(sorry, couldn't resist)
I think I just about remember how to do this posting thing - it seems to have been a very long time since the last one...
Anyway, the main reason I'm posting is some news about another blogger, not me. He's had to change his blog URL to prevent some real-life people keeping an eye on him. The old URL implied facing up to the uncertain; the new one is realismandreality.blogspot.com. He's restored all the old content at the new site; if you were following the old blog, you may need to unsubscribe from that, and subscribe to the new one. He also asked me to include this video (and one or two other references) - I'll be interested to see whether this works...
Meanwhile, for me, life goes on fairly uneventfully. I decided to stop drinking filter coffee, after noticing that I could easily get through five or six mugs a day from the machine at work and deciding that this wasn't good for me. I've now been on decaff for at least six weeks - I've spent a lot of that being more sleepy than before (surprise!), but I think I've reached some sort of stability now.
Finally, best wishes of the season to you - whether you celebrate Solstice, Christmas, some other festival, or no festival at all. May 2012 be a better year for you than 2011.
Take care
Mark
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Away again
Hi there, all
It's that rare thing, a Wandering Pom blog post - and, as usual, it's to warn you that I will be away for a while. In fact, it probably feels as if I've already been away: I'm aware that I've been commenting and otherwise in touch with many "regulars" rather less often than is usual, and than I would like. It's been a combination of a fair amount of real-world stuff to deal with (including my usual detailed holiday planning) and feeling somewhat tired and unmotivated. So a break is probably a good idea anyway.
I'll be away from tomorrow (Saturday 23 July) for ten days, mostly in Austria. The plan goes like this (with apologies to German-speaking readers; I've chosen English-language placenames for the convenience of the majority of readers):
- Sat 23: fly to Germany; overnight in Munich
- Sun 24: head east; overnight in Linz (Austria)
- Mon 25: circular day-trip through the Alps south of Linz and Salzburg
- Tue 26: head east again, very roughly following the Danube
- Wed 27: day out on narrow-gauge tourist railways around Gmund (near the Czech border)
- Thu 28: ride on a "draisine" (roughly, a bicycle on rail wheels) on a disused rail line; overnight in Vienna
- Fri 29: day out to the edge of the Alps, southwest of Vienna
- Sat 30: eastwards once more, probably via Lake Balaton; overnight in Budapest
- Sun 31: probably circular day-trip, to be decided
- Mon 1 Aug: westwards (!) over land to Bratislava, then fly back from there
As usual for me, most of this travelling will be by rail, and I expect to explore some more unfamiliar corners of central Europe's rail network. meanwhile, I need to finish my packing, so I'll bid you "Auf wiedersehen"!
Take care
Mark
It's that rare thing, a Wandering Pom blog post - and, as usual, it's to warn you that I will be away for a while. In fact, it probably feels as if I've already been away: I'm aware that I've been commenting and otherwise in touch with many "regulars" rather less often than is usual, and than I would like. It's been a combination of a fair amount of real-world stuff to deal with (including my usual detailed holiday planning) and feeling somewhat tired and unmotivated. So a break is probably a good idea anyway.
I'll be away from tomorrow (Saturday 23 July) for ten days, mostly in Austria. The plan goes like this (with apologies to German-speaking readers; I've chosen English-language placenames for the convenience of the majority of readers):
- Sat 23: fly to Germany; overnight in Munich
- Sun 24: head east; overnight in Linz (Austria)
- Mon 25: circular day-trip through the Alps south of Linz and Salzburg
- Tue 26: head east again, very roughly following the Danube
- Wed 27: day out on narrow-gauge tourist railways around Gmund (near the Czech border)
- Thu 28: ride on a "draisine" (roughly, a bicycle on rail wheels) on a disused rail line; overnight in Vienna
- Fri 29: day out to the edge of the Alps, southwest of Vienna
- Sat 30: eastwards once more, probably via Lake Balaton; overnight in Budapest
- Sun 31: probably circular day-trip, to be decided
- Mon 1 Aug: westwards (!) over land to Bratislava, then fly back from there
As usual for me, most of this travelling will be by rail, and I expect to explore some more unfamiliar corners of central Europe's rail network. meanwhile, I need to finish my packing, so I'll bid you "Auf wiedersehen"!
Take care
Mark
Saturday, 23 April 2011
A-wandering again
Hi there, all
I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but I'm afraid there are no earth-shattering revelations from the last three months or so. Instead, this is a fairly quick post to say that I'm away travelling again, and won't be back home until late on Sunday 1st May. Please don't be surprised if there's little or no communication from me until then.
