Obama and Science

There has been some concern that America's politicians know nothing about science, don't want to learn about it and would instead prefer to trust their invisible sky-friends and magic books. This page (link) gives the first hint that Barack Obama might take a different stance to George W. Bush when it comes to science, education, technology and the application of these disciplines to the real world. His comments on stem cell research are particularly encouraging since they represent a clear and complete break with the religiously motivated policies of the current administration.

Blog Fiddling

I have done a little work reorganising the layout and settings of my blogs, adding a couple of extra widgest and removing some of the more boring ones. I've also changed the template (again) and I think the new one is much clearer, making the posts easier to read and, on the Photo Blog, allowing the photos to be shown full-width.

I have also added a third blog (part of my quest to dominate the world of online publishing) where I plan to publish reviews of books, films and gadgets (first post is up already). In a change to the brief ranting style that you normally find here, the review site will feature longer but less regular (I am aiming for one a week) posts that will, hopefully, inform and amuse.

Thanks for reading - let me know what you think.

Lunch at the Yard

Well, it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. Half a chicken (the left, I think), some chips and some cabbage salad followed by a slightly bizarre but not unpleasant creme brulee, washed down with a pint of orange juice and a dodgy cappuccino. I don't think I'll go back, although I might pop back to visit Restaurant O next door, rumoured to be the best in Tallinn, if I can stand the prices.

Sunday Lunch

My quest to try every public house in Tallinn continues. Today I'm off to Scotland Yard (I kid you not) near the port for lunch, although the reviews say it is often crowded with tourists and your intrepid reporter might chicken out if it is full of drunk Finns. Assuming it isn't, and if I can get hold of a menu, I'll submit a quick note on the quality of their food sometime this afternoon.

Hull v Wigan Athletic

The football is on in the pub where I'm having dinner and, even to my untutored eye, it looks like Hull are being destroyed by Wigan Athletic. At the moment the score is 5-0 to Wigan, which, I believe, is probably bad for Hull.

As you may know, I have no real interest in football (I don't even know which competition these teams are playing in) but there's something sadistically appealing to watching a team take such a comprehensive drubbing. I guess this isn't really the way that Hull wanted to start their season, but at least things can only get better.

Tallinn Maritime Museum

Reputed to be the best museum in Tallinn, the Maritime Museum is housed in a converted 16th century canon tower. The medieval exterior doesn't really prepare you for the concrete of the brutalist interior - it's almost the bastard child of the Tower of London and the South Bank Centre, but nowhere near as impressive.

Several floors of exhibits, guarded by fearsome be-spectacled dragons, are presented for the intrepid visitor. The first covers Baltic lighthouses and harbours in some detail and in English but this should not lull you into a false sense of security; later floors are almost entirely devoid of English, consisting mostly, and not unreasonably, of Estonian and Russian language presentations.

Unfortunately, this does rather reduce the impact of the exhibits and so, apart from the modest architectural interest of the building, a visit can really only be recommended if you speak Estonian (or Russian) or if you like looking at model ships. English landlubbers should stay away.

Yet Another Pub

This is turning into "Notes on a Pub Crawl", or something similar.

Tonight I am in St Patrick's, an Irish (surprise) bar just off the main square in Tallinn. It's early, so the place is practically empty (although Hell Hunt was almost full at this time last night) and it's quiet, which is ideal for those of us who want to work, email and blog.

I have just had dinner (Chicken meal with oven baked potatoes and cheese) and shortly I'll head back to the apartment for a lonely night in. The meal was ok, but the description was incomplete; it was actually chicken and baked potato chunks in a creamy mushroom and pineapple sauce, topped with lashings of cheese and grilled to within an inch of its life. Tasty, but unexpected.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

The Register has an amusing article (NSFW - link) about posters used a while ago to advertise Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (which is barely 10 miles from home).

For a more serious (and useful) site, try www.historicdockyard.co.uk

A New Pub

Actually, it isn't a new pub at all but the oldest in Tallinn - Hell Hunt. That sounds dreadful until someone explains that it translates to "Gentle Wolf", which is a little more friendly. I've ordered food - let's see what it is like.

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Food Update

The meal was basically chips covered in mince and cheese. Not too bad but it would have been better without the gherkins. I will probably eat there again but I won't be having the same dish.

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Planet of the Hats

Prof. PZ Myers has a most amusing satirical piece about the Planet of the Hats. Worth a look if you're into that sort of thing (which I am).

Weather

The weather in Tallinn has turned cold and damp. Temperatures are down to around 16 degrees and it has rained for the last few days making it a fairly grim place to be. The outlook for the next few days is much the same, so indoor activities are the order of the day and the highlight of the weekend will be a trip to the Estonian Maritime Museum (link).

