{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "London 2008 on Jamie Thingelstad", "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/14/1545.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/", "feed_url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/14/sort-of-odd.html", "content_html": "

Odd to return to your house after 4 weeks. Everything is in goofy places. :-)

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-13T19:54:02-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/13/sort-of-odd.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/13/just-landed-in.html", "content_html": "

Just landed in Minneapolis! 🛬

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-13T17:06:01-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/13/just-landed-in.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/13/last-day-in.html", "content_html": "

Last day in London. We pack this morning and get a cab to Heathrow. Get to sleep at home tonight, after a very long day.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-13T00:29:29-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/12/last-day-in.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/12/great-final-night.html", "content_html": "

Great final night in London with friends Alice and John.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-12T13:26:45-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/12/great-final-night.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/12/great-but-brief.html", "content_html": "

Great, but brief, visit to the Kew Botanical Gardens. Great place. This mornings coffee and scone there. Back into city for lunch.

\n\"Scone\n", "date_published": "2008-09-12T06:31:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/12/great-but-brief.html", "tags": ["Travel","Home","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/12/wondering-how-many.html", "content_html": "

Wondering how many pairs of shoes Tammy has gotten for Mazie while I drink my coffee. Shopping!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-12T04:14:40-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/12/wondering-how-many.html", "tags": ["Coffee","Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/11/174118.html", "content_html": "

Heading to the tube to meet Greg Merkle for a couple pints at the pub!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-11T12:41:18-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/11/174118.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/11/having-nice-espresso.html", "content_html": "

Having nice espresso and croisant with Mazie.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-11T03:25:20-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/11/having-nice-espresso.html", "tags": ["Coffee","Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/11/checking-out-of.html", "content_html": "

Checking out of this apartment shortly and saying goodbye to broadband until we are home on Saturday. Not using that 3G modem anymore!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-11T02:28:32-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/11/checking-out-of.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/10/yikes-first-half.html", "content_html": "

First half of AT&T bill that includes London trip: $417.74 😬

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-10T15:59:32-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/10/yikes-first-half.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/10/there-may-be.html", "content_html": "

There may be no food that Nutella doesn’t make better.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-10T11:18:43-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/10/there-may-be.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/iphone-firmware-will.html", "content_html": "

iPhone firmware 2.0.2 will be the first release I will never install. 2.1 will be out by the time I return home, and will be able to upgrade

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T17:32:14-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/iphone-firmware-will.html", "tags": ["Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/161138.html", "content_html": "

Crazy shows on BBC – tonights is a show called “Other Peoples Breastmilk”. Wow.

\n

Last weeks crazy BBC show was “Dawn Goes Lesbian”. Yep. Wow^2.

\n

Guy on the breast milk show claims that drinking breast milk has cured his prostate cancer. Wow.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T16:11:38-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/161138.html", "tags": ["Movies","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/i-still-cant.html", "content_html": "

I still can’t see iTunes 8 in Software Update? What gives? Got Quicktime update, and Front Row update, but nothing else.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T15:42:37-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/i-still-cant.html", "tags": ["Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/just-tried-to.html", "content_html": "

Just tried to merge 20 DNG (RAW) photos in Photoshop CS3. 2 GB of RAM = FAIL!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T10:36:59-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/just-tried-to.html", "tags": ["Travel","Photography","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/listening-to-minnesota.html", "content_html": "

Listening to Minnesota Public Radio here in Bath because I miss home a bit.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T09:30:35-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/listening-to-minnesota.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/just-put-mazie.html", "content_html": "

Just put Mazie down for nap. Raining all day in Bath, but didn’t stop us from seeing the sights. Tammy is shopping this afternoon.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T08:33:41-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/just-put-mazie.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/123738.html", "content_html": "

Mazie and Tammy left Dad to pay the bill for lunch while they shop down the street. Hmmm.z

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T07:37:38-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/123738.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/09/nice-lunch-at.html", "content_html": "

Nice lunch at Bottelino’s in Bath.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-09T07:09:06-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/09/nice-lunch-at.html", "tags": ["Travel","Restaurants","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/08/mazie-is-getting.html", "content_html": "

Mazie is getting a stellar nap. Big win. She hasn’t gotten a nap for 3 days and she was starting to frazzle.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-08T11:05:57-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/08/mazie-is-getting.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/08/083007.html", "content_html": "

Here in Bath. Pretty happy with the place. Think we will likely extend our stay to 3 nights. And I have a real, wired, ethernet connection here. So happy!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-08T08:30:07-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/08/083007.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/08/excited-to-go.html", "content_html": "

Excited to go to Bath today for a couple day mini-trip from London.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-07T23:51:57-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/07/excited-to-go.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/07/boarded-train-on.html", "content_html": "

Boarded train on the way to Windsor Castle for the day. Bit of craziness finding the right train.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-07T04:44:51-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/07/boarded-train-on.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/06/rainy-rainy-day.html", "content_html": "

Rainy, rainy day in London. Fun sightseeing with Tammy’s parents and aunt/uncle.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-06T10:32:36-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/06/rainy-rainy-day.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/05/back-to-the.html", "content_html": "

Back to the apartment from a very long Mazie day. Lot’s of fits thrown today. Had tea with Grandma Olson - they flew over on their own trip!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-05T12:45:34-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/05/back-to-the.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/05/heading-to-the.html", "content_html": "

Heading to the Tate Modern shortly.

