7th wedding anniversary in Cuba

We have just got back from Cuba for our wedding anniversary. But in some ways it is also our last big trip, as Bridie gets more and more pregnant.


We had a great time, spending most of our time in Havana. We sucked up the culture with an occasional Mojito. Or at least Steve did, as Bridie is banned from alcohol at the moment.

We also did some day trips. Once out west to Viñales, a UNESCO protected area. We also checked out the tobacco fields, drying and cigar manufacture areas. And another day to the east in the tourist centre of Cuba, Varadero.

Anyway, check out our photo site.

We're going to be parents

Hi

Well, it's a big news day for us. We're going to be parents.
Woohoo!

It is still early days yet. Bridie is due at the end of September, so we still have six months to go. In the meantime, Bridie is already enjoying pregnancy with all the perks that come with it. While there has been no binge-eating of pickles and ice-cream, there has been the occasional random vomiting (which is never constrained to the morning). And now she has the superpower excuse for everthing - "I'm pregnant!"

It is too early to know the sex at the moment (nor do we have any desire to), but we have a nickname in the meantime - Ichi, from the Japanese for one or first. Why? Mainly because we were staying in the Dai-Ichi Hotel in Tokyo at the time, but also because this would be our first baby. And Bridie decided it would be a good name (see superpower reference above)

Here is your first chance to meet Ichi:Early days, but there's a suprising amount of action going on at this stage. Ichi is only 6.5 cm long, but bouncing around like a kangaroo - it's actually surprising that Bridie can't feel the kicking... yet.

Anyhoo... stay tuned.

Steve has now finished his MBA!

News flash: Bridie is happy to have her husband back. Quote from Bridie "Woohoo!"

Theoretically this means more time, less stress and more life. Let's see how this goes. My guess is that life will expand to fill all the time available, somehow leading to equivalent stress.

I don't care - I'm going out for dinner to celebrate.

Mobile World Congress (ne 3GSM)

I have just got back from WMC/3GSM - the main industry trade show for the mobile phone industry.

It's a madcap few days where geeks from around the world converge on Barcelona, Spain. Effectively turning it into a mobile geek heaven (or hell). Bridie took great delight in people-watching the arrivals at the airport: "geek ... tourist... geek... geek... geek."

All the big names announce their latest offerings, companies try to out-hype each other, and all the suits converge for days and days of meetings. But the reality is that you need to fight to see the new toys, the hype is short lived and the meetings often are not necessary. The idea is good, but it doesn't live up to expectations.

It's a tiring time, with the only positive thing to look forward to are the parties each night. Symbian's party was Monday night in a nightclub called Opium. It was rockin with a band downstairs and a chillout room upstairs. Tuesday I went to a chip manufacturer party with a middle-eastern theme; food, drinks, belly dancers the lot. I even had tickets to the Samsung party on Wednesday night but I had to fly back.

Ironically international roaming wasn't working that well - so I missed a lot of calls. The best voice mail I had was "that thing that is buzzing in your pocket is your phone - you should answer it sometime."

Some photos from one of our corporate blogs

Anyway... home now. Yay!

Christopher Columbus says "pull my finger"

(he was not above low-brow humour)

Photos in Barcelona

Near Santa Eulalia

A unicorn gargoyle.
And... well you can see what this is.

La Pedrera

Bridie has always love Barcelona. Luckily I was going there for work for 3GSM/Mobile World Congress. So we book a hotel and flight and got out there early for a weekend break.

Our mission - to photograph La Pedrera.
(Though all these photos are only Steve's)

This is a building built by the architect Antoni Gaudí. It is a fabulous building with no visible straight lines.
And on the roof at the most amazing sculptures used for chimneys and water storage.

Hakone and Fuji-san

On the last day before we flew to Australia, we zoomed off to Hakone to get a photo of Mount Fuji. Using a combination of bullet trains, ordinary trains and busses we managed to get to the resort town of Hakone - all of which worked effortlessly with Japanese precision.

Hakone is a resort town - full of tourist traps, boat trips, health resorts, cable car rides, thermal springs and nature walks. But we didn't really have time for any of that. Instead we focussed on the task at hand - photographing Mount Fuji.

We were lucky that day. It was a crisp day in winter, and one of the few days that Fuji-san is not covered by cloud.

In fact we showed the picture to the hotel conceirge that had helped explain how to get there and she was so happy. Apparently she had been there 10 times, and had never seen it look so good.

Back at Tsukiji fish market

Well I'm back a the fish market again. Remember my previous post where I found whale meat?

Now it is both Bridie and I, braving the world of wholesale fish - dead and alive.

For example this is the tuna auction. These guys have already been auctioned off and are heading towards a table soon. And this is the reddest animal I have ever seen.

And for the squeemish, some small fish in a large bucket.

Charlie the Unicorn

I couldn't resist sharing this.... if I start quoting this it can keep Steve up all night!

