Almost too good to last

Patrick General, Travel

This blog entry comes to via a dusty old Internet kiosk in Dubai and the latest disruptions caused by the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano. Everything was looking really smooth on our flight from Melbourne to Singapore to London until our Singapore to London leg got diverted to Dubai because of an emergency medical situation. Strangely enough, just as we were about to touch down, the pilot announced yet another twist to this complicated story announcing the latest ash disruptions.

Considering the size of the plane and the number of people they had to shift, I was pretty impressed by how Qantas organised it. Sure, they could have communicated what was going on or the plans a bit more, but understanding that we touched down at 4am in the morning, I understand that they were pretty short on staff.

Being one of the earlier ones to get on a bus, I was checked into a hotel and therefore, was fortunate enough to freshen up, get some local cash and head out to make contact with the greater world. Don’t expect too many updates though because my hotel has pretty much next to no internet and I’m hoping things go back tomorrow morning with our scheduled 2am flight.

Samsung N210 Weeks Later

Patrick General, UK Life

It’s been at least two weeks since I’ve had the Samsung N210, so I thought I’d continue with the review that I previously wrote. I’ve been using this as my primary commuting device – as it’s both lighter and smaller. On the upside, the weight has relieved the strain on my back, particularly useful if you’re wearing a courier-like side satchel. The smaller size has a number of advantages as well, such as being able to comfortably use in in a commuter train without being in the more spacious four person seat. I can comfortably prop this up on the bag and then type away whilst sitting on one of the smaller two-person seats on an East Coast Rail Train, and still be able to see the screen at a comfortable distance without craning my neck.

I’ve continued to tweak with most of the system settings, expunging as much of the start up services as I think I can get away with. The biggest contributor (it seems) so far was to disable the microsoft indexing/searching service as it seemed to cause typing to be jittery whenever running. I also managed to play some other video formats using VLC player (MP4) and the machine seems to be able to handle it fine.

I also did my first backup of the system, using the in built Samsung Recovery Manager. I figured this would be quite important seeing as I don’t have a reinstaller CD for it. Using a little portable hard drive, it took about an hour to backup the 20GB of installed programs so far.

I haven’t had any problems browsing the internet or using it for normal writing use, however I want to see what it’s like with upgraded RAM, so I’ve ordered a 2GB stick off crucial. I’m hoping programs load a bit faster if I have other things running. I think installers will probably run faster but seeing as they are a once-off affair, it’s not really going to bother me in the long term. I can’t really complain about the startup/shutdown speed. It’s plenty faster than I remember on my last PC box.

The keyboard has been the biggest win so far. I’m a touch typist, absolutely hate using the mouse if I don’t have to, and the chiclet keyboard has been a lifesaver as I don’t feel like I am modifying the way that I type to type normally. When I do use the mouse, I do appreciate the gestures they’ve built in – something that my work laptop (a Mac) has been training me in use and would be frustrating to return to without it working. I’m pleased that it continues to work although I’m happy for that right click button.

Not everything has been perfectly plain sailing though. In use, I’ve found the opening latch, that plays dual role of power switch) a bit fiddly. As a right hander, I want to use my right hand to flick the switch, but the “stickiness” of the lid means that I have to use both hands to carefully open the laptop. I can’t honestly say I’ve gotten used to it but definitely not a show stopper.

I’ve also noticed that the default setting lets you switch resolution modes (from its default 1028 x 600 to a pixelated/stretched 1028 x 768) that I triggered by pressing SHIFT+FN+LEFT or SHIFT+FN+RIGHT keys. Being a touch typist, it took me a while to work out which combination of keys triggered this (you can use their Easy Resolution Manager application to change this just as you can use their Easy Resolution Manager Options application to disable this shortcut).

The only other thing that has been slightly annoying is the mouse buttons that you have to depress slightly forcefully – something that isn’t really a problem if you prefer the keyboard, but I could see potentially affecting those who like the mouse. On the flipside, you would probably bring a travel mouse or something like that.

Given that the issues I’ve had are very minor, everything else has been true to form. The screen is lovely and bright, and the battery life seems to work very well.

2009 A Personal Retrospective

Patrick Copenhagen, Entertainment, Food, General, Music, Restaurants, Travel, UK Life

It’s that time of year to look back and see what’s been going on for 2009. It seems like it’s been a quieter year than most before and despite not wanting to do a lot of travel, it still seems like I ended up doing a fair amount.

Travel
The year started off in the US where I spent the day getting back from Boston before celebrating the New Year in New York. Since I was travelling to Marlow for work during the week, I didn’t end up going anywhere until March where I met the rest of the family in Japan.

Rather than hitting Tokyo, we met them in Osaka where we headed out to places like Kobe, Nara, Himeji and then spent the rest of the time visiting the temples and shrines of nearby Kyoto. April saw me head up north to visit my old flatmate, now living in York. The start of May then saw me head to Chicago for the first time, for a wedding and catching up with lots of people I knew living there.

I also took advantage of the great weather to head to Brighton for the first time. The end of may, I headed out to Sardinia for a conference where we ended up pretty much isolated from anyone else for the entire week. Great times yet I still remember the water being particularly cold.

It was around this time that I also started doing the weekly commute to Copenhagen for several months. I think I ended up staying over on the weekend twice – once to see what life in Denmark was really like, and then another to head over to Malmo (Sweden) on a very convenient and modern train.

August then saw me returning to Chicago for another conference before finishing off the year with a trip to Edinburgh in November and then Finland for a pre-Christmas holiday. I’d also mention travelling to Cambridge daily since returning from Copenhagen but other than eating out and resting, I don’t really get to see much of Cambridge.

