Kvetching From Sydney to LA

A Mid Air Rant:

Currently:
Altitude: 38,653 ft
Time to dest: 0:34
Distance traveled: 7320 miles

After having flown long flights on British Airways and Qantas this trip,I can tell you, this United flight I've been on for the last 12 hours has been an absolute joke. Let's see...

Movies are shown in sequence, on a single cabin screen - so while the selection of movies was good, seeing them was a pain. I'm in Economy, so leg room is non-existent. I needed to squeeze my laptop in just so to even see part of it.

And then there are the parts of the flight out of United's control. Like the screaming infant sitting 4 seats away.

And don't get me started on these Kosher Meals, My heavens. It's like they intentionally make them inedible. Mid flight, I woke from my haze to find a meal in front of me. Upon breaking the seal, I found a damp tray of some grayish goo that I didn't have the stomach to even try. Our people need fewer doctors and lawyers and more chefs.

And then there's the whole tone of the service. Last night, at dinner, they came through and offered meals. My seatmate to the left (I'm in my preferred isle seat) didn't make her choice fast enough and the guy got frustrated and was ready to move on. It was like a scene from a refugee camp - don't act fast enough, go hungry. And breakfast hasn't been much better - she asked for water *and* tea and you'd think she wanted caviar with her breakfast.

There's a fine balance between efficiency and being overly short with your customers. They've drifted to the later.

This poor service issue is especially obvious when compared to Qantas or BA - where the whole tone was that of "what can we do to make your flight more pleasant?" versus the United way which comes across as "what can you do to make this flight easier for us?"

On the Qantas flight, they noticed Shira wasn't signed up for a veggie meal, yet she didn't want the meat breakfast. So, they proactively found her a veg option. That took someone paying attention, versus just getting through meal service quickly.

*** End Rant ***

Whew, I feel much better now. I hate spewing all this negativity, so I'll finish this note with a list of positive things about the flight:

- My laptop battery continues to shine - lasting longer than I did (3+ hrs, before I was exhausted)

- My G1's battery did great too, playing music for 5+ hours and still having battery life left to write this note

- I listened to a long recording I had of the Drone Zone, and it helped me to get a good number of hours of sleep (5ish, I think?), so I'm as rested as I'm going to be.

- So far, the flight has been safe and we look like we'll have an uneventful landing. And as my Mother-in-Law likes to say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one. I'll be glad to extend that notion to the whole flight.

- In 30 minutes, I'll be back on US soil!

To cap it off: America may be the leader in many things - air travel, I'm sorry to say, isn't one of them.

The Way Home

I'm typing this note from the Sydney Airport, as I prepare to head back home. I'm typing this note from one of those Internet Kiosks, where you effectively pay by the minute. It's not too expensive (a little over a dollar for 20 minutes - enough time to jot out this blog post), but I still feel kinda dirty for paying for anything by the minute.

It's hard to belive the trip is now over, but it is. All I need to do is to make from here to LA and then back to Virginia. It's about 18 hours of flying time, but who's keeping track?

I find it interesting that I'm flying into the West Coast after having left the country from the East Coast. In other words, I'll have circled the globe this trip. I'm not sure why I find that exciting, but I do. What can I say, I'm easily entertained. I guess I now know a bit how Magellan felt after his voyage. Minus the scurvy and all.

Crap, I was hoping to post a photo or two that I had snapped as I was flying from Canberra to here. Alas, I can't get the USB port on this kiosk to behave. Oh well, just do a Google Images search for Sydney Opera House, and you'll get a view of what I saw flying in.

See y'all stateside!

Canberra And The Darwin Exhibit

Today Shira and I had a really special treat - we got to see the Charles Darwin exhibit at the National Museum of Australia.

I hadn't really appreciated what a unique guy Darwin was. He was both extremely logical (the list of pros/cons of why he should get married is priceless) and had a love of natural science. Yet, he was a poor student and didn't do particularly well in school. He was given this amazing opportunity to travel around the world and collect samples, yet almost didn't go because his father thought it was a bad idea. And when he did go on the trip, he was able to observe remarkable phenomena - ranging from earthquakes to strange fossils to obscure species of rats. And he absorbed it all.

