It is Tuesday, Alex,ChrisD and I returned from Holland. Nothing bad happened, lots of good times.
I’m a little tired right now so, bye for now; more details in post over the next month or so.
Sep 25 2007
Back In Britain…
Sep 21 2007
On My Way
The taxi has arrived, 20 minutes early, my bags are all expertly packed by Ira, I am finally on my way to Amsterdam and Britain….
Please excuse a short delay before normal posting resumes.
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Sep 19 2007
Tentative Dates
I have already agreed with MattG and Miriam about meeting up with them, and have some dates in mind for when I visiting each town of my mini-Britain tour.
As you may have read recently (joke, the Amsterdam flood of posts should dry up in a month or two 😉 ) I am visiting Britain, via Amsterdam in a few days time.
The timetable will looks something like this…
Amsterdam 21st - 24th September
Britain 24th September - 16th October
Cheltenham and Evesham 24th September - 3rd October (approx.)
Clydach (nr. Swansea) 3rd October - 11th October (approx.)
Falmouth 11th October - ???
Amsterdam 16th October (8 hours)
Kazakhstan 17th October
So if I know you, and you want to meet up, feel free to drop me a line. If I don’t know you, and you promise me you are not a stalker or other type of psycho, please do feel free to contact me 🙂
This year will be the first time in something like 8 years that I will be in Britain without a car, so to friends who don’t live near Cheltenham, Evesham, Clydach or Falmouth, apologies. Big thank you to Miriam for coming down to meet up, I really appreciate you making the effort. And yes, this is also a not too subtle hint, Emma and Ramon, you have a car, I don’t now, so get your arse in gear 😉 😛
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Sep 17 2007
Amsterdam Disclaimer…
Come Friday afternoon, I will be in Amsterdam, with Alex and ChrisD. Anyone reading this blog over the last couple of months will already be aware of this fact, however I have been checking the terms and conditions of the various sponsored posts schemes I use, and I need to make something clear…
I will be posting trip reports on this blog, reviewing both the places we visit (coffeeshops, hopefully the Escher museum, and a proper canal boat trip) as well as the quality of the smokables. In order to not get my blog banned, I need to make one thing clear – DO NOT break the law where ever you are. When I refer to smoking something nice, I am in no way suggesting that you should smoke anything illegal in your own country. To do so would be to risk being banned, and if anyone should break the rules and regulations in their country, I would not wish this blog to have been a catalyst in any shape or form.
I will try and remember to link back to this post each time I mention something from Amsterdam that would be illegal elsewhere, but do feel free to remind me in the comments section of the relevant post if I forget.
Illegal drugs are bad.
They are just not criminalised in all nations…
Thankfully I do not need to post a separate disclaimer for caffeine, alcohol or nicotine, as these are not illegal, at least in the countries that the sponsored posts schemes are based.
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Sep 14 2007
7 Days To Go
In 167 hours I should be landing at Schipol 🙂 🙂
Around 4 hours later Alex and ChrisD will be getting there, and a short while later, we’ll all have met up, if I don’t manage to get lost or too distracted by that time…
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Sep 13 2007
What I Will Miss…
Although I’m obviously hyped up over going back to Amsterdam and Britain next Friday, my mind can not help dwelling on just how much I am going to miss some things over here in Kazakhstan
Obviously my wife, Ira, comes first. I will be away for just under a month, which will be the longest we have been apart, at least since we got married, possibly since we met. (I can’t remember the longest she ever returned to Kazakhstan without me before).
Our friends and family in this country. Although my communication with Ira’s family is still at a pretty basic level, I feel as though they have got to know me a little better at least. Not spending Saturday evenings with Walton and Asel will be strange, though I hope to make up for lost time (and steak, chips and vodka 😉 ) when I return.
Our kittens. As I work from home, Karra and Muska have someone in the flat with them nearly all day everyday, apart from Sunday’s when we visit the in laws. I recently mentioned just how much I’ve changed when it comes to cats – before moving to Kazakhstan, cats were something to look at from a distance – past a certain comfort zone, I always felt like they were liable to claw me without warning. Since we have our own cats, I have learned how to read them a little better, and when they mis-behave, I feel comfortable telling them off – not something I felt able to do with other people’s cats.
Taxis – or rather the fact that almost any ‘normal’ (read not rich) driver would consider stopping to pick up a pedestrian to earn a little extra cash. In Britain, walking everywhere is a lot cheaper than the taxis there, and other than long distance hitch hiking, your options are limited.
Irina – I know I’ve mentioned her already, but I’m not sure what life will be like without her being next to me…
Sep 13 2007
GPS With Speedcamera POI
Now that I have my GPS systems sorted for Amsterdam (we will have TomTom Navigator on the PDA, GPS Tuner also on the PDA, and TomTom Mobile and a couple of basic GPS apps on the Smartphone), one positive side effect will be having a navigation system ready to use in Britain, should I end up hiring a car for any of the long journeys. (If it costs the same to hire one as a coach or train ticket, I may well do this, as I have not driven in 9 months, and sort of miss driving, especially in a country where people have at least a semblance of lane discipline 😉 ). What with the speed camera database installed on the PDA, the only other item I could do with is a radar detector to ensure I am aware of any mobile speed detection units on the road I am travelling on at the time. Obviously this would be for interest only, as I never go above 70mph on Britain’s motorways.
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Sep 12 2007
Amsterdam Ingenuity
This is a slightly delicate topic, so I will try to ensure I approach it with some decorum…
Men have an advantage over women when it comes to that time when nature calls… out in the open countryside, give us a bush tree, or simply no one else within sight, and we can all find relief with the minimum of planning or hassle.
However, some men seem to have a problem with… accuracy when it comes to civilised bathrooms (WCs, loos, toilets, feel free to insert your nation’s favoured term here). For whatever reason, their attention can momentarily slip, and a wet floor can follow.
However, some clever designer has come up with a solution…
Yep, paint a fake fly in a urinal, and many men will see it as a challenge – something to truly aim for. According to this report (the site basically debunks myths, or confirms strange stories, depending on the outcome of their research), Schiphol Airport have had to spend less money on cleaning the bathroom floor now that men have something to keep their minds occupied on the job in hand… if you’ll forgive the pun.
Sep 07 2007
Two Weeks Today!
Yep, 14 and a half days, and I’ll be waiting to board the plane from Kaliningrad to Amsterdam. I have checked with the hotel about their luggage storage facilities, and all is OK there. (I can not check into the apartment they own until 5pm, and Alex & ChrisD arrive 4 hours after me anyway.) I have tried updating a couple of GPS related PDA programs, with varying success. As I do not want to risk losing the use of the older versions, I will leave trying to fix the problems (related to .NET Framework issues) until I am back in Kazakhstan, in five and a bit weeks. I am sort of itching to sort the problem now, but I know from experience that if something works, it is best to leave until the need is not there before attempting un-necessary upgrades. Anyway, I need to double check on a few forums that I have made fair and accurate summaries of what, where and how much to spend in Amsterdam, and then make sure the data is replicated across the PDA, Smartphone and real world paper and ink 🙂 No flat battery is going to throw this break into a mess for me 🙂 I discovered that there was no point in checking for Java based GPS applets to install on my Sony Ericsson K700 (my backup phone that will have my UK SIM card in it) does not allow access to bluetooth services through JARs, unfortunately. Given that Alex is bringing her (newer) Smartphone as well, and the installation files I need are on my mini-SD mem card, I guess I’ll just have to survive somehow 😉
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