means that I was up incredibly early, and as I write this in the late evening I am utterly exhausted.  Even though I returned to work today, at least it was a slow day - catching up with e-mails (a disappointing 200 unread work e-mails, I was expecting a lot more) and then a team-building cruise around Lake Union.  I took some photos - I'll update this post with a few of them later.  I managed to avoid sunburn in my entire time in the UK, and in a 2 hour lunchtime cruise today I managed to succumb to it in a bad way.  Typical.

British Airways

More like, British Airnoways.  I'm so funny.  Nope, my flight back to the US was a nightmare.  No upgrade, a security check on the UK side, and a remarkable number of toddlers in just the premium economy section of my plane - including me having to share the 4 middle aisle seats with some parents and their 2 year-old.  Not annoying at all.  So that is probably my last flight ever with British Airways - I'll try someone else next time.  But I survived and I'm home now.  US immigration was surprisingly quick - as a permanent resident holder, I was able to enter the queue with the other US passport holders, and scan your passport (or in my case my green card), scan your fingerprints, the machine takes a photo of you, and you're done.  I don't know what it's like if you have to go in the other queue.  Had a bit of a surprise when I got home - found that my front door window panes were all cracked.  Was worried that someone had tried to break in - but I think it might actually have been a stone or something that cracked the window when my landlord or his son were doing the mowing.  Nothing seems to be missing anyway!  God knows what else had happened whilst I was away - my hose wasn't where I left it, I found a cigarette butt in my driveway, and my wind chime was on the ground and in pieces.  Weird. 

Shopping

Last day before I fly back, so took the opportunity to do some shopping (of the food and clothing variety).  Always try to take some food back with me - there is a lot of stuff I still miss, none of it particularly healthy (think crisps, chocolates, etc.).  So I think I was quite restrained this year with what I'm taking back - though perhaps that might be because I know more stuff is available on Amazon (though horribly overpriced) or perhaps because my niece has also remarked on my size (yikes!).  I'm never been much of a clothes shopper.  I'm not particularly fashionable - some of my clothing choices, particularly during my student years, were highly questionable, and the kind of shops I used to go to (C&A!) are no longer on the British high street.  But I am highly aware, and concerned, that my wardrobe is cheap, dated and seriously lacking.  It definitely needs a serious overhaul.  But my fear is that as I get older my clothing choices become more conservative - I went to Marks and Spencer in Guildford today, and I was easily one of the youngest people in there.  Yet I still bought a couple of items.  In fact, wandering round some of the shops in Guildford this morning there were a lot of clothes I liked and I could easily have spent a fortune if I was feeling so inclined and had more room in my luggage.  Very unusual - I don't normally look round for very long nor find very much to my liking.  I think I prefer the fashion choices in British department stores more than those in American stores, so perhaps next time I'm back I should do a more serious and comprehensive clothes shop.

Photos

Just added some photos to a couple of my Bath entries.  Upon further reflection and review, I'm not particularly impressed with my photography skills in Bath.  Feel like I could have got more photos that do better justice to the "World Heritage Site" that is Bath.  Admittedly, had limited window of good weather and a huge number of tourists - all of which seriously curtails good photo opportunities.  Bath is photogenic enough that I saw there was a guided Bath Photo Tour you could have done there - but I don't have nearly a good enough camera to have justified that (nor the effort to fiddle about with manual settings!).  Normally I'm pretty good at identifying and timing some great shots, but for whatever reason the magic wasn't there this time.  Mind you, this trip was more about catching up with friends than obsessing over taking photos (which I am prone to do).  I think I should probably have done the tower tour at Bath Abbey - where apparently there were more good views to be had.  Alas, it will probably be another 15-20 years until I next return to Bath!   

Packing

I can bring 2 massive suitcases with me, and still not have enough clothes to last for the duration of my holiday.  And that includes doing some washing.  Weird.