\n

Taking a 3 year old to a modern art museum = FAIL!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-05T06:38:19-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/05/heading-to-the.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Arts","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/05/stumbled-on-a.html", "content_html": "

Stumbled on a great market outside London Bridge tube stop. Having delicious lunch.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-05T06:34:19-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/05/stumbled-on-a.html", "tags": ["Travel","Restaurants","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/shot-some-pictures.html", "content_html": "

Shot some pictures today in Adobe RGB (vs. sRGB). Can’t tell any difference on the screen, but I’m also not super-calibrated.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T18:29:29-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/shot-some-pictures.html", "tags": ["Travel","Photography","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/very-excited-to.html", "content_html": "

Very excited to have found the Daily Show on the basic, basic Sky TV subscription this apartment has!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T14:40:20-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/very-excited-to.html", "tags": ["Movies","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/at-the-cambridge.html", "content_html": "

At the Cambridge train station waiting to head back to London. Raining today.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T10:26:24-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/at-the-cambridge.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/143900.html", "content_html": "

Visiting Apple Store in Cambridge!

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T09:39:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/143900.html", "tags": ["Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/lunch-httptwitpiccomaco.html", "content_html": "

Lunch!

\n\"Glass\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T06:29:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/lunch-httptwitpiccomaco.html", "tags": ["Travel","Drinks","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/in-cambridge-getting.html", "content_html": "

In Cambridge, getting a mocha.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T05:10:38-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/in-cambridge-getting.html", "tags": ["Coffee","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/on-train-with.html", "content_html": "

Watching Charlotte’s Web on train with Mazie as we travel to Cambridge for a quick day trip

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T03:44:44-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/on-train-with.html", "tags": ["Movies","Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/04/seriously-thinking-of.html", "content_html": "

Seriously thinking of getting Mazie (3 years old) her own iPod Touch. She’s really learned our iPhones. Crazy?

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-04T01:53:12-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/04/seriously-thinking-of.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/03/microwaving-dinner-for.html", "content_html": "

Microwaving dinner for myself after a quick 1-stop tube trip to Whole Foods. Stocked up on Mac & Cheese for Mazie.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-03T13:33:08-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/03/microwaving-dinner-for.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/03/growing-more-than.html", "content_html": "

Growing more than a little worried about the AT&T bills that will follow this month in the UK. On phone to get a bit more international data coverage for remainder of the trip.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-03T10:31:16-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/03/growing-more-than.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/02/140113.html", "content_html": "

Ran to coffee shop for working WiFi, but they close at 8pm!

\n

What are the chances the coffee shop WiFi router knows they close at 8pm? :-)

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-02T14:01:13-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/02/140113.html", "tags": ["Coffee","Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/02/at-apple-store.html", "content_html": "

Visiting Apple Store in London (Oxford Circus).

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-02T09:54:21-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/02/at-apple-store.html", "tags": ["Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/02/raining-in-london.html", "content_html": "

Raining in London again. Late start to the day. Still figuring exactly what we’ll do today.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-02T04:07:49-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/02/raining-in-london.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/09/01/relaxing-day-in.html", "content_html": "

Relaxing day in London. Playground time with Mazie at Hyde Park, nice Lebanese food for lunch, good Mazie nap, trip to the grocery store.

\n", "date_published": "2008-09-01T10:14:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/09/01/relaxing-day-in.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/31/023159.html", "content_html": "\n", "date_published": "2008-08-31T02:31:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/31/023159.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/30/going-to-another.html", "content_html": "

Going to another show tonight. Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre with Tammy.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-30T13:27:57-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/30/going-to-another.html", "tags": ["Travel","Arts","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/29/170727.html", "content_html": "\n", "date_published": "2008-08-29T17:07:27-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/29/170727.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","Current Events","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/29/dinner-at-noura.html", "content_html": "

Dinner at Noura (awesome!) then 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre at Picadilly Circus.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-29T13:23:47-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/29/dinner-at-noura.html", "tags": ["Travel","Restaurants","Arts","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/29/going-on-charles.html", "content_html": "

Going on Charles Dickens walking tour.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-29T08:18:37-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/29/going-on-charles.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/29/watching-changing-of.html", "content_html": "

