Some days, I feel like listening to country music at Atlanta Blue Sky . Although by personal experience I can confirm one will find country music only makes REAL sense when driving through long distances on the US. There it fits, it is appropriate and provides your personal soundtrack to the trip. And when the journey is far away in the past, listening to the soundrtrack helps you in a little time of evasion and escape in front of the computer.


Hay dias en que me apetece escuchar musica country en Atlanta Blue Sky . Aunque por experiencia personal, puedo afirmar que solo se le encuentra el verdadero sentido a la musica country cuando viajas en coche a grandes distancias en Estados Unidos. Entonces el country encaja en la situacion y parece tu banda sonora personal del viaje. A veces, cuando el viaje ya queda muy lejos, escuchar la banda sonora ayuda a evadirte en una pequenia escapada delante del ordenador.



The weather today:
Partly Cloudy
21C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From the West at 13 mph
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity: 49%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,010.8 mb

A day to remember and celebrate. Today at 4.00pm the IRA ended its armed campaign. Here it is the complete text of the IRA statement


Un dia para celebrar y no olvidar. Hoy a las 4 de la tarde, el IRA ha depuesto las armas. Aqui esta el texto completo (en ingles) de la declaracion del IRA .



The weather today:
Partly Cloudy and Windy
22C
UV Index: 6 High
Wind: From the South Southwest at 26 mph
Dew Point: 17C
Humidity: 74%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,005.8 mb

There wont' be a referendum to change the New Zealand flag. The NZFlag.com Trust , who was running the campaign did not get the 270.000 signatures they needed to go ahead. Telecom , who was supposed to help them to mail the petition to NZ homes, has withdrawn its support. How nice, Telecom, very nice of you!! There we are again. Again. I have written to Telecom telling them exactly what I think. You can do that by typing your letter: here
The official communication was the following:

"27 July 2005

Dear NZ Flag Supporter

We are writing to tell you that this week the NZFlag.com Trust will issue a press release saying that it will be withdrawing its petition for a Citizens Initiated Referendum on changing the New Zealand flag.

Currently we have around 100,000 signatures and we have until October to collect a further 170,000. However, it is clear to us now that we won't be able to reach that goal within the constraints of the Citizens Initiated Referendum Act and with the resources available to us.

While we have clearly been successful in lifting the level of debate on this issue, throughout the campaign we have failed to ignite people's support to a level where they have been prepared to work on behalf of the campaign. Our biggest failing has been not motivating enough people to a level where they would help us collect signatures - in short, we have never developed a proper distribution/collection system simply because we have never marshalled the manpower.

We had thought we had addressed this when Telecom had made an offer to mail the petition to all 1.4m households in New Zealand in August. New Zealand Post agreed to provide freepost so people could return the petition forms at no cost to themselves, also supported by New Zealand Post and Telecom outlets. This would have provided us with the distribution network we so clearly needed for the campaign to be a success. A less than 10% response rate, which we felt was achievable, would have seen us reach our goal.
Unfortunately, in an unexpected move, Telecom withdrew their support for the mail out last week, which means we no longer have access to that distribution network and do not believe we have a viable alternative.

We can celebrate some successes. The issue of whether New Zealand should have a new flag is now in front of the public and we know from polling around New Zealand that generally there is more than 50% support for change. The difficulty with a Citizens Initiated Referendum is translating that support into signatures. Given the continuing trend in favour of change it is probable that, in time, the flag will be changed.

While the time may not be right for change now, we said at the beginning of the campaign that if the outcome resulted in no change, but resulted in New Zealanders debating the country's national identity, then that in itself was an achievement.

Thank you for your support of the campaign and for helping to raise the flag for the people of New Zealand.

