Urban Living

I'm almost hesitant to bring this up, if only because you'll all conclude that I spent too much time in London skiving-off and visiting museums, but in the Turbine Room in the Tate Modern there was a fascinating look at urban development and the rise of the city. Alas, I literally had just 15 minutes in which to explore but basically the idea of the main exhibition was to graphically demonstrate the various levels of population density that exist in 4 key cities around the world, how they compare with one another and what the trends are.

To underscore what otherwise would just be a dull recitation of statistics, contoured three-dimensional maps had been created to show just how acute the issue is in some parts of the world, most noticeably Mumbai where the average population density is seven times that seen in London, itself hardly a place you'd think of as being the urban equivalent of the Australian Outback. Fortunately, there is still a good summary of what was displayed available on the Tate Modern website, including some interesting videos I never actually got to see whilst there.

Big picture summary? Cities can be an extremely efficient way to provide living space and the necessary associated services, but not at the expense of meeting other basic human needs for open space and elbow room. Oh, and in themselves, cities don't automatically solve issues around the provision of the basics like water and sewers....

Cleaning The Glass Ceiling

Cleaning Crew, British Museum Glass Roof

A few years ago, happy gamblers in the UK funded, via the National Lottery, a scheme to glass-in what was an ugly and unused central courtyard within the British Museum. Look back at yesterday's post and you'll see its graceful lattice structure in the background. Anyway, having been there numerous times since it was first unveiled, I always wondered how they cleaned it. This time around, I got my question answered: two blokes, a mop and a bucket!

Whatever works, I guess.

(If you are wondering why the recent pictures are all in black-and-white, blame it on the weather. As per usual practice for a UK summer, it was either raining or about to rain.)

Home Again

Amazingly enough, a relatively pain-free journey back from Heathrow, despite it being a bank holiday weekend there. But it seems that I was lucky. Talking to someone else I travelled with, it took them 90 minutes on Friday evening just to drop a car at Hertz, get from there to the terminals and subsequently catch the Hoppa bus over to their nearby hotel. Ouch!

Against all the odds, BA have actually put themselves in the lead regarding transatlantic entertainment on their flights, at least relative to what plays in the back of the bus. They now have video on demand, offering the canon fodder in the cheap seats a much more appealing way of numbing their brains for the 10 hours it takes to get from A to B when the letters in question stand for the UK and the West Coast respectively.

I sat through three films on the way back: 300, Fractured and Spider Man 3, and was able to start and stop them at will, see them without glitches, jumps and tape breaks, and was even able to pause the action, head off to the bathroom when it was vacant, and head back to continue where I left off. For that last fact alone I applaud BA, helping as it does to eliminate the bathroom scrum that takes place as soon as any one of the films on a normal video system finishes.

Alas, BA immediately managed to knock themselves back from this amazing leap into customer service land - believe it or not, they've deleted the toothpaste from the brush-and-toothpaste amenity kit. (And by "kit" I mean a plastic back with that, an eye mask and a pair of socks.) I suppose they had to pay for the new vid. system somehow ....

The films themselves? 300 was OK in a "ancient history turned cartoon" sort of way. Spiderman 3 is probably a fine action film on the big screen but far from compelling 5 hours into a 10 hour flight on a screen the size of a fag packet, so of the three then Fractured, with Anthony Hopkins, won my vote for being a thriller that keeps you engaged for close to two of those hours.

(But faced with a choice go instead for "Hot Fuzz" from the same people that brought you "Shaun of the Dead".

Napoleon's Toothbrush

Death Mask, Napoleon, British Museum

Had a few hours to kill today and so took a quick trip around the newly-opened Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. Henry Wellcome, entrepreneur, patron of science and adventurer, was an avid collector of medical ephemera, amassing an extensive collection detailing our universal interest in health and the body over the ages.

The space is set up to house the permanent collection as well as a temporary one, which this time around was heart-themed. In good London museum tradition, the entrance was free and the space somewhat sparsely attended, at least early-on in the day.

The Heart covers matters anatomical, as well as artistic & philosophical, starting with how ancient Egyptians believed that the gods weighed the heart of the newly dead against a feather to see if it would be consumed or the spirit allowed to move ahead with its journey to the after life, right through to modern-day surgical treatments such as transplantation. Well worth a visit, but the squeamish might want to avoid the film of a heart operation if the sight of someone's ribs being cut by a power saw to allow the chest cavity to be opened up doesn't really appeal ...