Watching changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Crowded!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-29T05:37:16-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/29/watching-changing-of.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/28/just-boarded-train.html", "content_html": "

Just boarded train back to London. Coming back a day early to soothe a sad Mazie.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-28T06:40:07-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/28/just-boarded-train.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/27/grabbing-minutes-of.html", "content_html": "

Grabbing 10 minutes of great WiFi at Caddon View in Innerleithen before sleep. Heading back to London tomorrow.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-27T16:52:07-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/27/grabbing-minutes-of.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/26/on-a-train.html", "content_html": "

On a train to Edinburgh. Train has WiFi and power. Nicely done UK!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-26T05:46:15-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/26/on-a-train.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/25/im-blogging-my.html", "content_html": "

I’m blogging.

\n

My mother is on the couch writing in her diary.

\n

Same or different? 🤔

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-25T14:56:23-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/25/im-blogging-my.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Blogging","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/25/heading-to-scotland.html", "title": "Heading to Scotland", "content_html": "

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Tammy and I head off to the train to spend three days in Scotland. We are going light with reading and photography being the only real loads. I won’t be blogging from there. Mazie and Grandma are going to be exploring London from the basecamp in Kensington while we are gone.

\n\"Lone \n[Photo Credit](http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmueller/349130834/)\n", "date_published": "2008-08-25T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/25/heading-to-scotland.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/25/royal-observatory-and.html", "title": "Royal Observatory and Prime Meridian", "content_html": "

Today is pretty much summed up with one picture, and if you are familiar with this location you know exactly what we did today. :-)

\n\"20080825-183731-5067.jpg\"\n

Visiting the Royal Observatory was something that I always thought would be kind of cool, and a few weeks back I realized that it would be an easy day trip while in London. We took a boat up the Thames and got a fun introduction to several of the buildings that line it and after about an hour we got to Greenwich Pier. We grabbed some fish and chips in a pub and then walked up to the Royal Observatory.

\n

It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big geek, and visiting 0° longitude pretty much made the geek-o-meter peg into the red. I was more impressed with this arbitrary line in the dirt than I ever expected I would be. A huge bonus was the Time Gallery which had John Harrison’s original time keepers on display – H1, H2, H3 and H4. I had read about these amazing time pieces in Dava Sobel’s book Longitude a while back. It was amazing to see them first hand, still working.

\n\"Certificate\n", "date_published": "2008-08-25T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/25/royal-observatory-and.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/24/mazie-and-daddy.html", "title": "Mazie and Daddy Day in London", "content_html": "

This morning Tammy and my Mom took off for Liverpool. When we were looking at our trip over here, and when my Mom would come over, we found out there is a Beatle’s Festival in Liverpool this week. They took an early bus ride, followed by a very late overnight ride back to go see it. Mazie and I had the whole day to ourselves!

\n

I hadn’t done a great job of planning out our day, but it came together really well.

\n

London Zoo

\n\"ZSL\n

We started our day at the London Zoo. Zoo’s are always the old standby for Dad’s Day with the Kids and I’m not too proud to use it. A quick trip to the Transport for London Journey Planner and I was able to figure out the right bus connections to get us there, and that it would take about an hour. They were right, an hour later we arrived at the Zoo.

\n

The London Zoo is a cool destination if only for being the oldest zoo in the world. According to Wikipedia it opened on April 27, 1828. Given this long heritage, I was a little curious how the zoo would shape up. On our trip out west we stopped at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The Woodland Park Zoo opened in 1899, again from Wikipedia. London’s Zoo was already 71 years in the running at the time. More impressive to me is that the Woodland Park Zoo owns the domain zoo.org. I digress. The point is that the Woodland Park Zoo was completely amazing and reset my expectation for what a zoo could be. I was curious to see how London had adapted over the years.

\n

To say I was disappointed is too far, but I think London could really use an infusion of investment into the London Zoo. It is massively improved from the days of gorillas in cement cubes, but it didn’t strike me as leading in its approach to animal habitats. The London Zoo did however send a strong conservation message and highlighted some key roles they have played in zoological research over the years.

\n

All of this was neither here nor there for Mazie of course. She had a great time, and particularly adored the giraffes. They had three of them and we watched them for nearly thirty minutes. I asked her if she wanted to name them and she suggested they were all named “Giraffe-y”. The “-y"naming convention is a trend lately. We also made a special point to see the lions and she really loved the butterfly tent. She found the large birds pretty boring, although I didn’t. They have some pretty huge vultures at the zoo.

\n\"Man\n

We spent all morning there and ended the day with a run on the Zoo Carousel. Mazie insisted on going, which was surprising and new. She previously hasn’t been a big fan of them, but not today. She really enjoyed it.