Yours sincerely
The NZFlag.com Trust

No habra referendum para cambiar la bandera de Nueva Zelanda. Venga, que la sigan confundiendo con la de Australia, como siempre, justo lo que queriamos evitar. La organizacion que recogia las firmas necesarias para la peticion, la NZFlag.com Trust me comunica que no han recibido 270.000 firmas, lo minimo necesario para que la peticion se considere legal en NZ. Telecom , la empresa de telecomunicaciones que les habia ofrecido su apoyo para enviar la peticion por correo, de golpe y porrazo les ha dicho que se retira y que no les ayuda. Muy bonito, seniores de Telecom, pero que muy bonito. Asi que se acabo. Pues he escrito a Telecom, diciendoles exactamente lo que pienso! A quien se anime, podeis escribirles: aqui .
Esta es la traduccion del comunicado que he recibido esta maniana :

"27 Julio 2005

Estimado/a partidario/a de la campania bandera de NZ:

Lamentamos comunicarte que esta semana la organizacion NZFlag.com Trust emitira un comunicado de prensa informando que retiramos nuestra peticion a Referendum Iniciado por los Ciudadanos para cambiar la bandera de Nueva Zelanda.

En este momento contamos con 100.000 firmas y aun tenemos hasta Octubre para recoger 170.000 mas. Sin embargo, consideramos que no conseguiremos el numero deseado de firmas para acogernos a las normas de Referendum Iniciado por los Ciudadanos con los medios con los que contamos actualmente.

Aunque hemos tenido exito en elevar el nivel del debate sobre este tema, nos ha sido imposible convencer a la poblacion hasta un nivel en que desearan colaborar en la campania. Nuestro fallo ha sido nuestra incapacidad de motivar a la poblacion para que salieran a recoger firmas - en resumen, no hemos sido capaces de desarrollar un sistema adecuado de distribucion/recogida de firmas al no tener suficientes colaboradores.

Estabamos convencidos que este problema se habia solucionado cuando Telecom nos propuso enviar la peticion a los 1.4 millones de hogares en Nueva Zelanda en Agosto. Correos de Nueva Zelanda acepto darnos categoria freepost para que los ciudadanos no pagaran ningun gasto de envio al devolvernos la peticion firmada y tambien contabamos con la colaboracion de las tiendas Telecom. De esta manera, contabamos con la red de distribucion necesaria para asegurar el exito de la campania. Con tan solo recibir un 10% de respuestas, lo que nos parecia relativamente facil, nos hubieramos colocado cerca de nuestro objetivo. Lamentablemente y de manera totalmente inesperada, Telecom cancelo su apoyo la semana pasada. Ahora nos encontramos sin acceso a la red de distribucion y no encontramos ninguna alternativa viable.

Hemos tenido cierto exito. El debate sobre si NZ debia considerar una nueva bandera esta ahora en manos del publico y, por encuestas que se han realizado, sabemos que, en general, contamos con mas del 50% de la poblacion que aprueba el cambio. El problema principal al tratar de iniciar un Referendum Iniciado por los Ciudadanos es el numero necesario de firmas y como conseguirlas. Sabiendo que la mayoria de la poblacion desea un cambio, es muy probable que, en un futuro, se cambie la bandera por otros medios.

Aunque no hayamos llegado al momento adecuado para el cambio, ya dijimos al principo de la campania que si el resultado acababa siendo negativo, lo considerariamos un exito si, al mismo tiempo, habiamos logrado que los Neocelandeses debatieran la cuestion de su identidad nacional.

Gracias por tu apoyo a la campania y por ayudarnos a ondear la bandera de los ciudadanos de Nueva Zelanda.

Muy cordialmente,
The NZFlag.com Trust


The weather today:
Mist
18C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the East at 6 mph
Dew Point: 17C
Humidity: 95%
Visibility:2 miles
Barometer: 1,006.4 m

What a great idea! The Times is giving one audiobook for free every week. This week's book is Lemony Snicket's fantasy novel : A Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) narrated by Tim Curry. Follow The Times instructions or get it directly from here : Audible .

