Dec 30 2009

Day 2: Oh the weather outside is…

We safely arrived at Dublin International Airport at 09:05 local time. Fortunately, we asked a man at the tourist desk what the best method of travel would be to get to the hotel. He told us a taxi would cost about €12-15, but that the bus would only be about €2 per person. We hopped on a bus. However, it cost us €5 euros total because we didn’t have any smaller denominations.

Then disaster struck…not really, but it could have been tragic. I left my laptop and book up on the shelf above the seats. The receptionist at the hotel found the number for the bus company, and the lady there said she would “ring me back” shortly. The bus driver found my netbook and said he would be back at that stop in about 20 minutes. Standing outside waiting for the bus to return, I readily realised how awful the weather was. It wasn’t all that cold (approximately 5 degrees), but coupled with evil sleet/rain and the 2670 kmh gale-force winds (slight exaggeration) it made for a not-so-nice waiting experience. The umbrella served absolutely no purpose as the wind mangled it like a crash-test dummy being slammed into a wall in a shopping cart.

After a brief nap, we chose to go to the neighbouring town called Swords Village. A man outside the hotel was kind enough to let us share his taxi, as he was headed to the same place. We then asked a couple of the locals about a decent place to eat. A pub called The Star came recommended, so we stopped in. I had a pasta with “pesto sauce,” which was really a cream sauce with onions and mushrooms (no pesto whatsoever). It was pretty tasty. For desert, I had a slice of apple pie with cream. This apple pie had crust more like bread pudding, and it was delicious.

The last fun bit of the night was when I attempted to get a cab back to the hotel. I lightly tapped on the window of the taxi, and asked the driver if I could get a ride. While on the way back, he informed me that asking for a “ride” is very much a proposition, and that I should next time ask for a “lift.” I’m reminded of my many adventures speaking Russian and saying inappropriate things unknowingly. 😉

Dec 29 2009

Day 1: Off to the Emerald Isle

The day started off at 06:00 with me waking up and realising that I had forgotten one minor consideration for my camera. I have always used a battery grip for my camera, but I had to take it off in order to fit the camera into my travel backpack (from dA). Well, I didn’t think about it, but when I took off the battery grip, I then needed the single battery cover. I couldn’t find it, so I had to rig up something to keep the battery in place.

We made it to the bus station without any problem at all, and then to the train which brought us to the airport. From there, we boarded our flight to Ireland.

Dec 20 2009

The Nexus One and Google countdown

I have been waiting for the “right” Android phone for quite a while now. I’ve tried many different ones in the retail stores, but I simply don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone if it isn’t darn close to what I want. The Nexus One is certainly the first Android phone that seems to do everything I want it to do. There are certainly some drawbacks, but most things seem to be right. It supposedly comes with Android 2.1, screen resolution of 480×854, a 1GhZ Snapdragon processor, and it won’t feel like a brick in your pocket. I’m certainly looking for other features as well, but those are the primary considerations for me.

Anyway, the main purpose of this post regards the release date/time of the Nexus One. Many are suggesting that the release date is going to be 05 January 2009, but much of this is simply speculation. Well, I found something interesting on Google’s page today. Go to Google, and click “I’m Feeling Lucky” without typing anything into the search box. See that? See that mysterious timer? It seems like this counter recognises one’s timezone, and then calculates the time left (in local time) until the new year (midnight, 01 January 2010). However, could this also be the debut of the Nexus One? Will Google release this phone as a New Year’s present? Of course, this is simply speculation, but one never knows.

|:| Zach |:|