He was also able to coalesce his different findings he had into one theory. Rather than proposing natural selection based on just the turtles he saw on the Galapagos Island, he found examples everywhere he went (including the turtles). As the exhibit showed, the breadth of what he studied was nothing short of remarkable. Of course, he had a leg up on the competition. In 1831, how many people had access to the entire world in which to poke and learn from?

I also found it interesting how crude his tools were. Using nothing more than a magnifying glass and a microscope, he was able to deduce the theory of evolution. At the end of the day, it was just a matter of observing nature, taking lots of notes and then trying to make sense of it all.

The exhibit definitely had a bit of a propaganda (educational?) feel to it, in terms of the evolution versus creationism debate. They made it quite clear that evolution was the only explanation science had to offer as to how man developed. They also had a short movie I found interesting on what a scientific theory is. As they explained, theories don't get turned into facts, they are used to explain facts. So, calling it a Theory of Evolution doesn't imply some sort of doubt in it.

During the introductory movie, Shira - who's a big fan of science and Darwin's theory - turns to me and says, this is like an Obama rally for scientists. By the end of the film, we were both ready to start chanting, "Yes we can!"

The rest of the day was spent checking out some more of the classic sites Canberra has to offer. Because Canberra is so spread out, it included plenty of walking. But, the day was perfect for it, so who can complain?

Here's a few photos from the day...

To The Top Of Mt. Ainslie

Yesterday, I took a fun jog to the top of Mt Ainslie. See, this is exactly what I'm talking about when I say Canberra is the most under rated city in the world. Not quite sure how I would get to the top of the mountain, I started jogging towards it. When I got to the base of the mountain, behind the top notch War Memorial, I learned there was a trail to the top.

Not only is it a well maintained trail with excellent views, but they also have plaques along the way to remember various engagements in WW II. Add to this the fact that I ran by a family of kangaroos, and I have to say, this was one terrific experience.

Here are some photos:

So here's my recommendation: If you do make it to Canberra, the first thing you should do is visit the War Memorial, and then make your way up the trail in the back for a spectacular view.

From Brisbane to Canberra

I'm tapping out this blog entry from the lobby of the hotel we're staying at in Canberra, Australia. We've finally arrived at the last city of our trip (well, not counting the top over in LA on the way home). Whew. It's also the last hotel - I can't say I'll miss packing up and heading to a new city nearly every day. Still, it is a terrifically fun adventure.

Here are some photos from our day yesterday around Brisbane and the Gold Coast:

I have to say, I have a favorite productivity toy: Offline Gmail. I enabled this on my I2X e-mail before our flight, and then used the flight time to read and reply to messages. It all Just Works - it's like being online, only you're not. I think Google's got a winner here. It's definitely worth play around with.

So now I'm in Canberra, Australia. This has to be the most underrated city in the world. They've got museums, monuments, government buildings to tour and parks to hike in. Yet, when you tell Australian's you're coming here, they think you're crazy - why go there? Well, I for one like it here. I've got to do some work first, but then I'm off to poke around and hopefully get a nice long run in.

Let's hope the WiFi cuts and my battery dies, so I can get to playing sooner rather than later.

From England To Australia - The Adventure Continues

I'm writing this blog post from Gold Coast, Australia. I've moved halfway around the world since I last had a chance to sit down, collect my thoughts and blog. What a trip it's been! Let me bring you up to speed....

Our Last Day In England

Here's some photos from our last day in England. As you can see, I took a jog through a local park which the hotel receptionist suggested might have deer for me to see. I was expecting a fleeting glimpse of Bambi as she ran from me, terrified (as is usually case the in US).

Well, things are considerably different over here. The deer were just loitering around, clumped together pretty much oblivious to me. I was informed later, if I had wanted to, I could have fed them.

How they keep so many deer in one spot without them becoming a nuisance to the town is beyond me.