Idea genial! The Times regala un audio-libro gratis cada semana durante un mes. El libro de esta semana es la novela fantastica de Lemony Snicket : A Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) narrada por Tim Curry. Para los que quieran una manera entretenida de praticar ingles y gratis. Seguid las instrucciones en la pagina del The Times o directamente en : Audible


The weather today:
Cloudy
16C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the East at 7 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 74%
Visibility:Unlimited
Barometer: 1,010.2 mb

From now on, I'm looking upwards! At the end of the day, it doesn't cost anything to try... According to an article titled "Just look up to find happiness" published in The Sunday Times yesterday:
"In the study, researchers tested volunteers to find those with the strongest pessimistic and optimistic traits. Then the volunteers were asked to perform various cognitive tests while looking downwards and similar tasks while looking slightly upwards.The results showed that the pessimists performed best while looking downwards, the optimists best when they looked upwards.
It is possible that such postures can actually reinforce the moods that caused them, so people with pessimistic or depressive tendencies are perpetuating them through directing their gaze downwards".

A partir de ahora, yo miro hacia arriba! Total, no cuesta nada probar...
Segun un articulo titulado "Mira hacia arriba para ser feliz" publicado ayer en The Sunday Times :
"En el estudio, los investigadores realizaron tests para determinar rasgos positivos y negativos entre los voluntarios. Despues se pidio a los voluntarios que realizaran varios tests cognitivos mientras miraban hacia arriba, y tareas similares mientras miraban hacia abajo. Los resultados demostraron que los pesimistas alcanzaban mejores resultados mientras miraban hacia abajo y los optimistas mientras miraban hacia arriba.
Es posible que dichas posturas refuercen los estados de animo que las causaron de buen principio. Asi pues, los pesimistas o con tendencias depresivas estarian perpertuando sus estados de animo al mirar constantemente hacia abajo".


The weather today:
Cloudy
18C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the North Northwest at 14 mph
Dew Point:14C
Humidity: 80%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,002.4 mb

Today I found out about adopting cyberpets like the duck above. You can adopt a customized pet (llama, bunny, cat, hedgehog, etc.) for free for your blog/website from Bunnyhero Labs . Oh and if you don't have a blog/website, you can always add it to your browser by following the instructions. Try other code options if you cannot see your pet after pasting the code to your blog. For pasting here as a blogger post, I had to use the "livejournal, deadjournal or greatestjournal" option. Try clicking on Flap the Duck above. It will open in a new page where you will be able to make Flap move around with your mouse and by clicking the mouse, Flap will quack too!



Acabo de descubrir como adoptar cyber-mascotas como el pato de arriba. Podeis adoptar una mascota personalizada (llama, conejo, gato, erizo, etc.) gratis para vuestro blog/pagina web en Bunnyhero Labs . Y si no teneis blog/pagina web, siempre podeis aniadirlo a vuestro buscador, siguiendo las instruciones. Si no veis vuestra mascota despues de pegar el codigo, pobrad otras opciones de codigo. Por ejemplo, para colgar la mascota aqui como un post de Blogger, tuve que usar el codigo para "livejournal, deadjournal or greatestjournal". Haced un click en el pato Flap. Os llevara a otra pagina web donde podeis mover a Flap con vuestro mouse y, con un click, oirle...cuack, cuack!



The weather today:
Partly Cloudy
18C
UV Index:3 Moderate
Wind: From the North at 6 mph
Dew Point: 14°C
Humidity: 76%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer:1,016.6 m

Scotty (James Doohan) died yesterday. Who will "beam us up", now? Snif.

Murio Scotty (James Doohan). Quien nos teletransportara ahora? Snif.

