Mum and John have just got their new puppy home. Gwen is apparently a real delight – she got John up at 4.30am as she decided it was time to play!! She’s one chilled puppy, who seems to have forgotten she is supposed to be traumatised by the separation from her mother.
I can’t wait to see her this Christmas, when Ira and I will hopefully be back in the UK. (Obviously our family and friends will also be a welcome sight, but Gwen sounds so adorable…)
As soon as I get some photos of the puppy, I’ll post them up here for everyone to see.
Jun 12 2007
Gwen arrives in her new home
Jun 09 2007
Driving Test To Be Expanded?
I remember when I took my driving test that the theory section had just been bought in, so as well as the traditional practical aspect of how I drove in the real world, you needed to display you understood what various signs meant, as well as how you should react in various hypothetical situations.
By the time it was Ira’s turn to take her test, the authorities had added both a computer based reaction-time section, as well as a point and explain section. Something along the lines of ‘this is the dip stick’,’this is where I top up the water’. These seem to make sense, and should result in less headaches for motorists in the future.
However, there is now speculation that psychometric testing may well be added in the future. Another way to identify people who should not be let on the roads just yet. So far, so good… however, one of the experts involved has been quoted as giving these as example questions to ask those taking the test…
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At what speed would you anticipate driving down this road?
Have you ever left the traffic lights while they have been on red?
I’m sorry, but just how stupid would you have to be to actually answer those questions with anything other than a ‘No, I’d never break the speed limit/law’ etc.?
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Jun 09 2007
Tornado near the Caspian Sea 7th June 2007
Irina sent me a few photos on Friday, of a tornado on the Caspian Sea, not sure where exactly.
I would happily give credit to the photographer, but we don’t know who took them. We are assuming it was a worker for some sort of oil-related company based over there.
The tornado is quite visually impressive, click the images below to see a larger version. If anyone is particularly interested in them, I have higer-res versions for the 2nd and 3rd shots – the online versions have been resized and compressed to save my server’s bandwidth.
In this picture, you can see a second tornado, so perhaps cyclic tornadogenesis has taken place – yes OK, I went and Wiki’ed tornadoes, as I didn’t want to appear too ignorant 🙂
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Jun 02 2007
UK Smokers Face More Fines
Already restricted with where they are allowed to smoke, local councils are now being urged to clamp down on those smokers who throw their butts on the floor.
I can see arguments for both sides on this… Ideally, you shouldn’t ever need to throw your finished cigarette on the ground. However, if the council does not provide enough bins in the problem areas, they surely can not be surprised when people dump them on the ground without thinking twice.
One major issue is that as people will be no longer allowed to smoke inside many public places, as of next month, they will go outside to smoke. No bin=more rubbish on the floor.
I can see why councils do not want the streets overflowing with rubbish, but as far as I know, they are at least bio-degradable – the cotton filter, paper wrap and actual tobacco should break down. Compare that to plastic containers, shopping bags and glass bottles, and I do wonder if smokers really need to be concentrated on.
However, seeing piles of tarry butt ends is never a pleasant sight.
Oh and one obtuse group to blame for this issue? Terrorists… going back to the 80s, when the IRA bomb threat was an issue, councils removed many public bins, as a security measure! I still remember seeing those bins that were left with their openings taped up, and sewer manhole covers temporarily cemented into place, to prevent packages being stored and blown up.
Jun 01 2007
Alan Johnston Video Released
Just watching BBC World, and a video of the kidnapped journalist, Alan Johnston, has been released to the media.
He stated that he had been well fed, and not physically mis-treated.
He spoke of the actions of UK & USA government around the world, and how they were causing suffering.
There was indication where or, just as importantly, when the video was made.
The video was followed by a statement from his alleged kidnappers, detailing their demands. I’m not sure if they treated the audio track, used a woman or just had a high pitched person read their statement, but it sounded quite odd.
Whatever your view on America and Britain’s role in Afghanistan, Iraq & the backing of the Israeli state, Alan himself was never afraid to report the truth, and point out the injustices in the occupied Palestinian lands.