\n\"Young\n

At the end of our zoo trip we debated taking the bus or train back to the apartment for quiet time. I wanted to take the bus, Mazie insisted on the train. Since it was her day I obliged and walked a mile to the nearest tube station only to find that for a 5 hours slice of time, only on Sundays, particularly right when we showed up, they don’t allow inbound traffic there. So, another 10 minute walk to the next station down the line and we headed back.

\n

I tried to convince Mazie to take a good nap because we had a special afternoon planned. We were going to High Tea at the Orangery!

\n

High Tea

\n\"Elegant\n

When thinking about our special Dad-Daughter day in London I wanted to do something that was local and a first. It hit me pretty quick that it would be fun to go and have High Tea together. I had no idea what the entailed as I had never done High Tea before 1. We had heard on a tour the other day that if you “tea at the Ritz” men must wear a jacket and tie. I have neither along, and that wouldn’t be fun for Mazie so I started doing some searches.

\n

I quickly found that High Tea is actually a pretty kid friendly thing at the right places. I ran across a site that mentioned that the Orangery at Kensington Palace offered a special “Tea for Kids” and it was casual. Perfect!

\n

After Mazie’s non-nap we took off for our first High Tea. I wasn’t real sure how to get where we were going. The tube wasn’t close, and I wasn’t wanting to negotiate the buses so Mazie and I flagged a black cab and made our way to Kensington Palace. We found the Orangery straight on and started our tea.

\n

Mazie’s “Tea for Kids” was a good sized glass of apple juice (more on that later) along with the typical High Tea cucumber and cream cheese sandwich. She wouldn’t touch the sandwich, but loved the apple juice. We substituted her orange sponge cake for a slice of chocolate cake as well.

\n\"Man\n

I had the traditional tea and really liked it. We had a great time sitting and chatting about our tea party and how much fun we had had at the zoo. The tea took just the right amount of time, and some coloring kept Mazie content.

\n

After tea we went into the gardens at Kensington Palace and looked around, followed by some full on running in the park surrounding the palace.

\n

Too Much Sugar

\n\"Transport\n

It was time to head back home and Mazie and I discussed our mode of transportation. She suggested that we get a cab again because “the guy that worked there was nice”. I was eager to agree but that the £10 could be easily saved if we just looked. We poked around and figured out it was a short bus ride to Knightsbridge where we would be able to get the Picadilly line back to Earl’s Court and be two blocks from the apartment.

\n

While we were waiting for the bus Mazie informed me that her stomach hurt. This is not normal. She doesn’t get upset stomachs as a normal course of things. I asked her if it hurt a lot and she informed me it did.

\n

At that point I ran through her food for the day and the lack of any proper nutritional oversight became apparent. Cereal and fruit for breakfast was the high point. A snack of mini-donuts followed by a waffle with Nutella on the go at the zoo for lunch was not a good choice. And then high tea with a huge glass of apple juice followed by chocolate cake. Uh oh!

\n

It didn’t seem like I had any options. We got on the bus and went a few stops. She reported that her stomach still hurt a lot. I figured it was maybe too much running around with a full stomach and was hopeful that it would settle down. She was calmer than normal on the bus but seemed okay. We made it off the bus and then walked two blocks to the Knightsbridge tube station and headed down for the train.

\n

She still wasn’t feeling good but I kept asking how she was doing and she said it hurt but was getting better. Then it happened. On the platform for the Picadilly train at Knightbridge, heading east, at about 6 p.m., she started puking up all that sugar.

\n

One, two, three and finally four good size heaves of puke came up. Puke was all over the floor, on her shoes, on her pants, on her shirt – on my pants, on my shirt, a little on my camera. I had one single napkin in my pocket that I used when she gave the first explosion and was completely soaked and covered in puke by the fourth. The tube has no bathrooms, no trash cans, no nothing.

\n

So, I asked if she was done and we walked to the other side, down the whole length of the platform, back over to the eastbound side on the other end and boarded the next train. Both of us had a fair amount of puke on us standing in this absolutely packed train full of nicely dressed people heading to a concert at Earl’s Court.

\n

But, hey, what are you going to do.

\n

Great Day

\n

We got the rest of the way on the train with no more puking and Mazie reported that she felt good now. I asked her several times if she still wanted her dinner of frozen Macaroni and Cheese at home and she confirmed that she did every time. She gobbled it down actually and I think it settled her stomach a bit. The poor kid suffered through absent minded meal planning but still had a grin.

\n

We had a stellar day filled with fun at every corner. No temper tantrums and things went really smooth. Plus we got to have our first High Tea. What a great day!