The weather today:
Partly Cloudy
19C
UV Index: 3 Moderate
Wind: From the Northwest at 13 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 65%
Visibility:Unlimited
Barometer: 1,021.0 mb

I have just found out about Geocaching (pronounced 'geocashing')today. I quote from Wikipedia : "Geocaching is an outdoor sport that involves the use of a Global Positioning System ("GPS") receiver to find a "geocache" (or "cache") placed anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small, waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure". Geocaching is a unique take on an earlier game called Letterboxing in that it uses two recent technologies, the GPS and the Internet. Participants are called geocachers.
The sport of geocaching was made possible by the "turning off" of the Selective Availability of the Global Positioning System on May 1, 2000. The first documented placement of a cache with GPS assistance took place on May 3, 2000 by Dave Ulmer of Beaver Creek, Oregon. The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav. By May 6, 2000 it had been found twice and logged once.
Geocaching is growing rapidly in popularity all over the world. As of July 18, 2005 there were 183908 active caches in 215 countries posted on geocaching.com"

I would love to try Geocaching. And the geographer in the family would love it too. We dont' have a GPS receiver though. Whem is the next birthday then?....



Hoy he descubierto el Geocaching (se pronuncia 'geocashing'). Cito del periodico "Esta combinacion de juego tecnologico y deporte recuerda a la clasica gincama: un jugador esconde una caja con chucherias y baratijas y los otros jugadores han de descubrirla mediante pistas. En el geocaching se dan a traves de internet la longitud y latitud del punto donde se encuentra la caja (o cache), junto con una pequenia descripcion y una pista de donde puede estar oculta. El jugador que decida buscarlo necesitara un sistema GPS con el que localizar el punto a partir de las coordenadas.
Para registrar un cache hay que darse de alta en la pagina de Geocaching.com , donde hay cientos de propuestas. Lo siguiente es bautizarlo e introducir las coordenadas del lugar en el que se ha escondido y un pequeño texto con alguna pista para llegar a el. Al localizarlo, se debe coger y dejar en el un objeto y registrar el hallazgo en el cuaderno que esta dentro. Finalmente, el jugador ha de anunciar en la ficha del cache en la web que lo ha encontrado y aniadir cualquier comentario".

Me gustaria intentar a ver que tal es el Geocaching. Y al expert@ en geografia de casa tambien le gustaria. Pero no tenemos sistema GPS, que mal! Mmmm.....cuando cae el proximo cumpleanios?...


The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
21C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the West Northwest at 22 mph
Dew Point: 16C
Humidity:73%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 1,020.3 mb

This website is plastic fantastic! : Vintage Vegas Postcard Museum

Esta pagina web es fantastica! : Museo de Antiguas Postales de Las Vegas

I have an announcement to make! Yesterday.... come on, don't you guess?.... Yesterday.... come on, you should have an idea on what I'm about to say... Yesterday.... ha ha ha! Sorry, as I was saying... Yesterday... I bought the last Harry Potter!!! Don't say I didn't give you warning, I had been posting clues for a whole week. Ha, what a laugh.


Anuncio importantisimo! Ayer..... venga, no lo adivinais?.... Ayer.... vamos, tendrias que saber ya que de va..... Ayer.....ja ja ja! Perdon, como decia.... Ayer... compre el ultimo Harry Potter! No digais que no avise, ya habia dejado caer pistas por aqui y por alla desde hacia una semana. Ay que risa.


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
19C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind:From the West Southwest at 26 mph
Dew Point:13C
Humidity: 69%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer:1,016.9 mb

Today I've bought a paper shredder . No more setting fire to documents, receipts and invoices in the barbeque or tearing it in small pieces. Now I can go and buy the last Harry Potter book and shred it to bits. No, just joking. I may or I may not buy the last Potter. But if I were to buy it, I would read it and set it free using the Bookcrossing system. Last week I registered some books but didn't have time to release them in my city. Today I have received a private message from another Bookcrossing member asking me to let them have one of the available books by means of trading or paying for the postal cost. I have decided on the trading option. If the other member agrees, my book will travel to the US with the bookcrossing system. I like that. A travelling book.