The mere fact that proof of his survival of the kidnapping itself is a good sign, but with no sign of when it was made, it is difficult to get your hopes up too high, just yet.
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Jun 01 2007
Avoiding Bad Puns
Wednesday night, Ira and I met up with a journalist (socially) who is based in London. She found this blog from the posts on our kittens and the fact it mentions Kazakhstan, and as she was over here again for a story (I’ll post more when I know she has had it published) decided to meet up.
We went to the Chelsea pub (yep, that bastion of traditional Kazak cuisine, lmao), and had a nice evening eating, drinking and talking a fair amount. The temptation of seeing Karra and Muska proved irresistible, so we all came back to the flat afterwards. It was really interesting to meet her, and I hope should she come out here again, we’ll meet once more. Oh, and her husband is cordially invited too, so lets just hope she succeeds in her mission to persuade him to visit Kazakhstan.
Oh and the post title? Her name is Elizabeth Mistry, so I had to fight the urge to create a corny title…
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Jun 01 2007
Childrens Conference In The Park
As I recently mentioned here, there is some sort of meeting going on across the road. I spoke to Ira, and she believes it may be related to a children’s conference going on today.
If you look on the left, you can see a poster featuring our beloved President. The area the crowd is in, is one of the entrances to Astana Park, which has a lot of cafes in open in the summer, fairground rides, and eventually leads down to the River Ishim.
I’ll come back and update with more information, as I receive it.
Jun 01 2007
Some Sort Of Concert
Over the last couple of days, at the entrance to the park across the road from us, they have been building a stage.
We are not sure exactly what the occasion is, but Irina thinks it may be ‘Childrens Day’ tomorrow, so perhaps there is some sort of connection?
The slightly worrying aspect was when they were rehearsing on Wednesday; a few minutes after they left the (all metal) stage, we had a huge thunderstorm with lightning striking with in 1/2 mile. I just hope that should the weather repeat whilst they are performing, that the singers will be taken off the stage quickly.
If I’m around when they start the show, I’ll try and grab some photos from a close location.
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May 31 2007
Amsterdam – Two Different Approaches
I have been to Amsterdam a few times, and twice my trip involved staying at least overnight.
The first time I went, it was in 2001. I was on my way to Kazakhstan, flying on my own and just about to get married, all for the first time ever (well, obviously on the marriage front 🙂 ). Trying to save money, I decided to find a cheap hotel room when I got out there, however I first went and sampled the local delights (you know museums, tulips, windmills cough,cough). A little tired, for some reason, I started looking for a place to stay. This turned out to be a mistake – most of the cheap hotels were fully booked up, the hostels I could find all had serious security issues, and the amount of ‘fixers’ wandering around, offering to find you a niiiiiiiice room, moooooost cheap did not really inspire confidence in not getting ripped off.
People who have known me since before I got married know of my little problems during this stay – I ended up sleeping in the airport, having quite a lot to drink, and eventually missing a few planes over a few days. I still wonder how my wife (well, fiancée at the time) managed to not knock me out cold when I did finally make it to Kazakhstan, and even was happy to still marry me a few weeks later!
Anyway, in 2004, Ira booked a surprise long weekend in Amsterdam for the two of us, for my birthday. I don’t know which site she used to search for hotels, but we ended up in a really quite nice area, with all the local amenities close to hand. The contrast in my time out there was quite stark – when you have a nice bed to sleep in at night (and a loving wife to make sure you don’t get too… drunk) you can really appreciate and take in some of the local interesting attractions, though despite what that page states, you do NOT want to have a camera on your person in some areas – the local security guys will quickly and firmly inform you of your error – we saw this happen to clueless tourists a couple of times when we were in a cafe enjoying a lunch time meal.
So, my summary of Amsterdam? Plan in advance, make sure you get the best prices available, and if you are likely to feel tired during your stay, have a loving partner to ensure you don’t lose your way home 🙂
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