The permanent collection is an extremely eclectic array of items that at some point took Henry's fancy. Yup, Napoleon's toothbrush is there, as is Nelson's razor. There are shrunken heads and ancient heads with holes in (JR take note!) A torture chair from China looked particularly nasty, as, I have to say, did the collection of early medical instruments, all of which were likely used with little or no anaesthetic.

Alas, unlike the British Museum, no photography is allowed so you'll have to make do with Naopleon's head at a point in his life were toothbrushes were a bit redundant.

Chutney Mary

Catch up: Chutney Mary is a top-rated Indian restaurant, located at the - relatively speaking - low-rent end of the King's Road, Chelsea.

Decor-wise, it's colourful, airy and bright, thanks largely to a conservatory-style addition that's been made to the back of the building, lifting the atmosphere even on a grey, wet summer evening in August. The place is comfortable in another sense, too: the chairs are well padded. Look, I'm bony, OK, and hard chairs are bloody uncomfortable, so this stuff matters!

As we settled in, one immediate thing stood out, namely, a very extensive wine list featuring a range of interesting bottles at pretty reasonable prices. Now this might not seem revolutionary to many of you but that's just because you didn't grow up in the UK with what has become the norm for Indian eateries there: lager, lager and more lager. Beer-wise the choice at CM was the exact opposite - pretty much Cobra or nothing.

We kicked off with a shared platter featuring prawns, chicken and lamb osso-bucco style. From the presentation alone you knew this was going to be special - and it was! White plates, few garnishes, clean and colourful. Dipping sauces included rhubarb chutney and something else I can't now for the life of me remember. The meats used were of the highest quality and cooked just right. A real eye-opener, reminding you just what Indian food could - and should be. Forget bowls of brown sauce with lumps of unidentifiable meat in it. This is a whole new Taj Mahal style of food: clean lines, well proportioned and iconic.

I decided to try chicken tikka for the main course to see what they did with what is all too often a bland and uninteresting dish: 9 times out of 10, think Chicken McNuggets with curry powder. What I was served, though, was about as far towards the other end of the spectrum you could get and still have it be visible. The chicken was tender and carried real flavour from the spices but without that taste overpowering the meat itself. And it was served hot, really hot. Bliss! I get really annoyed in restaurants that try and get all fancy with the cooking but can't even get the basics right, serving dishes that are lukewarm at best. No such problem here, despite the fact that the place filled up very quickly. KF, who I was travelling with, had a sampler dish that included an outstanding and hot (in the spicy sense) Goan chicken curry. Again, very distinct flavouring but despite the strength you could still taste the dish itself.

We gave desserts the miss but I have no doubt that they would have been up to the same standards.

I can easily say this was the best Indian meal I've had in recent times, if not ever. Portion sizes were just right so you could try a number of things and not come away feeling totally stuffed. Including a couple of beers and a glass of wine the bill was roughly 80 quid for two people. And frankly, in this day and age in London, that's a bargain.

Rating: 5 poppadoms out of 5

Cheers, Bobby, and thanks for the recommendation! I will be back.

SFO => LHR Part 2

Isaac Newton, Trinity College, Cambridge

Amazingly enough, we arrived into Heathrow 20 minutes early. I had a look around as I was heading to immigration and it seemed pretty quiet. There was no real queue in T1 to transfer to other flights, a miracle in itself as during the summer the line often stretches out of the security area down the adjacent corridors, and can take well over 30 minutes to clear.

Weather here in the UK is, quite frankly, awful. Got soaked today going from car to meeting venues and back again. It feels like a California winter day when one of the Pacific storms is sitting over the Santa Cruz mountains. In short, the exact opposite of last summer over here which was one of the best ever.

Fun to be in Cambridge after so many years, though, and looking forward to getting into London tonight.

Oh, and Bobby, we're off to Chutney Mary's this evening so review of food to follow!

SFO => LHR Part I

BA check-in was mercifully short, which is more than can be said for the security line. I usually take the later BA flight where the situation is reversed: long check-in, easy security. Doubtless, some deep meaning in there somewhere but I'm too tired to figure it out.

(As an aside, we have a new dog. Not sure yet if this is permanent or temporary situation, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, he currently resides at Number 1, Main Bathroom, first cage as you go in. And he doesn't like it one bit. The night-time confinement is a short term thing just to help him settle down, but it has the reverse effect on me as he spends the first hour of sleep time doing a Steve McQueen and trying to tunnel his way out of imprisonment. This process was both lengthened and fuelled last night when he actually succeeded.... Add to that a healthy dose of kennel cough - alright, an unhealthy one then - and that explains why a bit of peace and quiet on a 747 to drink at someone else's expense and doze peacefully for a couple of hours is actually rather appealing just now.)

