cobblers

The Waterboys, Stockholm Cirkus

On tuesday we went to Cirkus in Stockholm to see The Waterboys.

The night started off with a huge pub meal and then it was off to Djurgården for the concert.

I must admit to not knowing many more songs than are on their greatest hits, like Whole of the Moon and Under The Skin, so I didn't really know what to expect. I was a bit worried when we got their and it was seated and not completely full. Usually I hate going to a concert and having to sit. Wheres the fun in that. Also Mike Scott said at the start that they would only be playing a few of the dsongs that they had plyed when they were there the year before, so I was a bit worried that it eould only be obscure stuff that I had never heard.

As it turned out, though I didnt know many of the songs, it was a great concert. Everyone that was there seemed to enjoy themselves and Mike can really write some good lyrics.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Panoramic pictures

For a while I have been wanting to get a tool that will let me create panoramic pictures from a group of other photos. So obviously the first step was to go onto Google and see what you could get for free. The one I tried first was PTGui, and was free (almost), but it needed way too much human intervention. And I could never get a descent picture to come out of it. I'm sure that it works well, but all the pictures I created looked like they had had an extra dimension added. Then I found PanoramaFactory and whis was much more what I was looking for. Get a bunch of pictures, put them in the right order and then let it do its thing. And this was the result

Now thats what I'm looking for. This picture is made up from 3 pictures. This ease of use comes at a price though and I will have to see if I want panoramic pictures that much.

This picture, by the way, is from the top of our local water tower. These things sprout up like giant mushrooms all over the place. I never knew you could climb up inside them before this. Cool!

Update:

Here are some panoramic pictures from different parts of Scotland. Nice. Feeling homesick already...

The original haggis?

One of the things that Scotland is famous for is Haggis (supposedly an award winning site but not for design i fear). In sweden they have something that is very similiar called Pölsa (poolsa). So much so that I am pretty sure that haggis originally came from scandinavia. However, before anyone gets upset, the Scottish variant has been vastly improved. Where pölsa is greasy and a bit runny (can be saved though by adding copious amounts of HP sauce), haggis is robust and full of flavour (and bits and pieces). Hmmmmm.

And then there is the Hagis Supper, the perfect combination of haggis and heart atttack :-)

It has even inspired several games....

Finding Elsa

Where can Elsa be....

there she is

Dog tags all round

We got a letter the other day that was a bit weird. It contained a dog tag for Elsa, our 15 month old daughter, and it had the instructions:

With war or the danger of war the tag shall be carried on the chain round the neck

This got me thinking about some of the other things that happen here just in case Sweden goes to war.

The first monday of every month they test the air raid sirens, and I can tell you that they work. The first time I heard them I thought the glass in the windows was about to explode.

In all the blocks of flats they have a shelter in the cellar just in case we get bombed. At first I thought this was some sort of flood protection because it has a foot thick steel door, with big wheels to lock it just like you see on those movies about submarines. And the walls are about a meter thick too.

Nothing like being prepared, but you have to remember that Sweden hasn't been to war for about 200 years. Then theres the military service, but I dont think that Elsa will have to worry too much about that.

Mobile parking

Something i have been using for a while now here in Uppsala is paying parking with my mobile phone. It's great if you never seem to have any change when you want to park like me :-)

I know other places have this, like Edinburgh, but with this system you don't get a ticket or anything. You just ring up the number and type in which zone your parking in and that's it. Admittedly you have to set up an account with them and it doesnt come directly off your phone bill, but I like it anyway. They even send out an sms telling you how much it cost and how much is left in your account.

St Eriks Loppet - complete

Yesterday was the St Eriks Loppet, a half marathon in Stockholm. It start right in the centre, next to the royal castle.

It was perfect running weather and we were pretty up for it before the start.

It seems to be more of a runners race than a big event as there dont seem to be so many people who have heard about it and there were only about five thousand runners.

We stayed together the first 8 kilometers and then I pushed on a bit harder than Niclas and Ulrika. My plan being that it might hurt more but not for as long. the last couple of kilometers were hard going (as always) but the crowds along the way helped a lot, and knowing the end was in sight.

I came in at 1:55.26 which I am very happy with, my aim being to come in under two hours. Also my biggest fear thanks to Martin didnt happen. Nipple rash, eeuuuch.

Here I am pointing at the medal, not at my chaff free body parts :-)

You can see the official times here. Search for Gillespie as last name.

Then it was out for a beer and a steak, hmmmmm.

Very good...

Unlimited 3G data with 3

Via Ny Teknik, Tre (Three) in sweden are now offering unlimited data for just 399 kronor or about 25 GBP. It says they are doing this because they see their biggest competitor not to be WiFi hotpsots but broadband so are pricing against this.

Unfortunately its just for business just now because they are worried about private users abusing it.

Come on Scotland!!!

Now its time for all Scots to once again shrug off the last 6 years of not being in a major football tournament and start to hope again... or something like that. The pundits seem to be mixed over how it will go. Heres hoping for a good start tonight

Oh, and come on Sweden too!

I've got a fiver on the double at the bookies

Radio coverage here too.