Music
I don’t think I got to see as many bands this year seeing Aussie bands Eskimo Joe and The Living End in April, followed by amazing musician and talented whistler, Andrew Bird in May. I then saw John Butler outshine the Union Chapel in July. October then saw a flurry of activity including The Cribs, Franz Ferdinand and then Scottish musician, Calvin Harris play a sweat inducing performance at The Forum. The year finished off with a performance by Japanese musician, Ryuichi Sakomoto.

Food
I think this was definitely the year of the Michelin-starred restaurants for me. I was very thankful managing to find the only booking open in a three month window for the world’s 3rd best restaurant, Noma. What an unbelievable experience the tasting menu here was.

Amazingly local food accompanied by great service. I still remember the evening sun setting at just before midnight casting an amazing warmth into the converted warehouse when we sat down to eat.

We had just as an amazing meal at Restaurant Paustian v. Bo Bech before leaving Copenhagen. When visiting Chicago for the second time, I made sure to head out to Moto to enjoy the delights of clever cooking techniques and dining dazzlery. I can still picture the sparkling bombs that explode in the mouth for dessert. I also took my sister out to Rhodes 24 for her birthday (admittedly quite late in the year) and also ended up having a lunch at (overrated) Gordon Ramsey’s Maze restaurant. There was plenty of other amazing food places eaten ate but I woulnd’t be able to list them all.

Birthday Drinks at the Dovetail

Patrick General, UK Life

What better way to spend a lazy Sunday that at a Belgian pub serving great organic produce, and with more than a hundred types of beers? That’s exactly what I got up to this Sunday with a whole bunch of friends to celebrate that yearly event that won’t be going away any time soon.

We headed to one of my favourite pubs in my neighbourhood, also home to many a frequent work social occasion, The Dovetail. With glimpses of sunny skies, we grabbed the set of tables near the front of house and stayed there at least until the early evening. With the strength of some of the belgian beers, it wasn’t too long before I started to feel the effects, and eventually headed home.

Thanks to all the people who came along and made it such a great day! You can find the small numebr of photos I took of the day here.

Habits

Patrick General, UK Life

I just got in to London this morning from my trip to New York and I’ve finally finished doing all the things you do when you get back from a trip – unpack, do some laundry, and generally unwind. One thing that I noticed, in the haze of little sleep and yet another timezone, was one of my annoying habits when doing all of this.

Do you, like me, tend to move one pile of things from one place to another? I’m sure I’ve done it plenty of times before as well. It feels like you’re making progress, by moving things and doing stuff, yet at the same time, feels like procrastination. Actually, I’m pretty sure it is procrastination.

2007 in Review

Patrick General, Life in India, UK Life

I’ve finally got through all the emails, uploaded all my holiday snaps and written up enough of my holidays to finally properly retrospect on the year that was 2007. It’s been a busy one and it looks a bit like this.

In terms of travel…
I ended up with plenty to the US for some reason, hitting Philadelphia, New York City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

The European trips started with a weekend in Paris, followed by an ad hoc whiskey drinking holiday in Scotland covering Aberdeen, Dufftown (in Speyside) and finally Edinburgh. Ben organised for eight of us to go to a wonderful skiing week in Andorra. The weekend after that I returned to Edinburgh to really get a good feel for the city.

I ended up in Italy for a work conference visiting Milan, Bergamo and the Como area only to return to Italy shortly after to its Sardinian island, Alghero for a weekend with Kath.

My final “European” trip actually ended up in Bath (of all places) for the bank holiday weekend.

I started my time in India (only eight months later than originally planned) and I’ve managed to fit in quite a lot of travel since being here. I’ve managed to visit Mysore, Kochi, Savandurga, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Mahabalipuram and Kolkata. I also managed to visit a number of India’s famous hill stations including the Queen of them, Ooty, and a couple very close to Pune, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. Most recently, I spent the Christmas and New Year period on a secluded island in the Andaman Islands.

In terms of entertainment…
Things ended up pretty quiet this year for concerts and the small number of people I did see included The Feeling, Bloc Party, The Editors and Keane.

I also attended my first two British/European music festivals – Oxegen held at the Punchtown Racecourse just outside Dublin and then Bestival, on the Isle of Wight. Most memorable artists from Oxegen included the ever gushing Snow Patrol, the energetic Calvin Harris and the stunning light and sound extravaganza that is Muse. The Chemical Brothers were easily the musical highlight of Bestival.

Musicals and theatre shows this year included The Colour Purple whilst I was still in New York, a disappointingly droll Porgy and Bess, a bright and energetic Lion King, and a very funny show called Boeing, Boeing. The highlight was the marathon yet very succinct Lord of the Rings stage show.

Other random things…
I moved for the second time since living in London to Farringdon, very close to Smithfields, Fabric and Turnmills. Fortunately it’s also just down the street of the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society that I became a member of and only a twenty minute walk to Old Street where I started tumbling classes.

I trialled vegetarianism for an entire month after coming back from the US, leading to learning more about the whole vegan, vegetarian and pescetarian lifestyles people live.

I barracked for Australia while I watched them lose against Denmark in a disappointing football match near White City.

I had a go at Bobsledding, of all places, in Bath(!) where they have a training site for the British team.

I also split out my life blog from my work blog at last as the content really started diverging and work people weren’t that interested in all the things I got up to, and my friends probably aren’t that concerned about my rants about onboarding and various coaching and development things I do. I’ll be sure to write up a work retrospective on the other blog too if you are interested.

I finished the year off by finishing my PADI open water diving qualification on New Year’s Eve in the Andaman Islands.