Anyway, my point here is that I'm heading back for a short trip to the U.K., and am quite looking forwards to being home for a bit. Initial visit to Cambridge, followed by a couple of days in London, and closed off by a quick trip to see the old kith-and-kin. Back home Sunday. Will post when able.

Oh, one other thing: I, you can rest assured I'll flush whatever I can over the anti-runway protesters at Heathrow. My pleasure.

Brand Limits?

California Dreamin'

Took off on Saturday to the 34th Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca. I suppose it's easy to tell how close you are to the eternal fountain of money that is Silicon Valley when Ferrari has its own island in the middle of the circuit! In addition to the official presence where, amongst other things, they were promoting their services to certify used or collectible cars (see above shot), countless small vendors were selling a bewildering array of merchandise prominently tagged with the iconic prancing horse.

How, then, does the brand maintain its cachet when the exclusivity originally associated with the race car company is so watered down that Ferrari badges are appearing on shoes and shirts, backpacks and bags? Does it even matter if it doesn't, given that their race cars are still winning in F1 and their road cars selling out at the showrooms with waiting lists running into years?

Yes and no. I remember from years ago that it was generally accepted that you didn't wear Ferrari -logo'd stuff unless you owned one, and even then the practice was considered dubious at best. Nowadays, anything goes. But although this might weaken its strength in the eyes of some, I'd bet that if you ran a brand-recognition survey ten years ago and compared the results with the same survey today the company would have accelerated up the standings like a nitrous-powered Enzo. On the other hand, how long will even the most well-heeled of enthusiasts be happy to shell out 250 big ones for a 430 when everywhere they go pot-bellied proles are wearing Ferrari boxer-shorts (pun intended)?

I think the saving grace for the company will ultimately be that their products remain the stuff of dreams for all but the most wallet-hardened enthusiasts or those who have the money to spend and a need to impress. They will come to view the mass-marketing of the brand either incidental and hence to be ignored so long as it makes money to keep on racing or it will help fuel their egos to have even more people ogling them as they drive through town at 25 mph. (And on that topic, I was utterly depressed to hear that Dr. Phil, an annoying TV relationship counsellor here in the USA, bought two white 550s, one for himself and one for his wife.) Therefore, don't expect a budget Ferrari any time soon. Ain't going to happen, and frankly I think that's a jolly good thing too! Make 'em smaller and harder-core and keep the Dr. Phil's of this world buying Bentley's instead. The Germans can handle it.

You Know You're Having A Bad Day When ...

... you are stuck by the port transom on a $1.5m yacht heading for a very expensive and unplanned encounter with the water.

I came across the photo shown above in a discussion around whether or not it had been Photoshoped (consensus: no) but in finding the site it was sourced from I found all these other great pictures of bad things happening to ships both big and small. Browse around and you'll find boats on fire (while carrying fireworks!), boats aground (for 2 months while they try and figure out how to unload the containers it was carrying and re-float it) and even boats being flattened by cranes that have fallen over.

Fascinating stuff, and a stark reminder of just why marine insurance is as expensive as it is.

However, another set of pictures showing what happened to a DHL Airbus 300 when hit by a ground-to-air missle in Iraq, are almost beyond belief. How on earth did they land that thing??

Stormy Weather

Been in Texas since early this week and originally planned to leave around 3 pm today. However, that was until I saw the weather forecast. Tropical Storm Erin was due to hit the Austin area starting early this morning. Since my meetings anyway ended yesterday evening, I looked to change flights from the 3 pm to the 7 am, getting out of there before the worst of the weather was due to arrive.

I called American yesterday afternoon and got a price for the change price: over $400 for a ticket that only cost me $390 to begin with. However, I was lucky in that the agent I had on the phone was chatty and helpful, and had an alternate suggestion. She checked availability and saw that there were quite a few seats available on the earlier flight, recommending I went for a "confirmed standby" approach.

Seems that if you call less than 12 hours before departure then for $25 you can get a confirmed standby seat. Not exactly sure of the Ts&Cs associated with this, but long story short then when I rang back I got re-booked at a fraction of the original price quoted. Of course, the downside was that I had to get up at 4:30 am central time in order to catch it, but just as the flight was due to leave the heavens opened and the storm started to dump copious amounts of rain directly onto Austin airport. We got handed a short delay as traffic was held up a bit but we left only 20 minutes late and arrived into San Jose on time. I reckoned that I had escaped just in time.

Well of course, when I checked later in the day the original flight I was on left the gate exactly 2 minutes late, so it was all a bit unnecessary, but I did get almost a full day in the office in return so it really was $25 well spent.