Other highlights of the day included working from a quaint little pub. I had the perfect seat next to the fireplace. Perhaps the pint of beer was the key to making it such a relaxing place to work?

Flying from England To Australia

Our trip from England to Australia was remarkably uneventful. No lost luggage, or messed up meals. Like our flight to England, it went smooth as could be. In theory, the flight is pretty long (about 12+ hours to Singapore, 7+ hours to Brisbane), but with my 3+ hours of battery life on my laptop and 50 movies available to watch, it went by pretty quickly.

Brisbane

We flew into Brisbane instead of Sydney, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Brisbane was the perfect city to contrast London, and our previous surroundings in UK. It's bright and sunny, down right hot, small, and with the oldest building in town from the 1820's, it's brand spanking new.

We traipsed around the city, seeing the highlights such as city hall, the man-made beach and the botanical gardens. By 3pm, jet lag had kicked in and were barely able to function.

We dragged ourselves back to the hotel and took a much needed 3 hour nap. We then woke up, went to dinner (for slightly above average pumpkin pizza, and a below average Spanish omelet) and came back and crashed.

Jet lag is truly amazing.

Hiking in Lamington National Park

After a day of walking around the city, we wanted to get out into nature so we hit Lamington National Park. It was an excellent rain forest to hike in and provided some really nice views.

By far the most exciting part of the trip was the drive up and down the mountain. Yikes! Even if we had been driving on the right side of the road (which of course, we weren't), it was still crazy scary with the sharp turns and narrow roads. But we made it in one piece, no problems.

The Gold Coast

45 minutes away from Brisbane is the Gold Coast, and the intriguingly named Surfers Paradise. We spent the night here and woke up to another wonderful day of sunshine and beaches.

And that brings us to right now. Whew, what a trip so far.

As for what's next? I'm not sure. At the moment, I'm going to do a bit of work and then perhaps hit the beach? How can you not at a place with paradise in the name?

England's Roads as Theme Park Ride

So, we did something a bit unusual this trip - we rented a car. Shira was ready to tackle this whole driving on the left thing. She's done a smashing job so far!

Here's a short clip of her navigating the back roads of England:

I don't think the video comes close to capturing what it was like to be sitting, in what's usually the driver's seat, seeing folks whiz towards me on the wrong side of the road. Who needs Space Mountain, when you've got this?

A couple of observations / tips for driving in England:

• Roundabouts (traffic circles) are a Good Thing over here, so don't fear them. They'll keep you from making right hand turns, which are surprisingly tricky.
• Regardless of the cost, rent a GPS. Wow, this place would be dang near impossible to navigate without one.
• If you're entering a roundabout, and there are two lanes, here's the logic you can use to decide which lane to be in: If you're getting off at the first exit in the roundabout, be in the left lane. If you're getting off at any other exit, be in the right lane.
• Once you're in the roundabout, you've got the right of way, so you can keep circling, without fear that someone will pull in front of you (well, that's the theory anyway)

On the balance, it's been wondering driving over here and its certainly given us access to parts of the country we wouldn't normally see.

Hanging In Hereford

I spent the day entertaining myself in Hereford, a little town in the middle of nowhere, about 3 hours from London.

Just beyond our hotel is the Hereford Cathedral, where I spent a good bit of time wandering around. The cathedral dates from the about 1000 years ago and has been growing and changing since then. It's hard to imagine a building that's been growing and changing for 1000 years (think of the wars, regime changes, etc.), but there you go. On first glance, it appears to be one monolithic structure - but upon closer examination there are lots of details and nuances to it.

In the Cathedral you can see an exhibition which shows off the Hereford Mapper Mundi and Cathedral's chained library. And what is a Mapper Mundi and chained library? Well, I'm glad you asked.

The Mapper Mundi is a map of the world created in the 1300's - a remarkable feat, especially considering the monk who created the map never actually left town. The map, centered around Jerusalem contains real places, like the Persian Gulf and Ireland, and biblical places, like the Tower of Babylon and Noah's Ark. It's both insightful and entertaining.