Estonia's Olympic Success

I am having dinner in Molly Malone's, Tallinn's most obvious Irish pub. Outside, on the town square, various high-ranking officials are congratulating the returning Olympic heroes (Estonia won a gold in the Men's Discus and a silver in the rowing), presenting them with wreaths and forcing them (and us) to listen to a local pop star belt out a selection of her hits. Not a bad party, but I think I'd rather have been in London.

Flight OV102

OV102, from Gatwick to Tallinn, is by now pretty routine but I am always slightly surprised when the check-in staff completely ignore the seat preferences so carefully gathered by the Estonian Air website. This evening's flight was too bad, arriving on time and without incident but we were transferred by coach to the terminal building, which is slightly tedious, especially as the airport clearly had plenty of under-utilized piers standing idle.

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Quote of the Day

When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.

Sir Winston Churchill

Photos

Lifecast, the application I use to Blog from my iPhone, can handle photos so I thought I'd start another blog (link) to which I would submit the images taken with my phone's camera. Unfortunately, it can't (at the moment) do photos and text, so blog entries will consists only of a headline and a photo.

Crecy

Today is the 662nd anniversary of the Battle of Crecy.

Old Winchester Hill

Susie and I walked up to the top of Old Winchester Hill on the coldest, wettest August bank holiday for a long time. The views should have been great but low cloud and misty rain conspired to hide them for most of the time. The shot below was about as clear as it got. I think we'll go back when it is clear, probably in the Autumn.



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Cardiff - Technological Blackspot

I was out in Cardiff town centre yesterday trying to meet up with the wife. To do this, I needed to know where I was in relation to her but my trusty iPhone, to which I have turned with increasing frequency over the last few weeks when this sort of question has arisen, has rendered helpless by the apparent lack of 3G and wifi coverage. This turned out to be incredibly frustrating even though, just a few weeks ago, I would not have expected to be able to access useful information while standing on the street.

Apple's iPhone is, I think, changing the game. Mobile internet access turns out to be so fantastically useful that it's absence represents a serious degradation of quality of life (although this probably says more about me than the technology).

Review of the iPhone to follow, but the broad conclusion is very good. If you're after a top-class data device, iPhone is the one for you.

Cardiff Bound

Susie and I are off to Cardiff today: me to visit my brother; Susie, with her sisters, to see Madonna in concert at the Millenium Stadium.

Unfortunately, because Jon is working nights, I will be entertaining myself after about 6:30. A trip to the cinema beckons, probably to see The Dark Knight, then I hope to meet up with the girls for latenight nibbles and drinks in town.

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Dinner

Dinner at Greens in Wickham. Superb as usual.

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Google Maps

Google's map service, which is in many ways a fantastic product, has recently added a "walking" feature so that pedestrians can plan routes as well as car drivers. This is great but it doesn't take account of preferred walking speed (unlike the excellent TFL site which allows, if memory serves, slow, medium and fast) so the time estimates are not all that helpful if you move at anything above a slow hobble.

As a result, I've been sitting at this station for ten minutes, having completed my journey in about 75% of the forecast time. Not a huge problem you might think, and I would have to agree - I'm complaining for the sake of it. I still love Google Maps and it's only a matter of time before they add this feature. And it beats MapQuest hands down.

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Lord of the Rings

I stumbled across an article (link) explaining how Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is basically an advertising pamphlet for the Catholic Church. Hmm.

The article is a great piece of wishful thinking - the author is desperate to make his arguments stick but he quotes mostly (if not exclusively) from the Bible, which rather undermines his position. Not an article that's worth reading, in my opinion.

Normal Service is Resumed

After several days of fairly serious posts, normal service is now resumed with this link to an amusingly mocked-up picture of George Bush, alleged President of the US.

The Day After

We spent this morning with my Grandmother in an unusually quiet house. My Grandfather's absence is palpable, especially when the dogs are playing up or when the tea is being made (his fingers were so big that he had his own large-handled mug that nobody else ever used). Most strange was the fact that this was my first visit to the farm where he hasn't been sitting in his chair or working in the garden or making something in the workshop or feeding the pigs or arguing with his wife or - you get the idea.

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After

So the service is done and apart from the overtly religious nature (I don't remember my Grandfather being even slightly religious, but maybe I didn't know him as well as I thought) it seemed to me ok. The priest said nice things, most of the congregation mumbled the prayers and it didn't take too long.

The first half of the wake was a little trying (socialising with people I don't know is not my strong suit) but towards the end I was able to spend quality time with my close family and that rather made up for everything else, particularly chatting to my cousins, with whom I have spent far too little time over the past ten years.

Tomorrow we will visit my Grandmother in the morning before heading home, and it is back to work on Wednesday.



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At The Crematorium

So now we are waiting at the crematorium for the rest of the clan, having arrived about twenty minutes early. The rain has cleared and there are occasional flashes of sunlight but the atmosphere seems to have drawn in and the humidity has

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Killing Time

There is something slightly depressing about killing time before a funeral, especially if it includes shopping in a wet and dreary Lincoln. Found a shirt to wear this afternoon and bought a book (The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan - review later) but apart from that it was a rather dull morning and I can't see things improving before tomorrow.