Hoy he comprado una maquina destructora de documentos para el hogar. Se acabo el pegarle fuego a los documentos, tickets y facturas en la barbacoa o dedicarse a desmenuzarlo en pedacitos. Ahora ya puedo ir a comprar el ultimo libro de Harry Potter y hacerlo picadillo. No, es broma. Puede ser que compre el ultimo Potter o puede ser que no, pero si lo compro, lo leere y lo "liberare" usando el sistema Bookcrossing . La semana pasada registre unos libros en Bookcrossing pero aun no he tenido tiempo de 'liberarlos'. Otro miembro de Bookcrossing me envio un mensaje pidiendome uno de los libros, ya sea por intercambio o bien pagando los gastos de correo. He aceptado el intercambio. Si el otro miembro esta de acuerdo, mi libro viajara a los USA. No esta mal. Me gusta la idea. Libros viajeros.



The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
21C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From the West Southwest at 23 mph
Dew Point: 14C
Humidity: 64%
Visibility:9 miles
Barometer: 1,008.1 mb

Closed for a long weekend. My parents are coming to visit us. Tomorrow we'll take them to see our city and we'll drive to Stonehenge, as well as having a lunch in a countryside pub. On Saturday we'll go to London. On Sunday, we'll improvise on our way back to the airport.

Cerrado por fin de semana largo. Mis padres vienen a visitarnos. Maniana les llevaremos de visita por nuestra ciudad y luego iremos a Stonehenge. De camino, almorzaremos en un pub en el campo. El sabado vamos a Londres. El domingo, improvisaremos algo de camino al aeropuerto.

The weather today:
Haze
21C
UV Index: 3 Moderate
Wind: From the South at 3 mph
Dew Point: 18C
Humidity: 86%
Visibility: 4 miles
Barometer: 1,020.3 mb

I knew it. I said so several times but everybody laughed at my 'wild ideas'. Now it is confirmed. By the Pope, no more no less!! Harry Potter books are EVIL!!! From The Times : "Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the Harry Potter books as 'subtle seductions', capable of corrupting young Christians, in two letters which have now been published online".

I've also read in the newspaper the Pope has started his holidays today. He took 200 policemen to protect him, in case of a terrorist attack. From Harry Potter fans, I wonder?


Lo sabia. Lo dije varias veces y la gente se reia de mis 'ideas locas'. Y ahora me dan la razon. El Papa lo ha confirmado, nada mas y nada menos!! Los libros de Harry Potter son el Mal. Cito de The Times : "El Papa Benedicto XVI ha condenado los libros de Harry Potter tachandolos de 'sutiles seducciones' capaces de corromper a los jovenes cristianos, en dos cartas que se han publicado en internet".

Tambien he leido, en otro periodico, que el Papa ha empezado hoy sus vacaciones estivales. Se ha llevado 200 policias para protegerle, en caso de ataque terrorista. Por parte de los fans de Harry Potter, quiza?


The weather today:
Fair
29C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the North Northeast at 5 mph
Dew Point:15C
Humidity: 42%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,023.0 mb

I think my landlord has been murdered. I'll explain. The last time I spoke to our landlord was back in December, when we discussed renewing our property rental agreement. Since then, no word from him. This month, we tried to speak to him about our faulty boiler and fixing our bathroom which had been left half done by the builders next door, without success. I have to clarify the landlord also owns the property next door and he is building a new house there. For the mains pipes to be properly set, they had to do some major work in our bathroom pipes. This job was carried forward but as a result, our bath has to be replaced and our toilet repositioned. After two weeks without news and after receiving conflicting news from the foreman, I called our landlord at home. His wife said he was at work. When I called him at work, some business associate told me he was at home. This has happened several times. I have come to suspect my landlord is dead and there is a conspiracy to cover it up. My theory is my landlords' wife and the foreman were having an affair and decided to get rid of my landlord. They killed him back in December. They buried the corpse on the building site next to my house and started building a house there. Houses foundations are not normally set up in December in this country. The weather is too rainy and unreliable. Building outdoors usually starts in spring. However, the murderers had to start laying the foundations immediately, as they had buried the landlord there! My landlords business associate and the rest of builders are in the conspiracy, too. Probably have been bribed by the foreman and my landlord's wife. Nobody else will suspect their horrible crime. It's only N (SD) and I who have come to suspect something fishy is going on.

