TSA relaxes ban on carry on liquids

The TSA is once again revising its rules on carry on items. Beginning Tuesday, September 26th, travelers will be allowed to take travel-sized toiletries through security checkpoints, as long as everything fits in a quart-sized, clear plastic, zip-lock bag.

The full TSA announcement can be found here:

http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/9-25_updated_passenger_guidance.shtm

Autumn Approaching

The crisp morning air signals the end of summer. Mother Nature has opened her box of Crayolas and has begun coloring leaves red, yellow, orange, and brown. The sun retires each day a minute earlier than the last. Sunlight is softer and shadows grow longer. Autumn is approaching. There’s comfort in knowing that all the weeds, bugs, and most of what irritated me about summer will soon be dead.

Back in the ATL

It took my almost two hours to get through security at Gatwick Airport. The Brits are known for their queues or lines, but this was absurd. 10 security officers to process two thousand people. Once through security, each passenger underwent another bag search and full body pat down. It's only a matter of time before we have to show up at the airport, take off all clothes, and put on a hospital gown before boarding a plane. The plane was also delayed due to a medical emergency. I fell asleep trafficking to the runway. I awoke 15 minutes later to find we hadn't taken off. A few minutes later a flight attendant came on the PA asking if there was a doctor on board. I am not sure what happened, but paramedics came on board and removed the passenger. We sat on the tarmac another 45 minutes waiting for a refueling truck to refuel the fuel we had burned off sitting on the ground. Two hours later we finally took off. 11 hours after boarding the plane I was back in Atlanta. I love to travel, but flying has become exhausting.

"Shadows grow so long before my eyes"

The London Eye casts an interesting shadow on the building behind it.

There is something in my Eye

The London Eye is currently the world's largest observation wheel. The Eye is basically a huge Ferris Wheel that sets on the banks of the Thames overlooking Big Ben, Parliament, and Downing Street. It is owned by British Airways. A "flight" on the Eye runs about $27. It offers a great view of London. It takes about 30 minutes to complete one rotation. Photography from the Eye is a bit more tricky due to the countless hand prints and shadows/reflections produced

by the shape of the capsule. Each capsule holds about 20 passengers. Each capsule rotates in conjunction with the wheel. It's almost impossible to feel the rotation of the wheel. The Eye has become one of the top tourist attractions in London since its opening in 2000.

A classic British cliché

Phone booths in London are much like they are in America - rarely used. Cell phones have signaled the demise of the pay phone. This phone booth was outside the British Museum. In the future it will most likely be in a museum, as an artifact.

What...no Cap'n Crunch?

I like breakfast, but rarely eat anything more than cereal. I grew up on Cap'n Crunch and Fruit Loops so the idea of a large breakfast is unfamilar. My hotel in Bristol offered a traditional fry up.... otherwise known as a full English breakfast. This calorie laden plate consisted of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, fried bread, tomato, and baked beans, homemade orange marmalade and toast. The fried eggs were more like eggs over easy. American typically cook their eggs in butter, but these were cooked in oil. English bacon is what Americans would call ham. The bacon was similar to country ham, but not as salty. I had mixed feelings about the sausage. It lacked the spices normally found in sausage. The mushrooms were great. They were fresh and lightly sauteed. Aside from the bacon they were my favorite. I was very disappointed in fried bread. Fried bread sounded very tempting. After all fried is a food group in the South, but I couldn't stomach this. It was white bread someone had fried in oil that wasn't hot enough. The result was a grease soaked piece of toast. I normally like tomatoes with my breakfast, but not cooked tomatoes. The English prefer their tomatoes blanched. The strangest thing about the breakfast was baked beans. I like baked beans - with my hot dog, not my breakfast. These beans tasted more like Pork and Beans, but without the pork or flavor. By the second day I had reduced my breakfast order to bacon, eggs, mushroom, and toast.

London Calling

I will be taking the train back to London tomorrow in hopes of some naughty good fun. I will upload more pics and post later this weekend.

A few thing I miss most when traveling

There are plenty of things I miss about home when traveling. Below are a few that come to mind.

1. Ice - Thank you for the generous portion of two cubes. How can two tiny cubes of ice chill my Coke? A woman in the pub tonight asked for a bottle of water and one cube of ice. One cube of ice? Have you ever in your life ordered a single ice cube? Granted at least in England I can get a couple of cubes of ice. In some countries you can't even get ice and if you could it would be made of frozen rat piss, bird droppings, and enough bacteria to kill an elephant.

2. TV - I can only watch so much news or shows about cheese or interpretive dance. Give me a sitcom, an infomerical, or a music video. I am all for educational TV, but sometimes I want to see some mindless crap on TV.

3. Coffee - Nothing that comes out of a packet and requires boiling water taste worth a damn. Taster's Choice - Bluh. I would like to know what taster chose this instant diarrhea over real coffee. I hope he's dead.