As for the chained library, it is just what it says it is - a collection of books chained to the shelves. Books were incredibly pricey, (according to the guide, a book was at the time worth a small farm - or about $1,000,000 in our dollars) and they didn't want them walking off. So, they chained them down. The library contains volumes that go back 1000 years, easily. You can't touch anything, but you can get awfully close. This being the Cathedral's original library, it contains quite a few religious books. But, it also contained other secular reference material.

After my visit to the Cathedral I made my way to the recommended Cider Museum, but alas, it was closed. I leave Hereford with no new information about cider. Dang.

But, all isn't lost. While waking to the museum I found Sainsbury's - which is apparently England's answer to Wal-Mart. It appeared as though I could buy anything from a new TV to produce in the same store. And while they had a great many items to buy, there were still lacking Motts Applesauce. Is that too much to ask, snack pack sized cinnamon flavored apple sauce?

I then did a few more sites in the city (an epsecially old house and a small museum that covers local history) and then I found my way to the pub where I'm currently typing this out. I asked the waitress what the closet thing to a local beer was, and she recommended Wye Valley Bitter. Maybe it was all the walking I did, or the fact that it's served at just the right temperature (not warm, but not exactly freezing cold) - but I have to say, the beer is good. And, I'm not usually a fan of beer.

Did I mention, I started the day with porridge which contains brown sugar and whiskey? It was actually quite good, and certainly made for a chill morning.

I give Hereford two thumbs up - it's definitely a fun place to explore for the day (and stay around and relax in for longer).

Here are some photos from the day:

Wandering London

Yesterday we had a fun day wandering around London. In the afternoon, I wanted to get some work done, so I looked around for a quiet place to program.

My solution? Camp out at the Tate Britain. The paintings are spectacular, and would have much preferred to browse them, rather than work. But hey, they also made for great ambiance.

Here are some photos from the day:

Running Into History

While I spent most of the day working, I couldn't resist at least taking a jog through London. Luckily, there's so much history to see here, you literally can't go anywhere without run across some of it. I took a run through Hyde Park, and here are a bunch of the folks I ran into.

Oh, between the gray day and the fact that all I had was my cell phone camera, these photos are going to be silhouettes - as that's the best photos I could come up with. So yes, you'll have to use your imagination a bit.

Here's Peter Pan atop a cool statue that tells his story:

And Here's Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Other than a partially visible cane, there's no sign that he was crippled. That's not really a surprise, as the statue was presented to him by his Wife in the late 1940's. 50 years later, we were still debating if we should show his physical likeness as people remember him or he actually was.

I'm not sure who this guy is, but he's got cool battle gear and a strategically placed fig leaf.

And this guy - this was the best treat of all. This is a statue of Edward Jenner - the very guy who discovered the Small Pox Vaccine (perhaps discovered is the wrong term?). Regardless, I'm pretty sure my brother doesn't have a job if this guy doesn't reason out what he managed to.

While not a silhouette - I couldn't resist snapping this photo. It basically announces the date at which point water was fed to this point in Hyde Park. Nothing special, except that it took place in 1569. We were hundreds of years from existing at that point. That's so London, just having random stuff that makes us look like a terrifically young country.

OK, better get back to work - enough fun for one day.

When Travel Works

Wow, international travel is amazing. 7 hours ago we were on a sleety airport in Washington, DC and now I'm in Heathrow airport in England.

Everything about the flight was smooth - no delays, screaming babies, snoring seat mates, meal mix-ups or hold ups in customs.

My only complaint is that my work laptop lasted 3+ hours, so I spent the majority of the flight working instead of goofing off. Stupid extended battery, always making me productive when I don't want to be.

Now we just need to make it to the hotel. How hard can that be?

Here's the Before-During-After shots that pretty much sum up the flight:

Update: We made it to the hotel just fine. We had one of the chattiest cab drivers I can recall, which was pleasant. Apparently, we've come to London during the European Cup Football finals, or something like this. Maybe we'll get lucky and get to see a football riot or something.

Tally Ho!