On the other hand....do you think our landlord is just plainly hiding because he left us without hot water for four working days and a weekend and the work in our bathroow has not been done yet?

Creo que el propietario de la casa que alquilamos ha sido asesinado. Me explico. La ultima vez que hable con el fue en Diciembre pasado, cuando acordamos renovar el contrato de alquiler de la propiedad. Desde entonces, no hemos sabido mas de el. Este mes intentamos hablar con el, sin conseguirlo, sobre el mal funcionamiento del calentador de agua/gas y el arreglo del banio, que se ha dejado a medio hacer. Para mas detalle, resulta que el propietario de nuestra casa tambien tiene un terreno justo al lado, donde ahora esta construyendo otra casa. Por tema de tuberias de agua, los constructores tuvieron que mover nuestro WC y habra que cambiar tambien la baniera. Despues de dos semanas sin noticias y recibiendo informacion contradictoria por parte del jefe de la obra, llame al propietario a su casa. Su esposa me dijo que estaba en el trabajo. Le llame al trabajo. Un socio suyo me dijo que el propietario estaba en casa. La misma conversacion se ha repetido ya varias veces. He llegado a la conclusion que el propietario de la casa ha sido asesinado y hay un pacto de silencio para cubrirlo todo. Mi teoria es la siguiente : la esposa del propietario y el jefe de las obras eran amantes. El propietario les descubrio y los amantes decidieron deshacerse del marido inoportuno. Lo asesinaron en Diciembre. Lo enterraron en el terreno al lado de mi casa y empezaron a construir de inmediato, para mayor seguridad. En este pais no se empieza a construir una casa en Diciembre. Llueve demasiado y siempre existe la posibilidad de nieve. Para eso se espera a la primavera. Pero claro, los asesinos tenian que empezar en Diciembre, para cubrir inmediatamente el cadaver. El socio del propietario y los albaniles forman parte de la conspiracion. Probablente, la esposa del propietario y su amante les han sobornado con una cantidad importante de dinero. Nadie sospecha que que se haya cometido ese horrible crimen. Solo N (SD) y yo hemos empezado a sospechar que hay algo podrido en Dinamarca. O mejor dicho, en la obra de al lado de casa.

Sin embargo.... que os parece, que creeis vosotr@s? Creeis que seria posible que el propietario se este escondiendo, pura y simplemente, porque nos ha dejado sin agua caliente durante 4 dias laborables y un fin de semana y el banio aun esta sin reparar?

The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
21C
UV Index:5 Moderate
Wind: From the South at 8 mph
Dew Point: 16C
Humidity: 72%
Visibility: 9 miles
Barometer: 28.8 mb

Following Thursday's London bombings there was a spat of hoax bomb calls everywhere in the country. We even got ours in Portsmouth. This idiot has now been jailed for six months. I always assumed hoax calls were made by stupid teenagers. I was wrong. I forgot stupidity has no age.


Despues del ataque terrorista del jueves en Londres, hubo una autentica plaga de llamadas anunciando falsos paquetes bomba a lo largo y ancho del pais. Por tener, hasta tuvimos una en Portsmouth. Este imbecil ha sido juzgado y encarcelado por seis meses. Siempre pense que las llamadas anunciando bombas falsas eran cosa de estupid@s quinceanier@s. Me equivocaba. La estupidez no tiene edad.


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
28C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the North Northeast at 10 mph
Dew Point: 20C
Humidity: 59%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,029.5 mb

Take the test!: Which Science Fiction Writer Are You? . I (supposedly) am John Brunner . His best known works are dystopias -- vivid realizations of the futures we want to avoid. Never heard of Brummer before, what a shame!


