A little Jack with that?

Steampunk (photo by vonslatt), originally uploaded by pashasha.

Suw has started a making jewelry as a hobby. It’s something to do with her hands, and it’s a break from working with a computer. I need something else to do until we move to a place where I can hike and paddle a canoe again. Via BoingBoing, I’ve marveled at these steampunk creations, and I’d really like to have an outlet for my creativity. I’m thinking that steampunk might just do the trick.

My TweetCloud from Twitter, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.

I guess it’s pretty clear what I Twitter about: Suw, my wife.

April snow in London, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.

This isn’t a news flash to any local, but we woke up to a blanket of snow with more coming down. When I first rolled out of bed at 8 am, it was really falling fast and furious. It actually seemed heavier and wetter than now at 11 am.

Snow is beautiful. Suw isn’t a big fan of the cold, and I survived my share of bitterly cold winters growing up west of Chicago. But I do love snow.

It is frequent enough where I grew up that people know how to cope with it, but here in London and back in Washington DC where I lived for six years, it’s too frequent for either the cities or the people to know how to cope with it. It generally leads to chaos and wailing and gnashing of teeth by the locals. It gives me a chuckle.

Tyrell’s Vat 11 2002 Baulkham Shiraz, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.

I bought this wine at Sydney Australia Duty Free on my way back from a recent conference. The Duty Free shops in Australia are brilliant for good wine and good wine values.

I thought about buying a nice premium wine, such as D’Arenberg’s Dead Arm. But instead, I bought Suw a quite nice pare of opal ear rings set in white gold as a late wedding present. Instead, of buying something pricey, I decided to buy two bottles of moderately priced wine.

Fortunately, one of the sales staff at duty free also said that he was a judge at regional wine competitions, and he definitely seemed to know his stuff. I wanted to buy two bottles of good Aussie Shiraz, and he made a good point, which is that buying a Shiraz that had some time in the bottle was important. It being such a big wine, it needed some time to reach it’s peak.

He steered me in the direction this bottle of Tyrrell’s. He said that it was a special selection, with the winemaker choosing the grapes and using a special retro label that was like the style that he grew up with.

The wine was lovely. It is a very good representative of the meaty style of Shiraz that Australian winemakers are so good at making. It’s a huge red with a good balance, even tannins and acicity with a lovely smoky character. It’s a good wine with either red meat or mushrooms. Have plenty of water on hand because as Suw and I have found with so many Shiraz wines, it can leave your mouth a little dry. But a top bottle at a reasonable price.

St Paul’s Cathedral in London, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.

It’s days like this and views like this that remind that London isn’t all stress and crowds. Beautiful sun and puffy clouds were the wonderful backdrop to the sun shining on the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

We didn’t go to the bar, but the views were amazing, and it was wonderful to see so many people out surfing, swimming, jogging, walking and just enjoying this rugged coastline. I’m really enjoying my stay in Sydney. It’s a beautiful city with great natural beauty and wonderful architecture. Glad that I have in-laws here now so I have an excuse to come back.

Tags: Sydney, Bondi Beach

G’Day from Sydney. I’m in Sydney for the Media08 conference. It’s an amazing city with lots of wonderful architecture and natural beauty. I’ve got Sunday off to explore. I’m staying in The Rocks area. I will probably go to the Sunday market there. If you have any tips on places that I should see, please leave a comment.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: Sydney, Harbour Bridge, Media08

Our wedding bands, originally uploaded by Kevglobal.

After months of talking about it and planning for it, Suw and I are finally married. Thank you to everyone who sent along their congratulations and best wishes. Thank you to Chris ‘Pods and Blogs’ Vallance for being such a great Best Man. Thanks to Matt ‘Dopplr’ Bidduplh for taking such great pictures. And thanks to all our friends and family who were there helping us celebrate with us.

We’re off to Barbados until March, and we’ve left the computers at home. We will be lying on a beach watching the clouds by and letting the sun melt away and surf wash our cares. I’ll see you in March.

Well, it’s only a few days now. This is me in the wedding suit sans my bespoke burgundy waistcoat and cravat to match Suw’s corset, which she assures me is stunning and no doubt is. It’s starting to sink in for the both of us now. I still feel goofy and young and slightly like I’m dressing up for the prom and not my wedding, although that’s ridiculous at my age.

I’m really just looking forward to the day now and being surrounded by friends and family.

Suw heard this kittie meowing very loudly. We’re three floors up on a main road. Suw took pity on it. We have fed it and set up a litter pan for it. When we put the litter pan down for it, I had to ask whether it was kitty litter or cat nip.

But the big question is whether this is your cat? We’re not far from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Get in touch if you’re a cat short.