I write the title of this post in jest. I originally thought BT could have moved my broadband to the new house within 5 working days of me requesting it. They called today and told me it would be 5 working days after that phone call, i.e. next Wednesday, the 28th. The connection is still working in the flat, so if it holds up I’ll be moving out next Tuesday. If it dies in the meantime, I’ll move out then and improvise. How can it take so long, I ask you?!

I’ve got a trip planned to California later this year and booked the flights last week. I’ve made quite a few trips to the US in the past and usually fly with British Airways (for [not so] frequent flyer miles and all that) but with the recent wildcat strikes at Heathrow where BA’s baggage handlers walked out to support the 600 employees sacked at the former BA catering arm, Gate Gourmet, I’ve felt less than sure, particularly as the issues still seem to be rumbling on.

I’ve actually been in the US during one of these wildcat strikes a previous year – they usually happen at the peak of every summer season – wondering if I would be able to get home. While I had the luxury of staying with people I knew back then, I still had a job to go back to and the car in a long-stay car park. It’s not about the money (got insurance for that sort of thing) but the hassle of sorting it all out. I also don’t think I’ve really forgiven BA for retiring Concorde – why is the world slowing down?

So this time, I’m flying with Virgin Atlantic for the very first time. I’ve heard good things about them, so we’ll see how they compare to their arch-rival. Virgin were also £5 cheaper (wow!).

To anyone who, like me, reads and enjoys sometime Reinvented Software helper Hans Kim’s blog, Post Hog, Ergo Propter Hoc, it has moved to http://nsobject.blogspot.com. I eagerly await the repost of “Das Hans Idyll”.

Apologies if anyone has tried to post comments on this blog recently and found them vanishing into thin air. I think I added a word to my comments blacklist that caused comments to get nuked. I didn’t realise it could work on a partial word match, not the whole thing.

Also, I’ve had a few occasions where emails sent to info [at] this domain alias don’t seem to have reached me – I only know about these because people write in again and it works. I usually answer all emails ASAP, usually immediately and almost always within 24 hours, so if you’ve sent an email to that address expecting a reply and not received one, please write in again to steve [at] this domain.

I don’t know why this is happening, but I suspect it’s something to do with the alias. Most the time, it seems to work well.

For years I’ve enjoyed photography in an amateur but enthusiastic sort of way and my interest was reborn a few years ago when I got a digital camera, as I’m sure is the case for a lot of people.

Lately, however, I’ve been stuck inside more than I’d like and let it slide. It’s horrible to be feeling so rusty. I’ve had a Flickr account for a while and not used it, so I’ve decided to get cracking and start uploading photos old and new, beginning with some of Rhossili Bay – my favourite retreat from all things digital, urban and noisy.

The Gower Peninsular, where I live, was the UK’s first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is littered with beaches, wildlife, castles, Medieval churches, caves, woodland, curious pagan monuments and sheep. Naturally, I took all this completely for granted when I was growing up and thought it the most boring place on Earth. However, after seeing a bit more of the world and getting a little older I came to realise that actually Gower was really cool.

The above photo I’ve actually used before on this site in KIT’s product pages. It is one of my faves.

You can see those and any other photos I upload here and there’s a link in the sidebar of this blog.