Haz el test (en ingles)!: Which Science Fiction Writer Are You? (Que autor de Ciencia Ficcion eres?). Yo (supuestamente) soy John Brunner . Sus obras mas conocidas tratan de distopias - vividas descripciones de mundos futuros que mejor NO conozcamos. Confieso, con una cierta verguenza, que jamas he oido hablar de Brunner!!!


The weather today:
loudy
21C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the North at 15 mph
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity:50%
Visibility: 10 miles
Barometer: 1,017.6 mb

At least two dead and many injured in terror attacks to London's public transportation. For the latest news and live coverage, click here: BBC News .

One of my line managers came to our office with the news this morning. He had just read about it in BBC news on the net. I grabbed my mobile phone and called my mum to let her know we were all right. We live at about 80 miles from London, but living abroad, I knew she would panick all the same if she knew about it on tv. I could tell she had not heard yet, her voice was happily surprised when she heard my voice at the unusual time for my calling. Minutes later I thought about our friends in London. I tried to call them on their mobile phones. Their lines were busy or there was no line at all. I got a reply to an email, one of our friends was all right. He lives and works in Soho, in London's city centre. After a text message, our other friend managed to get through. He had been in Oxford Street when the explosions happened. He said all public transportation had stopped, there were ambulances everywhere, people were walking on the streets and there was a general sense of confusion. I keep watching the BBC News and other international tv stations when the BBC connection fails (every five minutes now!). My friends are all right, my family is all right. Sadly, not everybody else in London can say the same, though.



Al menos dos victimas mortales y un numero indeterminado de heridos han resultado heridas como resultado del ataque terrorista al transporte publico de Londres. Para ver las ultimas noticias y conexion en directo, hacer click aqui : BBC News

Uno de mis jefes aparecio en mi oficina para contarnos las noticias. Dijo que lo acababa de leer en la pagina web de la BBC. Inmediatamente, cogi el telefono movil y llame a mi madre. Vivimos a, aproximadamente, 80 millas de Londres, pero desde el extranjero eso no se tiene en cuenta. Me imagine que se asustaria en cuanto oyera las noticias. Por el tono de voz, de sorpresa agradable, al responder a mi llamada, ya me di cuenta de que ella aun no sabia nada. Por suerte. Minutos despues pense en los amigos que viven en Londres. Intente llamarles a sus telefonos moviles pero o bien comunicaban o no habia linea. Finalmente, recibi una respuesta a un email que envie. Uno de nuestros amigos confirmaba que estaba sano y salvo. Vive y trabaja en Soho, en el centro de Londres. Despues de esperar la respuesta a un mensaje de texto enviado a otro amigo, recibi su llamada. Estaba en Oxford Street cuando las explosiones tuvieron lugar. Estaba bien. Me dijo que todo el transporte publico de Londres estaba paralizado, habia ambulancias por todas partes y mucha gente en la calle, con un sentimiento de confusion total. Despues he continuado viendo las noticias en directo de la BBC en internet, o bien pasando a otras cadenas internacionales cuando la conexion con la BBC se cae (y ahora ya viene ocurriendo cada cinco minutos). Nuestros amigos estan bien, nuestras familias estan bien e informadas de que nosotros estamos bien. Lamentablemente, no todos los ciudadanos de Londres diran hoy lo mismo.


The weather today:
loudy
17C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the North Northwest at 16 mph
Dew Point:11C
Humidity: 65%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,013.9 mb

"To the city of...London!". The International Committee has decided. The 2012 Olympic Games will be held in London, United Kingdom. You can see the moment and the reaction at Trafalgar Square here by clicking on the Olympic flag on the right side of the screen.
Well, whatever. I was supporting Paris. Mostly because their food is better and their public transportation is cheaper and reliable. London's tube is a mess. And don't let me start on British food either. Ah well. London it is. I guess I won't be here in 2012, just as well....if the weather is as usual, they will get rain every day!

