It was a lovely evening here in Kent tonight. Clear blue skies and little wind.
IGN
Talk about worldwide conspiracy theories! This one’s real!
A group of us arrived in Rome and needed somewhere to dance a bit, because one of our party hadn’t been out for four years. We were completely unaware of what sort of establishments were available (it was midnight). Fortunately Mr G knew someone who knew someone etc.
With a phone call to someone in Bologna, that person then recommended Muccassassina and phoned the club to get us onto the guest list. We took a taxi to Rome’s (more likely Europe’s) premier LGBT spot. When we arrived it took three further circular phone calls to Bologna and discussions with the management to get us into the club for free, but we did it, thanks to the IGN. Really impressed.
I was even more impressed with the helicopter sitting in the beer garden. Most excellent.
What’s Going On?
I had a complaint or rather more of a suggestion.
Could I somehow differentiate my standard communications from my album reviews?
So, standard communications are now tagged and categorised under the code word:
Penguin
If you want to avoid my album reviews the search Penguin or look for that category.
Thanks Marc.
Old Dog, New Tricks
Reviewing my iPhone music has certainly shown up some weaknesses with my brain. I was aware of the limitations of my memory but this has brought it into sharp perspective.
All the songs and albums I have been listening to for many years have been absorbed completely by my brain. I know what the songs are called, the good bits, the lyrics, the bad bits, the drumming, everything.
All the music I have listened to more recently, even though I have listened to it a lot just hasn’t really sunk in. I know the songs when I hear them but they aren’t “recorded” in my brain.
One of the reasons could be that my memory forming neurons worked better when I was “growing up”.
It could be that I’ve just been listening to the stuff for so long that it just had to sink in to my grey cells.
Another could be that I tend to listen to songs now when I am driving or running and I can’t see my iPhone to see the album cover, song title or lyrics.
Whatever the reason I don’t seem to remember new songs and lyrics although when I listen to them I remember [There’s a PhD in there somewhere].
Bridge Construction
When I was in America I did some running. On my last day in the USA I ran past some bridges. While running up to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge I noticed a curious linkage design in the side of the bridge.
In the UK the majority of bridges are built on rollers so that when they expand in the summer, warmer months they don’t crack and break apart. These rollers can be observed from under the bridge and the expansion joints can be seen on top of the bridge.
This particular bridge in Washington DC is hanging from the cantilever end parts of the bridge to allow expansion in the structure. A close up below:
A close up with my annotations:
This is quite a clever solution to bridge expansion. I also think it is quite clear that I would make an excellent dinner guest, not boring at all! One of the things I love about civil engineering is that it is Meccano but just bigger. Big bolts, big nuts and big cables!
Cold Morning
It was a touch cold the other morning. I know it gets colder elsewhere in the world but I live in the south-east of the UK where it’s not often this cold. The worst I knew was -10 Celsius, both the dog and I felt a bit cold that morning!
Car in the cold (spot the engine insulation lines):
I Think It’s A Porsche
Although I understand the connection between sponsorship and sport, especially in the USA, I was somewhat surprised to see a Porsche on the tennis court at the ATP Delray Beach Competition. If you look carefully you can see two people sitting in the car. I guess they are either the dealership owners or winners of a competition. I guess they’d be ok if they have the air conditioning on!
I thought I’d seen it all!
Crocus
Saw this earlier today in the sunshine and it warmed me through. So nice to see spring flowers and sunshine. It’s been rather grey for the last few months.
A garden in Kent:
Wow, A Castle!
This morning I might have been having a cheeky couple of laps on Gran Turismo 5. I was possibly attempting to win one of the seasonal events (which for some reason I find quite tricky).
While racing around the GT Original track I noticed a castle in the background. I was so fascinated by this that for a few laps I couldn’t really concentrate on the track. The castle is a rather good looking building and really adds to the atmosphere. Sometimes I wonder whether game designers have bets about the most ludicrous things they can add!
Screen #1:
Screen #2
These two screen grabs were taken using the LG remote app on my iPhone that has a capture function!
The Country
Here’s some photographs I took while walking the dog yesterday morning. I think next time I want some really good shots that capture the look and feel of what I see I’ll have to take my D-SLR.
Problem is that by the time I have set the D-SLR up properly the moment will be lost!
WW2 Barrack Ruins
Sunrise
The Path
More Sunrise
Even More Sunrise