I say "am away": I'm currently sitting in a hotel reception in Germany typing this. With the wonders of modern technology, I'm now finding free internet computers and WiFi in a lot of places. I'm spending ten days touring Germany by train, and will probably do day trips across the borders into neighbouring countries, just for fun.
Anyway, it's half past midnight here, and my body is telling me it's time for sleep. I should probably stop doing battle with this German keyboard (imaginatively different from English-language ones) and go to bed.
Take care
Mark
I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but I'm afraid there are no earth-shattering revelations from the last three months or so. Instead, this is a fairly quick post to say that I'm away travelling again, and won't be back home until late on Sunday 1st May. Please don't be surprised if there's little or no communication from me until then.
I say "am away": I'm currently sitting in a hotel reception in Germany typing this. With the wonders of modern technology, I'm now finding free internet computers and WiFi in a lot of places. I'm spending ten days touring Germany by train, and will probably do day trips across the borders into neighbouring countries, just for fun.
Anyway, it's half past midnight here, and my body is telling me it's time for sleep. I should probably stop doing battle with this German keyboard (imaginatively different from English-language ones) and go to bed.
Take care
Mark
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Some Blogger weirdness
Hi there, all
I've just spent a rather stressed hour or so trying to recover my blog after Blogger seemed to have deleted it and blocked my account. It turned out (if I've understood it correctly) that Blogger had detected some unusual activity on my account and blocked everything as a precaution (!). I've now managed to persuade their automatic systems to restore my account (not least by using Safari as my browser rather than Internet Explorer) and most things seem to have come back as before. One notable difference: though all the blogs I'm following are still present in my Blogger Dashboard, I seem to have dropped off the follower lists when I view the blogs themselves, and the Follow button won't currently allow me to put myself back in those lists.
Just in case anything more permanent happens, I now have a current backup of the blog (I should know better than to leave it for two months since the last one!).
If you notice any other strange behaviour, please let me know, via comments here, or (possibly more reliable) e-mail to the address on my profile.
"... and now we return you to the scheduled programme" (I hope!)
Take care
Mark
I've just spent a rather stressed hour or so trying to recover my blog after Blogger seemed to have deleted it and blocked my account. It turned out (if I've understood it correctly) that Blogger had detected some unusual activity on my account and blocked everything as a precaution (!). I've now managed to persuade their automatic systems to restore my account (not least by using Safari as my browser rather than Internet Explorer) and most things seem to have come back as before. One notable difference: though all the blogs I'm following are still present in my Blogger Dashboard, I seem to have dropped off the follower lists when I view the blogs themselves, and the Follow button won't currently allow me to put myself back in those lists.
Just in case anything more permanent happens, I now have a current backup of the blog (I should know better than to leave it for two months since the last one!).
If you notice any other strange behaviour, please let me know, via comments here, or (possibly more reliable) e-mail to the address on my profile.
"... and now we return you to the scheduled programme" (I hope!)
Take care
Mark
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Hi there, gentle readers
I'd like to wish everyone out there a happy and prosperous 2011. I'm aware that for some followers, 2010 is a year they'll want to remember for a long time, while others may well want to forget it, or at least parts of it. In any case, I hope 2011 is better, if possible.
Now with added avatar
As you may have noticed, I have (at last!) found a distinctive image for my avatar; it seems to be showing up on new comments, but not old ones or existing entries in blog follower lists. The picture of an apple is one I've been thinking of for a long time; it appeals to me in various ways, including a couple of visual puns, and some other allusions.
As it's 4.30 AM here, I'll keep this short. I hope to post again in the next couple of days, not least to introduce new followers.
Take care
Mark
I'd like to wish everyone out there a happy and prosperous 2011. I'm aware that for some followers, 2010 is a year they'll want to remember for a long time, while others may well want to forget it, or at least parts of it. In any case, I hope 2011 is better, if possible.
Now with added avatar
As you may have noticed, I have (at last!) found a distinctive image for my avatar; it seems to be showing up on new comments, but not old ones or existing entries in blog follower lists. The picture of an apple is one I've been thinking of for a long time; it appeals to me in various ways, including a couple of visual puns, and some other allusions.
As it's 4.30 AM here, I'll keep this short. I hope to post again in the next couple of days, not least to introduce new followers.
Take care
Mark
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