\n

1: There is some debate on this. I’m told by Alice Kim that I did indeed have High Tea on a business trip to London around the year 2000. I have no recollection of this.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-24T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/24/mazie-and-daddy.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Outdoors","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/24/zorro-the-musical.html", "title": "Zorro the Musical", "content_html": "\"Zorro\n

When we told people that we were coming to London one of the most popular questions was “Are you going to any shows?” We gave what seemed like a pretty disappointing answer to most people – “We don’t know.” We didn’t know because a show would require someone to watch Mazie at night and it wasn’t obvious that would happen. But, when my Mom arrived she suggested that she watch Mazie and get to sleep a little early and we go out for the night. Sounded great to us!

\n

Tammy did some research and narrowed it down to two shows, which quickly became one, and we headed off to see Zorro the Musical!

\n

Let me just say, “wow!”

\n

Neither Tammy or I are qualified theatre people, but we absolutely loved Zorro. It was filled with energy, great music and dancing. It kept me completely engaged all the way through and really looking forward to returning to my seat after intermission. I think it was better than Wicked, which I liked a lot. Tammy thought it was her favorite musical ever, even better than Mama Mia!

\n

If you get a chance to see this musical, make every effort. It’s a great night!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-24T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/24/zorro-the-musical.html", "tags": ["Travel","Arts","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/23/mom-arrives-in.html", "title": "Mom Arrives in London", "content_html": "

Yesterday afternoon my Mom arrived in London to join us for part of our month abroad! She is hanging out with us a couple of days and then will be exploring London with Mazie while Tammy and I flit over to Scotland for a couple of days.

\n

After a week here her new husband Kurt, will be joining us and they will be going off for a week of fun on their own in Scotland with a quick trip to Paris.

\n

My mother is an energy generator. She arrived here just ready to get going and without even adjusting to the time change she headed off with Tammy to the Beatles Festival in Liverpool!

\n

\"Woman
\nOkay, lame picture of Grandma and Mazie. The white wall is our apartment. You’d have no idea this was London, or Minneapolis or Beijing. You’ll just have to trust me.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-23T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/23/mom-arrives-in.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/23/whole-foods-to.html", "title": "Whole Foods to the Rescue", "content_html": "\"Whole\n

Food culture is always interesting, and now with Mazie I’ve started to appreciate the food culture of the kid’s menu. Here is a shocker: kids in England don’t eat Macaroni and Cheese. Right, amazing, huh? To a guy that grew up in the midwest this is like saying that people in England don’t breath air.

\n

Mazie on the other hand requires a regular uptake of Mac-n-Cheese. She’s a bit particular about it too. She doesn’t like the box stuff. She insists on “super cheesey” Mac. She likes the Mac-n-Cheese at Yum! Kitchen & Bakery a lot but her favorite is probably Amy’s Organic Frozen Macaroni and Cheese. It is “super cheesey” and she just scarfs it all down.

\n\"Frozen \n*It really is that cheesey.*\n

When we got to London our plan all along was to have breakfast and dinner at the apartment and lunch out. We searched for Mac-n-Cheese and came up really empty handed. We found one option, frozen, at Tesco and Mazie hated it. She ate one bite and didn’t want to touch it again.

\n

Tammy did some research on the Internet and found that Whole Foods may have had the holy grail – Amy’s Organic Frozen Macaroni and Cheese.

\n\"Busy \n*Brits queueing at the oddly designed checkout aisles.*\n

We took the District Line a couple stops up and walked the two blocks to Whole Foods. It was a bit like going to a grocery in Minneapolis. So many options. We struck gold with a good supply of the infamous Macaroni and Cheese and also stocked up on other essentials. I was a bit surprised to find that I couldn’t get deli sliced turkey. No turkey sandwiches in the UK either?

\n

Big, huge, parent-minded gratefulness goes out to Whole Foods in Kensington!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-23T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/23/whole-foods-to.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/plan-to-plug.html", "content_html": "

Plan to plug iPod into TV here in London is thwarted by confusing SCART connector!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T14:11:46-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/plan-to-plug.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/woke-up-today.html", "content_html": "

Woke up today before 7am on my own. I think this means I’ve adapted to London time.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T01:30:56-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/woke-up-today.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/espresso-abroad.html", "title": "Espresso Abroad", "content_html": "

I really like my coffee. The apartment we are staying at here in London doesn’t have a coffee pot. There is a french press, and I’m not opposed to pressed coffee. It’s some good stuff. But, we are out and about everyday and I’ve just decided to get my daily espresso somewhere instead.

\n

This is the double at Harrod’s – great stuff.

\n\"White\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/espresso-abroad.html", "tags": ["Coffee","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/harrods-worlds-largest.html", "title": "Harrods — World's Largest Something", "content_html": "\"Harrods\n

This morning we decided to head to Harrods (store) and visit the worlds largest department store. My first piece of advise is to treat Harrods like an amusement park. Don’t plan to actually shop there unless you want to burn through significant £’s. There is some nice stuff there, but the prices match it. I was thrown back by kids shirts marked at £79.95 ($149.97 as of today). But then again, I don’t think I’ve even seen Juicy Couture for 3 year olds.1 Tammy compared Harrods to a casino without the gambling, which is a good approximation. Cruise ship would also be close, but not nice enough.