Bath

It's been 20 years - literally half my entire lifetime (yikes!) - since I graduated from the University of Bath.  And it must have been close to 15 years since I was last in Bath.  So coming back here has been a strange experience.  A lot is familiar - certainly the Georgian architecture that makes Bath such a gorgeous city.  How little I appreciated it when I actually lived here - but then again that was a totally different time of my life having turned 18 and moved away from home for the first time.  I never even saw the actual Roman Baths until after I had graduated!  It's been interesting to see what has changed in the city (there seem to be a lot of new restaurants) and what has not changed (a lot of the same old pubs are still around).  It's been fun to reminisce about things that happened here - good memories, though I seem to had forgotten a lot of them (starting to show my age!)  It's also quite apparent that I can't hold my drink anywhere near like I used to - last night we went out to a few old haunts, and I still managed to succeed in feeling quite hungover this morning even though we didn't drink much at all.  I'm so out of practice with drinking, and I don't miss the drinking culture in this country.  It's kind of sad to see that Bath has turned into a stag/hen weekend destination.  Though some of the activities we engaged in as students were probably a lot worse!  Good times (I think?)! 

Bath Skyline Walk

It wasn't easy, but I did it.  I completed the Bath Skyline Walk this morning whilst it was still sunny - or at least relatively sunny by the end of the walk.  I got up at 6 am, and was out of the door by 6.15 am.  This is when it got tough.  The start of the trail was described as "being a short stroll from Bath city centre".  What it neglected to mention was that this short stroll (25 minutes?) was entirely uphill.  So by the time I got to the start of the trail, I was utterly exhausted and already prepared to give up.  But no, I had got up early for this and I was going to persevere no matter what.  So I got on with it, and completed the 6 mile circular walk.  It had many ups and downs (and I started to dread seeing the word "steep" appearing in the directions), but actually once you got past the initial uphill burst it wasn't as bad as I feared (perhaps my sore legs will disagree tomorrow!).  At one point I had to cross a field with cows in it, but when I approached one of the cows (maybe even a bull?) it started to make noises and lower it's head and stamp with it's front legs as if it was about to charge me. Thank god I wasn't wearing any red!  But I managed to carefully and slowly edge my way round the cow, no harm done.  The walk was actually a good one - through meadows, woods and valleys, with various spectacular views looking down on Bath.  Recommended.

Come Back Again Another Day

After a spell of sunny and hot weather, now rain is adversely impacting my holiday plans.  I scrapped a day trip to Brighton yesterday due to it - though I suspect I might not have had the energy to have gone even if it had been nice weather.  And now it looks like rain is going to affect my weekend in Bath.  It was raining when I arrived - but it cleared up enough for me to rush around the main tourist sights snapping some photos whilst the conditions were good.  And it looks like the best weather over the rest of the weekend is going to be early tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get up at sunset to go for a long hike.  I was planning to post some photos - but I've been using my camera rather than my phone, and I forgot to bring my camera cable.  So you'll have to wait. 

WAIT OVER

The Good Life

I've just finished spending some time with my sister and her family, including my young nephew and niece.  I've got to be careful what I write, because I don't want the offer to stay again in the future to be rescinded!  But really, there are no worries about that because I only have good things to say.  They have a big and beautiful home, and are clearly doing a great job in raising their children.  I love staying there and doing things with them, because then I can indulge in all the worst traits of being an uncle - sharing in all the fun and good times, but then having none of the responsibilities of fixing things when they go awry!  I am very grateful for their hospitality, and perhaps the only advantage of living on the other side of the world is that I can't take advantage of it more.  Though it is kind of sad that I can't spend more time in person with my nephew and niece whilst they are at this age - their happiness and joy is infectious.  But what is also striking to me is just how different our style of life is.  We are clearly on very different paths - whereas theirs is busy and complete, mine is relatively slow and carefree.  And, if I'm going to be honest, I'm happy with that.  As much as it might disappoint the prospective grandparents, which I know it does, I am glad I am not a parent - as I don't think I could or would make a good one.  I don't have the patience, I don't want the responsibilities, and at this point in my life I don't think I could have my routine and habits upended in such a dramatic fashion.  Just spending a few days with my niece and nephew can be exhausting!  So although it is quite different, I am somewhat content with my kind of life - which is comforting, even if it is probably too solitary to be healthy.  Which is why I need to appreciate, and show my appreciation to, my family more than I do. 