4. Familiar Measurements - I tried to order some chicken nuggets the other day and they asked me how many grams I wanted. How about you give me all the grams that come in 6 pieces. I remember an elementary school teacher telling me the U.S. would be on the metric system soon. The U.S. really jumped on that. There are Internet groups trying to get the U.S. to convert to the metric system. Go to Hell! Why do we have to be like the rest of the world? What's wrong with being different? Granted it means you can't order chicken nuggets abroad, but it makes us special. Leave it the way it is. Besides the English can't even make up their minds about the metric system. The buy food in grams but drive in miles per hour.

5. Friends and Family - Shut up. It's true....well....except for you. I don't miss you.

Fur Kills...and possibably so do protesters

I spent Saturday evening wandering around the Knightsbridge District of London. This area is home to some of the most exclusive shops on the planet Harrod's and Harvey Nichols are located in Knightsbridge. Oh yeah...those people that asked for something from Harrod's....let me quote my father, "yeah...and people in Hell want ice water." I saw a small brooch that was more than my annual salary. A brooch! Anyway...back to my story. I was walking around the area looking at shops when I came across a small group of people protesting. They were carrying signs and handing out flyers. I hate taking flyers. It's like they're saying, "Throw this away for me." They were protesting a fur sale at the luxury store Joseph. Their protests didn't seem to stop the dozens of women shopping within the store. Oh course the rugby size security guard out front probably had a lot to do with that. I was looking at the dead creature they had flung across the tree guard outside the shop. They protesters wanted me to sign a petition and take one of their flyers. I declined and they kept insisting. What the hell is a petition going to do? I hereby promise I will never shop at this ridiculously expensive store or wear a mink sable around my neck. WTF? The more I declined the more insistent they became. It started to piss me off. I looked at the pelts and noticed they were very mangled and I doubted those were furs the retail stores sold. Finally, I told one of the protesters that I couldn't believe they would kill these poor creatures in order to make a statement. I also told him I thought it was horrible what they did. Wow...talk about someone getting pissed off. He started cursing and talking about how his group was making the world a better place for these creatures, blah, blah, blah. Whatever man. He never told me that they had not killed these creatures. Just think if abortion protesters used these tactics. I would never wear fur, but it has nothing to do with the way the animals are treated. I think fur looks tacky. But leather that is another story. I realize some poor cow died to keep me warm and I am okay with that. I honor that cow every winter by wearing my leather coat. Thanks Mr. Cow.

Gas prices in UK

If we think we are getting cornholed by rising gas prices then the Brits are getting bung rapped with a cheese grater. Gas in the UK averages about 93.6 pence per British liter. If you do the math that works out to about $6.75 per gallon. Damn...now that's expensive. At that price I would be paying about $400 a month for gas. Pickups, SUVs, and large cars are no where to be seen. It has nothing to do with their progressive environmental policies. It all comes down to affordability. The Smart car below is a popular car in London. It's makes the Mini Cooper look spacious. Can you imagine these in the States? If a SUV hit one of these they would have to bury the driver with the car.

On top of the expense fuel cost there are additional tolls and taxes. In order to reduce the amount of traffic driving into London there is now a congestion charge. Drivers pay £5 per day to drive into London. That's over $9.50. Then you have to be lucky enough to find a parking space. And then pay the meter.

Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is the British Museum's most valuable artifact. Crowds swarm around the display case in hopes of getting a better look. I managed to push my way through the crowds to get a picture. The Rosetta Stone is so important because it was the key scholars used in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. It's interesting to note that, "The Rosetta Stone has been exhibited in the British Museum since 1802, with only one break. Toward the end of the First World War, in 1917, when the Museum was concerned about heavy bombing in London, they moved it to safety along with other portable, important objects. The Rosetta Stone spent the next two years in a station on the Postal Tube Railway fifty feet below the ground at Holborn. (Wikipedia)"

British Museum Revisited

I spent hours in the British Museum during my trip to London about six months ago. I could spend days looking through all the shit they have stolen....sorry....admiring the historical artificats they have aquired from around the global. Below are some pics taken on Sunday.

In London

I will be posting updates and pics in the next day or so. Jet lag has gotten the better of me and I am off to bed.

An ode to my sneakers

I am about to board a plane bound for London. I remembered to bring my Ipod, passport, laptop, cash, and camera, but I left something very important at home - my favorite sneakers. They are officially being retired today from my travels. The soles are almost worn through, the laces are tattered, and tears are forming on the sides. They have been with me for years. In fact, they have lasted longer than some of my girlfriends. They have boarded planes, trains, boats, buses, cars, and rickshaws around the globe. They sloshed through the wilds of the British countryside, they prevented frost bite in the snowy mountains of Utah, and they even helped me climb to the top of the Great Wall. Now they are old, tired, and worn out. They have served me well for thousands of miles and have earned their retirement.


Goodbye old friends.