\n

Even with the ridiculous price tags we had a really fun time just walking around. Mazie had a blast in the kids department with loads of toys and babies. She got to pick one thing to get and much to her parents chagrin desperately wanted a baby that we could get for $12 at home but got to pay £14.95 ($28.04) for.

\n

It was fun to walk around in the household stuff and see all the cool Euro fixtures and such. There are so many more modern options here than at home. We stayed from open through lunch and had some very good pizza in the food hall followed by a nice gelato for desert. We wisely chose a weekday for our visit, and also chose the morning to avoid larger crowds in the afternoon. Happily we didn’t have to queue a lot and could tell that the afternoon was getting notably busier as we left.

\n
\n
\n
    \n
  1. \n

    I think this is so funny. The Juicy Couture website, which sells way overpriced clothes based entirely on brand appeal, has the Sun Microsystems logo for it’s favicon.ico. Somebody at Juicy needs to call their web shop. ↩︎

    \n
    2. \n
\n
\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/harrods-worlds-largest.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/iphone-app-units.html", "title": "iPhone App - Units", "content_html": "

I had seen this application in the AppStore before we left for London but for whatever reason I didn’t think it would be needed or all that useful. I installed it a couple of days after getting here and have used it a lot.

\n\"Currency\n

If you find yourself needing to convert from one thing to another a lot Units is the application for you. Currencies, lengths, speeds, etc. – it does them all.

\n

That isn’t enough magic to get me really excited about an application. What I like so much is how fast it is to use. It uses a calculator interface to make it super simple to get a conversion done. I had an initial complaint with how long it took to find the right mode, but they fixed this with a user-interface change in the newest release as well as some additional conversions.

\n

Anyway, another great example of a very handy mobile application that adds significant value easily.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/iphone-app-units.html", "tags": ["Travel","Apple","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/lightroom-makes-vacation.html", "title": "Lightroom 2 Makes Vacation Look Even Better", "content_html": "

I upgraded to Lightroom 2 as soon as it was available. I was lucky enough to be part of the beta program but I didn’t give it the time needed to really dive in. Now that it is released, I’ve upgraded and have really enjoyed the new features. Just like in Lightroom 1, I spend most of my time in the Library module. But\nperhaps the biggest feature in Lightroom 2 comes in the Develop module with the Localized Corrections feature.

\n

Localized Corrections isn’t a great name for a killer feature. Basically, in Lightroom 2 you can create a mask and then apply develop effects to that mask. You can have multiple masks in the same photo. You could have done this stuff in Photoshop but that round-trip to Photoshop is painful and I know Lightroom so much better than Photoshop. I’m happy to avoid Photoshop.

\n

With these tools easily at hand, I found yesterday how with just a few seconds you can really make pictures that once looked rough pretty good. Let’s take a look at three pictures from the bus tour we took yesterday.This first picture is just a shot down the Thames in London. It’s not very good with too many clouds and not even taken level. It was taken from a moving bus after all.

\n

Before
\n\"Thames.jpg\"

\n

I actually have fun with these wide shots because I can crop them out to give an expansive feel with a wide crop. While cropping we’ll level it. Here the localized correction is fairly small. A quick brush stroke along the tree line brings some additional light in. It’s a full +1 exposure added for the trees.

\n

After
\n\"Thames-Fix.jpg\"

\n

This shot of the Parliament building also needs some cropping, but worse, it’s just dark and dreary.

\n

Before
\n\"Parliament.jpg\"

\n

Here it is cropped out with a localized correction is brushed onto the building with about 2/3rds stop of additional exposure to brighten it up. Remember, since I’m working with a RAW file here I’ve got a lot of color depth and data to dig into here so I’m not blowing out any highlights. You can see the artifacts of my rather quick and shoddy mask work in the halo around Big Ben. With some more attention and time I could make that disappear easily.

\n

After
\n\"Parliament-Fix.jpg\"

\n

This picture of Big Ben was taken as we went by. It’s an odd shot, but I actually kind of like it. You can tell the camera metered right for the sky, but in the process Big Ben is way too dark losing almost all detail. This is an ideal Localized Correction problem.

\n

Before
\n\"BigBen.jpg\"

\n

Here the mask is pretty big with an increase in exposure. You can see some halo effect again from my sloppy mask that could be cleaned up. Again, since I have a RAW image I’m not blowing anything out. Note that this is a big area and you could have just upped the exposure on the whole shot. If I would have done that though the sky would have been far overexposed.

