Events

 Lunch yesterday, at the Iron Duke in Hampshire: The place is so named because it's on the Duke of Wellington's estate. The current Duke lives just a few kilometers away in a somewhat modest house (at least according to Queen Victoria) whose driveway is 5 km long. Walking to and from lunch looked like this: I ended the day at the Southampton Arms as I typically do at least once when visiting the UK. Shortly after arriving and opening a packet of crisps, Marty here came over to investigate: His attitude...

My lunch spot, the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich: Lincoln's Inn Fields, by the Sir John Soane Museum: Lincoln's Inn Fields gazebo: Today: Hampshire and Gospel Oak.

Just a quick observation: since I last visited London two years ago, almost every business I've encountered has gone cashless. Coffee shops, pubs, the Transport Museum, all cards-only. In 2019, most of the smaller places preferred cash. No real consequences, other than not needing to withdraw Sterling so far this trip. When I get home and sync up Quicken, I expect I'll have a little work, but again, not a biggie.

Just in time for my visit this week, a new report declares the River Thames no longer dead: In 1858, sewage clogging London's Thames River caused a "Great Stink." A century later, parts of the famed waterway were declared biologically dead. But the latest report on "The State of the Thames" is sounding a surprisingly optimistic note. The river today is "home to myriad wildlife as diverse as London itself," Andrew Terry, the director of conservation and policy at the Zoological Society of London, writes...

Oh, hello. I think we've met: That's why I try to sit on the right side of the plane coming into London. This morning, it worked out well. After getting to my hotel I crashed for more than two hours, so by the time I got outside again it had gotten gloomy and a bit chilly. Perfect London weather! And really interesting light on St Mary Le Strand: And just off to the right of the church, Somerset House has built a skating rink for the winter: I'll re-edit the photos when I get home. Phones aren't the...

American Airlines bought Trans World Airlines in April 2001, consummating the deal on December 1st of that year. Twenty years later, the TWA livery appears at O'Hare: (I actually love this stuff. Moar retro livery!)

I'm leaving the country today, for the first time in almost exactly two years, and I couldn't be happier. I miss my Ancestral Homeland. And the list of Covid-related travel requirements, while annoying, make sense to me. In fact, because I return Sunday, I timed my (£39 FFS!) UK 2-day test to double as my US 3-day test. Before I take off, and consign poor Cassie to 103 hours of desperate loneliness (albeit with her entire daycare pack), I want to comment on two news stories. First, the Chicago...

My 8am meeting with colleagues in London had to wait until 9:30 because Comcast screwed the pooch this morning: Reports indicate the system was down, or at least unsteady, in areas stretching from Chicago to Philadelphia, New Jersey, and South Carolina. Looking at DownDetector, issues had been reported earlier in the Bay Area, but it’s unclear if those are connected to the problems people saw this morning. Comcast has released a statement regarding the outage. According to a spokesperson, “Earlier, some...

In the "how old do I feel now" department for this week, fifty years ago today, Led Zeppelin released their fourth album: Led Zeppelin‘s fourth album is variously known as Led Zeppelin IV, Untitled, Four Symbols and Zoso, but its true title is formed by the four unpronounceable symbols chosen by each band member. Page did that to retaliate against writers, including several in Rolling Stone, who’d snubbed the band’s music: “After all we had accomplished, the press was still calling us a hype. So that is...

Welcome to stop #61 on the Brews and Choos project. Distillery: Chicago Distilling Co., 2359 N. Milwaukee Ave., ChicagoTrain line: CTA Blue Line, California Time from Chicago: 14 minutesDistance from station: 300 m It's dangerous to have such a great distillery two doors down from a great brewpub. It's also convenient, when you're out with friends and want to have a cocktail after having a pile of pub food. Chicago Distilling makes really good spirits, full stop. And they've recently launched a line of...