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De-Stress

Stress levels are falling, somewhat. Susie did a great bit of work for the Order of Service and after dozing on the plane I finished off the work I needed to do on the train. A little light shopping yesterday morning (not ideal, but bearable) then an early night have done wonders but I won't really relax until after the funeral tomorrow when we're back at the hotel.

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Stress

It has been a busy week and next week doesn't look like being much better. A demanding job, an unexpected change of travel arrangements (to accommodate a family funeral), visits from London colleagues and a delayed flight have conspired to make this a tricky few days.

The flight is delayed just long enough for me to miss my train but not long enough that I will avoid a long wait at Gatwick station. Should I try to work ok the plane and relax tomorrow, of should I work tomorrow and sleep now? Can I manage to write something for the Order of Service or do I give up and disappoint my Mother? Do I stay in the distant north on Monday evening after the funeral or do the wife and I travel home and spend Tuesday recovering?

Too much to do, too little sleep.

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Late Night, Early Morning

Dinner at Troika, a Russian restaurant, last night with colleagues from London then a modest pub crawl around the centre of Tallinn, ending up in the Depeche Mode bar (they didn't believe it really existed). Great fun, but I could really do with an early night and a good sleep - being the office is not ideal.

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Gatwick Amenities

I would not normally write a review for a toilet but regular travellers through Gateick Airport's south terminal would be well-advised to use re toilets on the far side of WorldDutyFree rather than the facilities on the other side of the departure lounge near security. Why?
1) They are brand new and nicely laid out,
2) There are no doors at the entrance so you can't accidentally pick up germs from other people's unwashed hands,
3) The hand driers are neaty integrated into the vanity unit above the basin so no queuing to dry your hands.

It doesn't sound like much but a well-planned WC removes one source of traveller's stress and makes Gatwick just a little more pleasant.

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Swanwick

It takes about 25 minutes to walk to our local station (Swansick) and the trains are invariably late. Today is no exception, although the delay is only four minutes. There is nothing to do at the station except wait unless you want a takeaway from the Park Gate Tandoori. I have not yet been delayed long enough for this to seem like a good idea. Maybe next time.

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Cosham

The gym was good this morning but I am now waiting at Cosham station for the train to Swanwick and it is not an inspiring place to kill time. At least, with iPhone in hand, I can do a little light email work and chase the team in Tallinn, to where I return this evening.

I had a walk around Cosham Park earlier in a desperate attempt to fill my time. It failed - Cosham Park is not worth the effort (although the quality of the bowling greens is impressive - they make my lawns look like roughly-ploughed fields).

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Olympic Games

Susie and I have been watching the synchronized diving this morning - not a sport in which we we would normally me interested but the progress of Team GB to the finals made it strangely compulsive.

They didn't win, unfortunately, but they look good for London in 2012 and I think we will be watching again in four years time.

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Depeche Mode Bar

Susie and I went at the weekend to one of the two Depeche Mode bars on Tallinn and very strange it was too (although also strangely entertaining). We arribed a bit too early in the evening so the atmosphere was a little slow but it picked up as the evening went on - worth a look if you are in town.

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Drills and Walls

Our neighbours are carrying out what sound like major structural changes to our office building. Exactly what they're doing is unknown but it involves an awful lot of drilling and we have already had to send home the IT team, whose office has become unusable. If this keeps up I might have to work from the apartment tomorrow.

BBC - "Primates Face Extinction"

Has anyone warned Rowan Williams?

Is it 1st April?

The BBC have a story (link) about people who believe that the Earth is flat (they apparently believe that the spherical hypothesis is part of a global conspiracy). I thought at first that this was a spoof report but it appears to be genuine. 

Catching the Wild Sheep

I have finished "The Wild Sheep Chase". Very strange but, I think, worth the effort. I will be buying more of his books which, strangely, are readily available amonst the limited numbers of English-language books in Tallinn.

A Wild Sheep Chase

I am about halfway through "A Wild Sheep Chase" by Haruki Murilami. It's a strange book, a bit like some of Iain Banks' stories where asides and flashbacks with no obvious connection to the main plot nevertheless add depth and present important information. If the second half is as good as the first it will have been well worth the effort.

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Shopping In Tallinn...

... is much the same as in the UK; boring.

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Tallinn Heat

Today Tallinn has been hot, sunny and humid - not at all what one expects of a Baltic city. It was the sort of heat that makes you glad for sudden slight breezes that spring up as you round the corner of a building or the unexpected swaying of a tree that briefly shades you from an unforgiving sun. 

And Tallinn is on its way to becoming a very attrative summer city. Years of decline (some of the city centre buildings are literally falling down) are being slowly reversed as new money pours in and old buildings are renovated. In another decade or so, Tallinn will be a pictureseque city of painted houses and attractive parks. If you have the cash, now might be a good time to get into the property game.