\n

After
\n\"BigBen-Fix.jpg\"

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/lightroom-makes-vacation.html", "tags": ["Travel","Photography","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/22/visiting-friends-alice.html", "title": "Visiting Friends Alice \u0026 John", "content_html": "

One of the benefits of visiting London is that we got the chance to visit with our friends Alice & John who moved here a little over a year ago. It’s an easy visit too since our apartment is only about four blocks from them. A short walk after Mazie’s nap yesterday and we were at their place. It took a while for Mazie and the girls to get in the playing mood with plenty of shyness to go around, but after an hour they were having a lot of fun. Mazie really enjoyed playing with other kids and more than the handful of toys we packed over here. Tammy and I enjoyed catching up with Alice and John and hearing all about their adventures in London. Good times around, finished with good pizza and a couple of pints.

\n\"Three\n

We’ll definitely get a couple more visits in before we leave town.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-22T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/22/visiting-friends-alice.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/watching-the-uk.html", "content_html": "

Watching the UK version of Big Brother. Very odd show.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T15:40:24-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/watching-the-uk.html", "tags": ["Movies","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/tammy-has-decided.html", "content_html": "

Tammy has decided we should move to London. Hmmm.. Wasn’t expecting that. :-)

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T14:55:51-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/tammy-has-decided.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/just-spent-a.html", "content_html": "

Just spent a great few hours with old friends from Minneapolis, Alice Kim and John Granholm, who now live in London.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T14:23:54-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/just-spent-a.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/getting-to-london.html", "title": "Getting to London", "content_html": "

The trick with spending a month in London is that you have to get there, and that has to be done on a plane. Mazie had never been on a plane before and we bullishly pushed through with a trans-atlantic flight as her very first one. Tammy has been on many flights, but has a very real fear of flying causing much stress and anxiety. She was an absolute rock star though keeping all of that to herself and not causing any undue stress for Mazie.

\n

We departed at 9:45 p.m. For whatever reason I felt it absolutely necessary to get to the airport at 6:30 p.m. Having never flown with a kid, and knowing we had 5 bags to check, I figured we needed all the time we could get. In reality, we checked all 5 bags in a few minutes at the curb and flew through security without any issues. With over an hour to spare we decided to have desert at Ike’s in the airport. They have a chocolate cake that is a foot tall, rather crazy actually.

\n

The flight itself was fine, but getting Mazie to sleep was not. I had this idea that we would leave at 9:45 p.m. and after the excitement of takeoff ended Mazie would just naturally fall asleep. This was not the case. She didn’t go to bed until 1:30 a.m. central time. We tried everything short of medication and nothing would work. I got furious with the screens in the back of every chair that constantly flashed different messages at us, keeping Mazie enthralled with them.

\n

Anyway, she finally got to sleep and I crashed about the same time. Tammy on the other hand spent most of the night playing Quordy on her iPhone and got maybe 15 minutes of sleep.

\n

After landing we collected all of our luggage, got through customs, and found a cab for the £55 ride into Kensington. I’m trying to not do £ to $ conversions here since it’s just depressing.

\n

Our first day here was spent mostly recovering from jet lag. We were all crazy tired.

\n\"Woman\n\"Young\n\"Young\n\"Woman\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/getting-to-london.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/living-with-a.html", "title": "Living with a 3G Modem", "content_html": "\"Mail.app\n

I’ve mentioned that our “included Internet access” at our London Apartment is a 3G USB Modem (Huawei E220 to be precise). It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had to deal with modems. I honestly thought those days were behind me. The service is provided by 3. Short rant, who names a company 3? I’ve made the best of it though. I’ve got the E220 connected to my MacBook Pro and am using OS X Internet Connection Sharing to broadcast my own WiFi network that our iPhones and the MacBook Pro are using to get online. I can happily report that setting up this kind of network is a lot easier than it was in the past. My only issue was from an overly aggressive firewall on my MacBook Pro. After I cleared that it all worked fine.

\n

The connection itself is a bit spotty. If it’s under continuous light load it does okay, as long as it doesn’t get backed up. The pain with this connection is latency. Throughput isn’t actually that bad. I downloaded an 8MB file very quickly. But latency is horrible and can result in big delays. This screen grab is the list of activity from Mail.app. You can see 18 active IMAP commands, 9 of them actually in progress and another 9 just waiting idle for attention.

\n

This is as good as it gets for the next month though. We won’t be watching any of the Olympics streaming over the web here. I’m certainly not buying any marketing that 3G is some panacea of bandwidth.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/living-with-a.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/21/london-apartment.html", "title": "London Apartment", "content_html": "\"Woman\n

Our London trip is a lot different from our Summer of Love West Coast Road Tour. Notably, we aren’t on the road very much for London and with the exception of a short jaunt to Scotland for Tammy and I, we are staying put in London proper.