Shopping is bad for you

Friday night and Bridie's out shopping. On the way into a change room she slips on a deadly trap made out of little plastic blocks. Resulting in Bridie going to the hospital. Not a good way to spend Friday night.

My MBA Project

My big MBA project is due on Monday!

So this is the last weekend to work on it, and I'm wasting time on blog entries.

Just like exam preparation, except I'm not cleaning my room, preparing a study timetable, or even reorganising my books. Time wasting is something childish that we learn early in school, yet never really goes away. And somehow we forget the pain of the mad panic at the end.

If only there was a degree in procrastination... Though I'd probably get a D- in it.

More Fuzzy Mohair Catsuit fun

Once a year I seem to post something about Isobel at her fuzzy catsuits. Yet somehow 22% of the traffic to this blog is from people who found our site through a search engine whilst looking up fuzzy mohair catsuits (or some variant).

Clearly there is a gap in the market, or I don't post enough other stuff.

Promotional link to Isobel's site:
http://www.mohairknitter.com/Home.htm

And yes, I realise that I'm now reinforcing this by posting again.

The backup

Not travel blog.... xkcd

Sorry... geek joke.

And this one:

Tsukiji fish market

Wanna buy some fish at 5am?

Last week I was in Tokyo to meet some customers. A twelve hour flight, a one hour nap and into the office. I could barely stay awake. My body clock was still in Heathrow being scanned for a suspicious ticking... It was going to be an interesting set of meetings.

But I'm not here to talk shop.

I did manage to skip out of work early one day and visit the Tsukiji fish market - the biggest in the world. Here there are rows and rows of fish, crabs, prawns, mussels, mammal, and more fish fish fish. If it comes from the sea it is on sale here.

... did I just say mammal?


Guess what kind of meat is for sale under the picture of a happy whale...

Yep. That meat there is a product of intense research by the Japanese whaling fleet. Research that is served on a plate. Still grappling with how I feel about that.

But Tokyo isn't all endangered species. I spent a bit of time wandering around visiting gardens , temples and shops. The photos, of course, are on the website

Near the fish market is garden, the Hama Rikyu Detached Palace Garden. Since I was up early for the market, I was there before opening. I wanted to go to a Japanese garden, and this is one
of the most highly regarded. But it wasn't what I expected. All the ones I had seen would cram a lot into a small space, while holding zen truth: flowing water, rocks, sand, miniature maple trees, etc. This was a pretty garden with lakes, a tea house and lots of different areas. Quite enjoyable at 9am before the crowds turn up. Google-map-o-vision.

Onto Ginza - shopping mecca. Yet it is full of the usual big name international brands (Apple, Louis Vuitton, Zara, etc) so there is almost no point going there. If you're buying a present for a loved-one back home, nothing says Japan quite like Burberry. I spent four hours wandering the back streets trying to avoid the international capitalism, and my feet bore the burden.

Off to Asakusa Shrine (also called Sensoji temple), a fantastic working shrine; people getting fortunes, coating themselves in incense and cleansing their hands and body. Important note - do not spit back into the trough. The area was cheapened somewhat by the amusement park, tourist shopping strips and video game parlours.

Next, Ueno Koen Park. My feet hurt quite a lot now, but since I changed trains here, then I may as well get out and have a look.

Finally onto the Imperial Palace and the famous bridge photo. But by the time I got there, it was too dark to take anything sensible and my feet feel like puddles of fire. Crap. Shouldn't have wasted time at Ueno park.

All up, a mad day in Tokyo.

iPhone lust

Bridie has a new dream toy.



I managed to get my hands on an iPhone for a few days through work. I, as a geek, had to evaluate it for performance and file transfer throughput.

Bridie managed to cajole Steve into bringing it home. Bridie, as a Mac fan, was naturally drawn to its curves, groovy interface, ease-of-use, and all-round sexiness.

It is going to be an expensive Christmas this year.

Bridie's photos (mostly of China)

Check out
http://web.mac.com/bridie.mann

Dependency analysis in a software compiler

Once upon a time I thought I should get a patent. Seemed like a good thing to have the old resume; there is some geek credibility in patents. Unless it is an attempt to scam the patent system with a worthless entry and clog up the whole system. Hopefully mine is one of the former.

The abstract reads:
A method comprising automatically processing data to generate a software system, the data including a plurality of components and a plurality of references defining dependencies between said components for generating said system using said plurality of components, the method comprising the steps of: i) analysing the references; ii) determining the age of each of the components; iii) sorting the components according to age; iv) processing the steps determined in i) using means for interpreting said dependencies and means for generating said system following the order determined in step iii).

Which is pretty abstract.

What does it do? Well there is no need to write something complicated if I just explained it here, is there?

First post on YouTube

I was out at a friend's stag night yesterday, playing a little drinking game called Glowworm. Basically you dip your finger in Sambuca, light it from someone else, pass the flame on, and put your burning finger out in your mouth. And repeat.

... you'll see from the vid.



But this is my first post to YouTube. Which I thought might be a little bit too Gen-Y for me. But it worked out ok.