England shirt

Perhaps if England had flopped in the World Cup, it would be easy to get an England shirt from a high street shop.  Perhaps then I wouldn't even want to get one.  As it is, I want one and it is not easy to get - there was frustratingly nothing in the high street shops we looked in today, perhaps the stock has been exhausted due to the unexpected progress of the team.  And I feel quite naive for expecting there would be stock - even now, some time after the tournament has finished.  A quick check online reveals some options but not many.  It's almost simpler to order something once I'm back in the US - which I probably will.  Let's hope I have better luck in getting an England rugby top - something I plan to do in Bath, since rugby has a much higher profile there.  I also wouldn't mind getting a Palace top - but again that might also be just as easy to order once I'm back in the US.  Jeez, what a global and online economy we live in now (let's hope it survives Brexit and Trump tariffs). 

London Zoo

Another long day out with my sister, nephew and niece - today to London Zoo.  Definitely a worthy trip to make with kids, they seemed to have a good time despite the temperature.  Maybe not ideal to go in the blazing heat like today, especially combined with enduring public transport to get there and another day involving lots of walking around after one yesterday - we were all flagging by the end of the day, even me although I do a fraction of the work of a parent.  But plenty of animals to see, even if they're hidden away in the shadows.  What is nice is that not all the animals are hidden behind glass or cages, there are a few areas where you can actually share a space with spiders, butterflies, a sloth, or monkeys without any barriers.  That's a nice touch.  I think the last zoo I went to was probably San Diego Zoo - which is generally acknowledged as one of the world's best - but even if London Zoo is one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, zoo in the world, it is still a worthy excursion.  I didn't take many photos today, but here are a couple:

 

Brooklands

A visit today to Brooklands Museum - "The Birthplace of British Motorsport & Aviation - Home of Concorde".  Being no petrolhead, I had absolutely no idea of the existence of this place let alone any expectations of what it would be like.  But I was pleasantly surprised - enough things to do to keep little kids occupied despite the heat, but enough to see that you could easily visit without kids.  Cars, bikes, motorbikes, airplanes, and even the London Bus Museum - plenty of historic models to be found here, in the environs of the old motor racing circuit and the location of probably loads of technological/engineering advances in the early/mid 20th century.  Makes my ignorance of this place a little embarrassing.  

Android

I've just got myself an Android smartphone for the rest of my stay in the UK.  Entirely temporary, but my American phone doesn't work here and I wanted something that at least I can use Google Maps on to help with finding my way around.  It's going to take some getting used to.  I keep on trying to press a Home button that doesn't exist, simply because I've had an iPhone for ages and that is what I'm used to.  And I'm just not familiar enough with the Android operating system and how to easily navigate myself around the phone and get the most out of it - it just doesn't seem as user friendly as Apple.  Perhaps the phone itself - the cheap and cheerful Nokia 1 - is to blame, but I fear it's just a sign that I'm increasingly turning into a technophobe as I get older.

Devil's Punch Bowl

I'm not going to talk about how staying with my parents sometimes (mostly) feels like a prison sentence - from the routine, to the locked windows on the ground floor, to the psychology, to the locking and securing of doors as soon as the sun goes down.  It's feels like more of a security measure to keep the occupants in, rather than keep the unsavory elements out.  Not that you're going to find any unsavory elements in Godalming, Surrey...

Instead, some photos from an early morning walk around Hindhead and views of the "Devil's Punch Bowl" from the 2nd highest point in Surrey.

Guess Who

"I have great respect for the U.K. United Kingdom. Great respect. People call it Britain. They call it Great Britain. They used to call it England, different parts."

Richmond

I took a walk around Richmond today - the same walk I must have done 20+ years ago, using the same walking guide.  I like Richmond, the kind of neighborhood I would be happy to live in if I had to move back to London (which I hope I never have to do) and if I could afford it (which I cannot, and definitely never will).  Probably not a good idea to do this 6 mile walk on a sweltering day like this, where there wasn't a great deal of cover to be found and way too many people out and about enjoying the sunshine.  But my positive opinion on Richmond has not changed - still a nice place, with some great parks and walking paths around.

Huxley's

Another day, another kid-friendly destination - the joys of spending some quality time with my nephew and niece during this trip...  This time it was a local birds of prey center - with a smallish selection of beautiful birds, supposedly "happy" to be chained/caged up (they probably were in terms of getting well fed), some of whom are then let out during a flying display.  The flying display was so slow moving in getting one bird after another out, that I think most small kids were quickly bored or restless.  But I think the overall impression I had was one of people who really cared about the birds and their welfare, and of approval for the good intentions that a place like this offers.