Time to Fly

A combination of frequently used aircraft with short turn rounds, extreme weather conditions, and airlines operating close to the edge of insolvency means that delays in the US seem a lot worse than back in the UK. This view may be distorted by the fact that when I was in the UK, most of my flights were long haul ones; which tend to run on time as there is a longer turn round and they represent the airlines’ most lucrative operations. I have come across a website that allows you to look at average delays for particular routes by the time of day. This might be useful, but in my experience one tends to book flights based on cost and the convenience of the time; I am not show knowing that there was a 10% higher chance of delay would have a significant impact on the flight booked.

The Yellow, Yellow Grass of Home

I was only away for eleven days, but there was a marked change on my return to the US. The hills and wasteland that has been green through the winter and spring has turned yellow; a stark contrast to the rain fed green of the UK. However, unlike the UK where a dry summer will turn all of the grass yellow, here there are still swathes of green on the verges and in lawns. Despite the lack of spring and summer rain, the grass is kept well watered by sprinkler systems that are supposed to operate on timers. I say supposed, because I think that some work on proximity, turning on as I approach. The way that sprinklers cover move walkways and grass may be yet another reason that the locals drive rather than walk.

Eating Less Fat Reduces Analytical Skills

There was a packet of a snack product on our kitchen counter. The snack claims to have 30% less than regular crisps (Actually it uses the words potato chips, but I am still trying to use English and not American in this blog). In smaller print it then says that regular crisps have 10g of fat per oz, while these have 6g of fat per oz. Aside from the odd mixing of metric and non-metric measures, 6g is 40% less than 10g. The headline claim is thus wrong, but is understating the advantage; their marketers seem to be mathematically challenged.

Back to Blighty Part II

The late flight from London to Scotland meant that I was going to be running perilously close to arriving at my parents’ house at the time that we had scheduled going out for a meal. Fortunately, having only hand luggage sped my trip to the car rental counter and the car was ready for me. The roads were clear and I listened to Five Live for the two hour trip from Glasgow. I appreciate being able to keep in check on football scores via the net, but it is not the same as listening to them on the radio.

In addition to the eating and drinking, I took my mother shopping in the delightful nearby town of Castle Douglas and on another day to Wigtown, Scotland’s book town. This is a town that has dozens of second bookshops, including The Sign of the Dragon. Since I had little space in my hand luggage, I had to resist the temptation to buy lots of books. I came home with just a volume of Herbert Hoover’s memoirs.

On the way back, I met up with viberunner at Glasgow. We had a few beers and a whisky or two. The return flight went ok, though this time I had to use the booked connection via Denver. I landed in Oakland at about 8:30pm, so Monday in the office I was a little tired.

Back to Blighty Part I

I have just returned from an eleven day trip back to the UK. It was a holiday to see my parents and assorted friends. I took full advantage of the opportunity to eat proper fish and chips, black pudding, haggis, marinated herring, and curry.

The journey started well, I arrived at the airport early and was told that my flight was delayed. This may not sound like an ideal beginning, but I was then offered a direct flight from San Francisco to London, rather than the route via Chicago that I had booked. I had no one sat next to me as I traveled business class and was wined and dinned.

Ammonyte met me at the airport and we had a proper English breakfast in Windsor – in an Italian restaurant. Although I lived near Windsor for eight years, I had never visited the monuments to Magna Carta and JFK at Runnymede. Now, returning as a tourist, I did so. The Magna Carta monument was built by the American Bar Association. It is sad to think that it took the Americans to erect a memorial to this pivotal event in British history; sadder still that in both countries governments seem less interested in the concept that they should be bound by the laws of the land.

We drunk coffee in Burnham Beeches, an ancient woodland whose proximity to Pinewood studios has made it a much used location in films. The fine English spring day allowed us to sit outside, albeit in coats.

The day finished with a visit to the quintessential English pub, where several pints of fine ale were consumed. From the pub we moved onto curry, where more alcohol was consumed. I was glad that my flight to Glasgow was not an early one – although BA managed to take this ‘not early’ to extremes by having it leave three hours later than scheduled.

To Be Continued

Moving Teams

When Wimbledon FC moved away from London and became the Milton Keynes Dons, there was a large outcry in the sporting world. Here in the US teams moving from city to city is a fairly common occurrence.

Three of California’s baseball teams came from the East Coast. In 1958 The New York Giants moved to California and became the San Francisco Giants. That same year the Brooklyn Dodgers made the move to Southern California and became the LA Dodgers. Ten years later the Philadelphia Athletics followed suit and became the Oakland Athletics.

The Oakland A’s and LA Dodgers had success following their moves, winning World Series within a few years of their moves. The Giants have not won the Series in the half century since their move.

One result of these moves is that team names that made sense in their original location loss the connection. The Dodgers were so named because getting to the park in Brooklyn involves dodging across trolley bus tracks; whatever hazards there might be in LA, avoiding public transport is not one of them.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On Sunday I went with a couple of visiting friends to watch a baseball game. This was the first baseball game since I moved up to Northern California. Since my last game I have watched it on TV and read a book on watching baseball, so I had a better idea of what was happening. The game was Kansas City at Oakland; the Oakland A’s won 7-1. The A’s won the World Series in three consecutive years back in the seventies when players had mustaches that were almost as large as a baseball bat. They won it again at the end of the eighties when they beat the team from across the bay, the San Francisco Giants.

The entire walkway that runs around the inside of the stadium is lined with places selling food and drink. For those too lazy to get up and go in search of refreshment, vendors walk up and down the aisles during the game selling ice cream, coffee, and other snacks. We had the obligatory hot-dog and beer, as well as sharing an excellent plate of Nachos.

In the UK the team mascot runs or at least trots onto the pitch. Here he drives on in a car, as the announcer proclaims the benefits of using Chevron fuel for a cleaner engine.

Reverse Blog

When picking a theme for one’s blog, I think it is important to ensure that it offers plenty of material about which to write. The oddities of life in America have been a rich vein for the nearly two years that I have been blogging. I came across a blog (http://voxford.blogspot.com/)today that seems to offer much less subject matter; the weirdness of life in the UK told from an American stand point. After all, British behavior is always totally normal and I cannot see how can find anything amusing or interesting in the lack of eccentricity and always smooth organization that exemplifies life in Blighty.

Medieval Pirates

We were in Vacaville for lunch yesterday. There was a Medieval Fantasy Fair in town. This explained the women dressed as princesses and fairies, and the men in armour. I do think that those dressed as pirates, including a Jack Sparrow look alike had a sense of history so poor that they could write scripts for Mel Gibson.

Where No One Knows Your Name

Maybe it is just me, maybe I am a naturally untrusting individual, but when I receive a letter address to Valued California Resident I don’t feel especially valued. I suppose the positive aspect is that I can bin the letter and not waste time opening and shredding to remove personal information. I do feel that addressing it to The Resident would be more honest.