\n

We rented an apartment for the month and have gotten settled in. We are in the Kensington area at Philbeach Gardens. The apartment is good. We have about 800 square feet and behind the apartment is a very large private courtyard where Mazie can play. I think the nicest thing about the apartment is the dining room with a glass ceiling. I’ve setup my computer in this area with great light.

\n

On the downside we are missing some niceties. Mainly what was advertised as included Internet access is really a 3G HSDPA Modem (Huawei E220). It’s better than nothing, but you have to tip toe around the Internet and wait for long delays. We have a washing machine but no dryer, I guess we just hang our clothes to dry.

\n

We went shopping for some supplies at a nearby Tesco. It took us over an hour to find what we were looking for. It’s great that London is English, but there is no doubt you are in a foreign country. It took us about 10 minutes to find baking soda.

\n

Here are photos for a little virtual tour.

\n\"Modern\n\"Dark\n\"Young\n\"Light\n\"Sunlit\n\"Unmade\n\"Tree-lined\n\"Tree-lined\n", "date_published": "2008-08-21T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/21/london-apartment.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/20/lunch-at-leicester.html", "content_html": "

Lunch at Leicester Square.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-20T06:46:20-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/20/lunch-at-leicester.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/19/055541.html", "content_html": "

Mazie and I up and having croissant breakfast this morning. Today we get the apartment situated and visit the market.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-19T00:55:41-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/18/055541.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/18/hello-from-london.html", "content_html": "\n", "date_published": "2008-08-18T11:14:56-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/18/hello-from-london.html", "tags": ["Travel","Technology","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/18/boarded-plane-mazie.html", "content_html": "

Boarded plane! Mazie got scared walking onto plane but thinks it’s fun now. Wish us luck!

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-17T21:03:44-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/17/boarded-plane-mazie.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/18/these-huge-s.html", "content_html": "

These huge £’s bills don’t fit in my wallet.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-17T20:13:37-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/17/these-huge-s.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/18/mazie-loving-the.html", "content_html": "

Mazie loving the airport.

\n\"KLM\n", "date_published": "2008-08-17T19:02:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/17/mazie-loving-the.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/17/here-is-us.html", "content_html": "

Here is where we are staying in London. If you have suggestions, especially kid friendly, send me whatever you have.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-17T15:45:37-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/17/here-is-us.html", "tags": ["Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/17/linking-brightkite-into.html", "content_html": "

Linking Brightkite into my Twitter account in preparation for our London Summer of Love extravaganza.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-17T15:42:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/17/linking-brightkite-into.html", "tags": ["Travel","Social Media","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/15/researching-average-weather.html", "content_html": "

Researching average weather for our London/Scotland trip. Conclusion #1, bring rain jackets.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-15T07:01:22-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/15/researching-average-weather.html", "tags": ["Travel","Weather","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/14/201129.html", "content_html": "

Shopping for plane activities for Mazie. Coloring books!

\n\"Woman\n", "date_published": "2008-08-14T19:11:29-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/14/201129.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/14/go-dollar.html", "title": "Go Dollar!", "content_html": "

As we are preparing for our trip to London I started watching, with great displeasure, the demise of the US Dollar. However, August has brought some pleasant changes. (Note, this is a chart of how many £ GBP’s you can get for $1 USD. Higher is better for us.)

\n\"Daily\n

Seeing these recent moves I’m feeling that I picked a good day to wire the 2nd half of our apartment payment as well as the £1,000 security deposit. We are at the best point of the entire year.

\n\"GBP\n

Charts are all from my alma mater BigCharts.com.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-14T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/14/go-dollar.html", "tags": ["Travel","BigCharts","London 2008"] }, { "id": "http://jthingelstad.micro.blog/2008/08/14/summer-of-love.html", "title": "Summer of Love Resuming - Preparing for London", "content_html": "

Tammy and I are doing final preparation for the second big trip of the Summer of Love. We leave on Sunday for London. We’ll be staying there for four weeks and exploring London in detail and taking some day trips as well. We’ve booked a trip to Stonehenge and are also planning a day trip to the Royal Observatory to stand on the prime meridian.

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We’ve rented a flat for the month. This will be a very different trip than our 6-week tour around the Western US. We’ll be staying in one place. We won’t have a car and will be using public transport only. I expect to take a lot of pictures and will be trying to post regularly.

\n

Tammy and I will also be taking a short trip to Scotland. My mother is coming over for a couple of weeks. The first week she is spending with us and will be watching Mazie while we are in Scotland. The 2nd week she is honeymooning with her new husband.

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There is much planning and packing to do.

\n", "date_published": "2008-08-14T00:00:00-05:00", "url": "https://www.thingelstad.com/2008/08/14/summer-of-love.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","London 2008"] } ] }