"A la ciudad de.....Londres!". El Comite Olimpico Internacional ya decidio. Los Juegos Olimpicos del 2012 tendran lugar en Londres, Reino Unido. Podeis ver como ocurrio y la reaccion en Trafalgar Square aqui haciendo click en la bandera olimpica de la derecha. OK, pues vale. Yo daba mi apoyo a Paris. Mas que nada porque la comida es mejor y su transporte publico es mas barato y seguro. El metro de Londres es un caos y mejor no hablar de la cocina britanica. Pues bueno, Londres va a ser. Claro que me imagino que yo ya no estare aqui en 2012 para verlo y mejor...porque si les hace el mismo tiempo que nos hace cada verano...llovera cada dia!


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
21C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the West Northwest at 26 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 57%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer:1,008.5 mb

I read in the newspaper that Thomas Cook travel agency celebrates today the 150 anniversary of the creation of package holidays . Quoting the article : "The prehistory of the package holiday, which now sees more than 20 million Britons dispatched overseas every year, began in 1841. It offered Leicester dwellers a modest introduction to the small market town of Loughborough, 12 miles away. Cook got together 500 temperance recruits for a rally at a shilling a time, and dealt with all the complications of getting them to the station and on to the train."

Thomas Cook, the companys' founder, was a Baptist preacher whose aim was to improve Brits working class lives by widening their horizons and keeping them away from alcohol by mantaining them occuppied with travel. Little did he knew that todays Brit tourists would use bargain package holidays to get advantage of cheapest alcohol prices abroad!



Leo en el periodico que hoy se cumple el 150 aniversario de la aparicion de los paquetes de viajes , idea de la agencia de viajes Thomas Cook. Cito el articulo : "La prehistoria de los paquetes de viajes, que hoy en dia envian anualmente a mas de 20 millones de britanicos al extranjero, empezo en 1841. Se ofrecia a los ciudadanos de Leicester una modesta visita a la ciudad de Loughborough, a 20 millas de distancia. Cook reunio a 500 voluntarios de la asociacion anti-alcoholica, que pagaron 1 chelin por persona para asistir a un mitin a la ciudad vecina, y el mismo se encargo de llevarles hasta la estacion y comprar los billetes de tren".

Thomas Cook, el fundador de la agencia, era un predicador Baptista cuyo objetivo era mejorar las condiciones de vida de la clase trabajadora britanica. Para ello, era indispensable, segun Cook, ampliar los horizontes de los trabajadores y alejarles de las tentaciones del alcohol manteniendoles ocupados con el viaje. Poco se imaginaba el buen Cook que, anios despues, los turistas britanicos aprovecharian las ofertas de los paquetes de viajes para salir al extranjero y comprar alcohol barato gracias al cambio de divisas!


The weather today:
Light Rain
16C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the South at 17 gusting to 29 mph
Dew Point:12C
Humidity: 77%
Visibility: 6 miles

I was going to write a post about Live 8 but I found a blogger who has already done it. I agree with the opinions expressed at the High Gloss blog. A concise, clear and direct post on Live 8. Let's not be afraid of criticising Celeb culture and their supposedly 'good motivations' for charity. Or justice, as they claim this time. Does the end justify the means?


Iba a escribir un post sobre Live 8 pero encontre a un blogger que ya lo ha hecho. Y estoy de acuerdo con la opinion que expresa en su blog High Gloss . Un post claro, conciso y directo sobre Live 8. Que no nos asuste criticar a los famosos y sus supuestos 'buenos' motivos para hacer caridad. O justicia, que es lo que piden esta vez. El fin justifica los medios?


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
17C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the West Southwest at 22 mph
Dew Point:15C
Humidity: 93%
Visibility: 10 miles

Some photos taken on Tuesday at the Trafalgar 200 celebrations and Review of the Fleet.

Algunas fotos tomadas el martes durante las celebraciones del Bicentenario de la Batalla de Trafalgar y la Revista a la Flota.


The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
18C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: from the West Southwest at 20 mph
Dew Point:17C
Humidity: 95%
Visibility:10 miles
Barometer: 1,013.9 mb